Alabama Diver Dakota Toner Receives Honor
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| Dakota Toner Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – University of Alabama Crimson Tide diver Dakota Toner has been selected as one of five Southeastern Conference student-athletes to will take part in the NCAA's Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis June 1-4. A committee from within the NCAA membership chose more than 200 student-athletes nationwide to take part in the forum.
NCAA executive vice president of education and community engagement and chief inclusion officer, Bernard Franklin, said, "Supporting NCAA student-athlete leaders with their education is a key goal for the Association. Our Career in Sports Forum puts student-athletes and postgraduate scholarship recipients in a non-traditional academic setting where they can learn directly from successful leaders, which can have a positive impact on their future after graduation."
Toner is a three-year NCAA Zone B Championship competitor who graduated in May with a degree in consumer sciences with a concentration in consumer affairs while carrying a career grade point average of 3.88. A multiple President's List (4.0 grade point average) honoree, Toner was a four-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and also earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honors during her time with the Crimson Tide.
One of more than 45 annual conferences and seminars organized and directed by the NCAA leadership development department, the Career in Sports Forum provides college athletes with a broader scope of the career tracks available within the sports business, with the primary focus on college athletics. The forum provides student-athletes interactive experiences with successful individuals in the sports business and a peek into their day-to-day duties and responsibilities.
The NCAA leadership development department provides professional and personal development for the entire Association, including student-athletes, coaches and administrators, through accessible resources, strategic partnerships and annual customized programming at little or no cost to the membership. For more information, please go to ncaa.org/leadershipdevelopment.
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Erin Routliffe & Maddie Pothoff Fall Short At
NCAA Women's Doubles National Championship
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
ATHENS, Georgia – The tennis season ended yesterday for the University of Alabama's fifth-ranked doubles duo in senior Erin Routliffe and freshman Maddie Pothoff. Bama's beauties lost a 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-7 decision to the Ohio State Buckeyes 18th-ranked doubles team consisting of Francesca Di Lorenzo and Miho Kowase in the 2017 NCAA Women's Tennis Doubles National Championship on Monday afternoon at the University of Georgia competing at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
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Crimson Tide's Jonathan Hardee
Finishes 19th At NCAA Men's Golf National Championships
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
SUGAR GROVE, Illinois – Calling it a "great experience", University of Alabama men's golfer Jonathan Hardee finished in a tie for 19th overall at the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf National Championships. Hardee shot a four day total of even par 288 (69-75-67-77), and was one of only 22 golfers in the 156-man field to finish the event at even par or better.
High winds and 30-mile an hour gusts played havoc with Monday's play at the par 72, 7,300-yard Rich Harvest Farms course. Because of these conditions,only four of the 84 golfers who advanced to the championships' final round were able to finish below par. Hardee picked up three birdies on the day to go along with six bogeys and a double bogey on his way to a 5-over par 77.
Hardee commented, "It was a tough day out there today. The beginning of the round was honestly just brutal. The first six or seven holes were really tough. Overall, it was a good tournament for me, but a little disappointing way to finish. I felt I played better than what my score was. I just needed another bounce here or there and a couple of close putts to drop and maybe it would have been a little different."
Braden Thornberry, representing the Ole Miss Rebels, was one of Hardee's playing partner and claimed medalist medalist honors in the championships with an 11-under par 277, while his other playing partner, Mason Overstreet of Arkansas, finished second at 7-under par 281.
Hardee said, "The opportunity to play today was awesome. I couldn't ask for anything more than having the chance to play as an individual. I was able to play in the last group alongside some great players and having my teammates and family there supporting me was a great feeling. I was trying to enjoy myself as much as I could. It was a great experience."
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Looking At The Potential 2017 College Football Playoff
So, more numbers for the 2017 season are now trickling in as to the wins/losses and who might we expect to be in this year's College Football Playoff. Thus far the general consensus has three teams in this year, with the fourth up for debate.
All-in-all, most are saying the playoff this year will have the University of Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State in. All three teams are predicted at 10.5 wins out of the regular-season schedule. This means no conference championships are factored in, though all three are expected to win their respective conference championships. (The Crimson Tide has the best odds of surpassing the 10.5 win estimation.) The fourth slot seems to be the sticking point.
Wisconsin appears to be the team the closest to be in the mix. The Badgers are figured to be within one win of the other three. However, the teams with the best chance to fill that fourth slot in the College Football Playoff appears to be Washington, Oklahoma and USC since no teams would be ranked above them from their own respective conferences. However, if all three of the last group have identical records, look for Washington to be out of the running since the Huskies have the weaker record.
Because of the schedules, most now predict the final four to be the Alabama Crimson Tide, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Florida State.
