Alabama Softball
Alabama-Washington Meet In 2016 NCAA Super Regional
Alabama Crimson Tide Softball
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide softball team will face off against the No. 11 Washington Huskies at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscasloosa this weekend. Alabama (42-12) and Washington (39-13) battle tonight in the first game of the best-of-three series with an 8 p.m. CT start time. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Game two is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN. Should a third game be necessary it will be played Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. CT and televised over ESPN2.
The Crimson Tide's win streak in the NCAA Regionals extends to 31-consecutive games. Alabama's last loss in Regional play was in game one of the 2007 round.
This will be the Tide's 12th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Super Regional round. Bama is the only team in the country to appear in all 12 Super Regionals, which began back in 2005. This is the ninth time Alabama has hosted a Super Regional.
Alabama is 3-4 all-time against the Huskies, with the Tide's most recent victories being two games at the 2015 NCAA Regional. This will be the second
Super Regional matchup between the two teams. Bama had previously
traveled to Seattle for the 2007 Super Regional, falling in two games.
-----------------------------------
Burks, Hakansson & Kosgei Are All Headed To
NCAA Track & Field Championships
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
-----------------------------------
Burks, Hakansson & Kosgei Are All Headed To
NCAA Track & Field Championships
Alabama's Quanesha Burks
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Three members of the Alabama track and field teams have qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Day 1 of the NCAA East Regional at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida yesterday. Crimson Tide long jumper Quanesha Burks, hammer thrower Elias Hakansson and 10,000-meter runner Antibahs Kosgei have all qualified for the three-day regional that runs through tomorrow.
Burks just won her second consecutive SEC long jump title on May 13th, and now will the NCAA outdoor title she won a year
ago. Her jump of 21-1 ¼ was the second-best mark in the competition on
Thursday. Hakansson has qualified for the third time in his career (2013,
2014). He earned All-America honors as a freshman in 2013. Hakansson finished
ninth last evening with a mark of 218-4 (66.56m) to advance. As a runner in the evening's final event, Kosgei finished second in the 10,000 meters in a
time of 30:03.59 after hanging with the lead pack throughout the race. Kosgei will be making his first trip to the NCAA
Championships.
The 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships are scheduled for June
8-11 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
A total of six other Alabama athletes advanced to Friday quarterfinals in their events. For the men, Tadashi Pinder has advanced in the 100 meters with a time of 10.50. Jacopo Lahbi advanced in the 800 meters with the third-fastest time in the first round at 1:47.37. Turning the women's team, Olivia Fotopoulou has advanced with a time of 11.60 in the 100 meters. Alex Gholston (52.61) and Domonique Williams (53.02) both advanced in the 400 meters while Kimberley Ficenec
(2:06.57) advanced in the 800 meters. The top 12 finishers in each
event in today’s quarterfinals will advance to the NCAA Championships.
Alabama begins Day 2 of the East Regional at 11 a.m. CT this morning with Holly Julifs and Haley Teel participating in the women’s discus and Kevin Shannon in the men’s javelin.
-----------------------------------
Alabama Softball
McCleney CoSIDA Academic All-American Of The Year
_____
McCleney, Littlejohn Both Academic All-Americans
Graphic/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Those who follow Alabama Crimson Tide softball have heard the names Haylie McCleney and Sydney Littlejohn pretty often this softball season. Now their great play has paid off. For the second-consecutive year, McCleney, a senior, has been named as the CoSIDA Softball Academic All-American of the
Year, while earning first-team honors for the third-straight season. Tide junior Sydney Littlejohn has earned second team Academic All-American honors.
McCleney now joins a very short list, becoming just the third two-time Academic All-American of the Year
since the award's introduction in 1988> She joins Louisiana-Lafayette's Ashley Brignac (2011-12) and Tennessee's Lindsay
Schutzler (2006-07). McCleney and former Crimson Tider Kayla Braud are the only players in Alabama softball history to be named a first team Academic All-American three
times.
Littlejohn received the second-team honor for the first time in her career, giving Alabama at least two Academic All-Americans in four of the last five seasons. Alabama, Oregon and Northwestern are the only schools with multiple Academic All-Americans this season.
McCleney holds a 4.0 cumulative grade point average in exercise science. She is the Southeastern Conference's H. Boyd McWhorter Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year this season and was the winner of the SEC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor last year. Littlejohn owns a 3.78 GPA in human performance exercise science and is a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
-----------------------------------
Tuscaloosa Softball Super Regional Holds Press Conference
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The University of Alabama softball team participated in the 2016 NCAA Tuscaloosa Softball Super Regional yesterday afternoon at Roads Stadium.
The media were able to talk with and ask various questions of those representing the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Washington Huskies.
Alabama head softball coach Patrick Murphy formally welcomed all participants. Concerning the Washington Huskies he said, "I
would love to welcome Washington back. It’s been a rarity to have
somebody two years in a row. I credit Coach Heather Tarr. She started
the whole home and away thing, we are going host them next year during
the regular season and then we are going to go to them in 2018. I just
respect her for even asking to come here. So, it’s going to be three
years in a row that we get to see Washington. It’s becoming kind of a
coast-to-coast rivalry and I’m sure it’s going to be a very, very
competitive super regional."
On facing Washington in the regional opener, Haylie McCleney said, "I don't think last year really means anything other than we know what they have. They are a really good offensive team. They have a lot of power numbers especially with Ali Aguilar at the top of that with 21 home runs, that’s incredible. In pitching, they are really deep and they have four pitchers that can throw at any time. [Taran] Alvelo presents a challenge throwing hard and they offset that with Madi Schreyer throwing down in the zone. I think it will be a good challenge for us. We’re excited."
Chandler Dare commented, "Last year is in the past. So, we don’t think about what we did last
year. The mindset is on this year and what we are going to do to be
successful this weekend. They are a great team with great offense and
defense. It’s going to be a great series."
Later Washington Huskies head coach Heather Tarr addressed the press. In her opening statement she said, "We are happy to be back and have an opportunity to play in a super
regional. We ended at regionals last year, so we were destined to find
our way to super regionals. I love our team this year. I love the
combination of student-athletes that we have. You have to remember that
these guys are still student-athletes. We are in spring quarter and we
have two and a half weeks left of it. We had to get out here to play,
but obviously they are serious in academics and doing their thing like
they normally do. I am really proud of our team for that. For being able
to compensate and adjust, get on the road and get out here, it’s not
easy to get here. We are excited to play. We can’t wait to get on the
field tomorrow, trust our preparation and get out there and go for it."
Concerning this year's team Tarr said, "Obviously we brought in two new arms this year. Taran Alvelo from Carroll, Ohio
and Madi Schreyer, a local product for us, but spent some time at
Stanford University. The addition is two new arms, but I think our team
as a whole is a great group. We are well-led and work hard. Obviously,
pitching is a huge key to success in softball, but in general we are a
good team overall."
Ali Aguilar of the Huskies said, "We are excited. Obviously, we played last year in regionals and we ended
here. So, we have some emotions coming back, but we are definitely
confident coming in. We played at LSU [this year] so it’s always good
competition coming to play the SEC."
------------------------------------
Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Exits SEC Tournament
_____
Falls To Florida Gators 5-4
Alabama Baseball Closes Out SEC Tournament
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Robert Sutton
The Alabama Crimson Tide made an early exit from the 2016 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament yesterday as the No. 4 Florida Gators broke a tie score in the 8th inning and held on for the 5-4 victory. The tournament is being played, perhaps for the last year, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. The Tide falls to 32-26 on the season, and 1-2 in the SEC postseason tournament.
"Jake (Walters) has been so good for us all year, but he just didn't have the command today that he's had throughout the course of the season," Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard stated. "With that being said, the offense was able to put together a good inning (in the third) and take the lead. (Matt Foster) was tremendous and gave us a chance throughout the course of the game, but we just couldn't muster up any offense. Florida is obviously one of the top-ranked teams in the country, and they proved that today."
On five different occasions the the two teams either changed leads or were tied during the course of the game. Alabama starting pitcher Matt Foster put in a career-high 5.0 innings of pitching scoreless baseball, allowing three hits, two walks and three strike outs.
With the loss Alabama's run in the conference tournament comes to a close. The Tide must now await a possible postseason berth in an NCAA Regional, with the seedings being announced on Monday.
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
-----------------------------------
Tennis Is Done For This Season For Bama's Men
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Alabama men's tennis head coach George Housack said, "It was a tough day for the Tide. We had good preparation coming in and got beat. Congratulations to our opponents. We’re happy we could represent our school at such a special event."
Housack continued, "Now it's time for a little break and then back to getting better. We have a good group of players with plenty of ability and can continue to learn how to be tremendous competitors. As Coach Nick Saban told me four years ago, we have to keep moving the chains to get ahead, and that’s exactly what we will do."
-----------------------------------
Alabama Women's Tennis
Routliffe Comes Up Short In NCAA Singles Championship
Erin Routliffe
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The season has ended for Alabama junior Erin Routliffe. Her run at the 2016 NCAA Singles Championship came to a close on Thursday with a
6-0, 5-7, 6-1 loss to Florida Gator junior Belinda Woolcock in the round of 32
at the Case Tennis Center.
