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McCleney/Obasohan Nominated For Award
Haylie McCleney & Retin Obasohan
Graphics Credit: RollTide.com
The accolades just keep coming for University of Alabama scholar-athletes. Sometimes the same athletes are honored again and again. Such is the case for softball's HAYLIE McCLENEY and basketball's RETIN OBASOHAN. These two fine representatives of the University of Alabama have been nominated for the Southeastern Conference's H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. The award is presented annually to the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, according to the league announcement yesterday.
The University of Alabama Director of Athletics, BILL BATTLE, said, "Haylie and Retin are tremendous ambassadors for The University
of Alabama and our athletics department, both as students and athletes
as well as the way they strive to make a difference in the community
around them. Both have made extraordinary contributions to the success of their teams and are highly deserving of this latest honor."
Both McCleney, a senior on the Crimson Tide's nationally-ranked softball team, and Obasohan, about to graduate having served as a senior leader on Bama's basketball team, both earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors for their respective sports.
Battle continued, "Haylie and Retin are living examples of our mission 'to compete
for championships and build champions.' We are very proud
of all they have accomplished to this point in their respective
careers."
Nine times the McWhorter award has gone to an Alabama student-athlete since its beginning back in 1986. Winners have been CORY WHITSETT (2014 golf), BARRETT JONES (2013 football), JOSEPH SYKORA (2008 golf), EMEEL SALEM (2007 baseball), LAUREN IMWALLE (2004 soccer), KRISTIN STERNER (2003 gymnastics), MEREDITH WILLARD (1997 gymnastics), JEFF LAUBENTHAL (1992 baseball) and JULIE ESTIN (1987 gymnastics).
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Alabama's Mr. Basketball Likes Tide And Kentucky
John Petty
Photo Credit: USATodayhss.com
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Women's Golf Heads To PING/ASU Invitational
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
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Alabama's Mr. Basketball Likes Tide And Kentucky
Photo Credit: USATodayhss.com
Quite a conundrum.
The new Mr. Basketball from the state of Alabama knows he has a decision to make soon. So what will JOHN PETTY do? Will it be Alabama or Kentucky he selects for whom to play his college basketball?
Petty is the highly sought-after five-star, 6' 7" guard/forward out of J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville. He is being hotly pursued by both Alabama and Kentucky (and others) and he knows that decision-day is coming soon.
While Petty is impressed with the job Alabama head coach AVERY JOHNSON done in his first season, he has been a life-long fan of the Kentucky Wildcats.
Petty was named Alabama's Mr. Basketball during a luncheon on Wednesday in downtown Montgomery. He said that though others have shown interest, it has been Alabama and Kentucky that have shown the most interest in him. And...he says he has no clear-cut leader. He said he is looking for the school that would be the "best fit" for him.
The 247Sports Composite ranks Petty as the No. 16 player in the country, as well as the fifth-best small forward in the U.S. for the class of 2017.
Petty averaged 19.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 steals in his last season with the Jaguars. Johnson is closing its doors at the end of this school year, thus Petty will be moving to the new Mae Jemison High School for his final high school season.
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Women's Golf Heads To PING/ASU Invitational
The top-ranked Alabama women's golf team is headed to the desert this weekend to compete in the PING/ASU Invitational. The tournament is being held on the par-72, 6,337-yard ASU Karsten Golf Course and is being hosted by Arizona State University.
The lineup for the tournament will be LAKAREBER ABE, JANIE JACKSON, CHEYENNE KNIGHT, NICOLE MORALES and EMMA TALLEY. This will be the third consecutive tournament for this particular lineup. Also, junior CAMMIE GRAY will be competing as an individual in Tempe, Arizona.
This year's PING/ASU field consists of 14 team this year, with seven currently ranked in the top 25 according to Golfstat. Those competing with the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE are No. 10 Arizona, No. 11 Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Denver,
Hawaii, No. 4 Northwestern, Oregon State, Texas, No. 3 UCLA, No. 17
UNLV, No. 13 Washington and Washington State.
Alabama will be in the group with host Arizona State and Washington. They are scheduled to tee off from hole No. 10 beginning at 10:54 a.m. CT. Gray will begin play just before that at 10:45 a.m. CT.
Alabama will be in the group with host Arizona State and Washington. They are scheduled to tee off from hole No. 10 beginning at 10:54 a.m. CT. Gray will begin play just before that at 10:45 a.m. CT.
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Bama Baseball Faces Kentucky Wildcats
Graphics Credit: RollTide.com
The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team will face the 19th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in a three-game series beginning tonight at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. The first game will be at 5:30 p.m. CT tonight. Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and the Sunday finale will be played at 12 noon CT. All three games are slated to air live on SECN+.
This will be the 95th meeting between the Tide and Wildcats in a series dating back to 1925. Alabama leads the series 57-37, with a 21-18 edge when the contest is played in Lexington. However, Kentucky has won eight of the last ten games at home.
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Alabama Softball Hosts 3-Game Series
The fourth-ranked Alabama softball team (32-7, 5-4 SEC) will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-15, 2-7 SEC) for a three-game series this weekend at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The first game will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT, with the second contest scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The finale will be Sunday, April 10th at 1:30 p.m. CT.
The Tide is 53-10 against the Bulldogs, however State is currently on a two-game winning streak. Alabama won the last meeting in Tuscaloosa by a score of 9-8 in April 2013.
Alabama recently earned it's 1,000th victory in program history this past Tuesday by shutting out Mississippi Valley State 14-0 in five innings. The win was the 16th run-rule victory this year for the Tide.
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Williams To Join Bama Women's Basketball Coaching Staff
Alabama Women's Basketball Asst. Coach Williams
Graphics/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Alabama women's head basketball coach KRISTY CURRY yesterday announced that BROOKS DONALD WILSON is joining the basketball staff as an assistant. Wilson spent the past nine seasons as the head coach at McNeese State University.
Curry commented, "I have watched Brooks since she was a high school athlete, division I assistant and now a nine year division I head coach, and I have had great respect and admiration for the character, work ethic and passion she has for the student-athlete. She, along with the rest of our staff, brings NCAA tournament experience and a tremendous skill set to all facets of our program from recruiting, to on-court development and in-game situations and will be able to relate to our student-athletes in a unique way. We are thrilled to have Brooks and her husband, Tyler, join our basketball family as we continue to turn the Tide."
Williams was the Cowgirls' all-time winningest coach totaling 161 victories, as well as being named 2011 Southland Coach of the Year. She took a program that hadn't had a winning record in 10 seasons and led McNeese State to six consecutive post-season appearances, two of which were in the NCAA tournament. Four 20-win seasons in the past six years with the Cowgirls also is proudly displayed in her resume, as well as capturing the 2011 and 2012 Southland Conference Championships.
Williams commented, "First of all, I am so thankful for my time at McNeese. McNeese has been an incredible home for Tyler and me the last nine years. We have special memories from the Cowgirl basketball program that will certainly last a lifetime. However, I am thrilled about the new journey ahead at The University of Alabama. Coach Kristy Curry is a longtime friend and mentor, and I am honored to have this opportunity to work alongside of her. She is one of the best in our business, and I believe great things are in store for her team and staff in the near future and I am eager to be a part of it."
Williams is a graduate of Mississippi State University. She graduated in 2000 with a degree from the College of Education where she majored in sport communication.
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