TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of Georgia Tech Athletics
FROM: Dan Radakovich, Georgia Tech Director of Athletics
It’s a great day to be a Yellow Jacket! Thanks to Coach Danny Hall and the Tech baseball team, which completed the 2012 series win over the Georgia Bulldogs with an 8-6 victory at Russ Chandler Stadium Wednesday night. This win followed our exciting 4-3 triumph in front of nearly 20,000 fans at Turner Field a couple of weeks back. This marks the third straight season we’ve won the series vs. UGA, and Danny Hall improved his record against the Dawgs to 39-29 in 19 seasons.
I had an opportunity last night to visit with an inspiring group of young people who are part of an organization called L.E.A.D., founded and administered by C.J. Stewart and his wife Kelli. The acronym stands for Launching, Exposing, Advising and Directing, LEAD’s mission is to provide at-risk, inner-city youth males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball. Last night we were fortunate they chose Russ Chandler Stadium for their annual “Hats Off” event.
By providing these young men with access to the necessary athletic, academic and civic resources, C.J. and Kelli are preparing them to be ambassadors in their communities and the world. Last night more than 100 ambassadors received a tour of our baseball facilities, enjoyed a pizza tailgate party and heard inspirational tales from notable Tech alums like Taz Anderson, Beau King and Abby Perez (son and daughter of the late Kim King), Victor Menocal (Excel Sports Management) and Tucker Barr (Arnall, Golden, and Gregory, LLP).
For more information about C.J. and Kelli’s great work go to www.Lead2Legacy.org.
Men’s Basketball Seat Selection Begins Soon
We are very close to finalizing the window for our men’s basketball seat-selection process for the new McCamish Pavilion. Our ticket office will be communicating with all men’s basketball season ticket holders next week with information about the selection process. At this time, we anticipate the selection process will begin May 21 and continue through June 28. You’ll personally select your own seats through the online seat-selection program at a date and time we will provide for you. This information will come to you both via e-mail and direct mail with all of the instructions on the various ways to make your selection.
You will be able to select your seats at a specific time based on your Alexander-Tharpe (A-T) priority and using a state-of-the-art 3D seating diagram of McCamish Pavilion. You will be able to select online from your computer (recommended), online with telephone assistance during normal business hours, in-person with an appointment at your selected time, or by using a proxy in our ticket office or the A-T office. All of this will be explained in detail in the materials you receive. For more information about the selection process and complete details on McCamish Pavilion go to www.GTMcCamishPavilion.com.
Spring Caravan is Underway
Our spring Caravan is off to a nice start thanks to a very enjoyable evening in Augusta earlier this week. It was our first time to take the Caravan to Augusta and I enjoyed visiting with so many nice folks who support the Jackets. Coaches Paul Johnson, Brian Gregory and MaChelle Joseph, along with Wes Durham and I are on our way to Columbus tonight for an appearance at the Cunningham Center at Columbus State University. All of our events start with a social at 6 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. Our Atlanta stop will take place May 22 at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center, and we’ll wrap-up the tour at The Farm Country Club in Dalton May 29. For more information on the Caravan and to send us an RSVP go to www.ramblinwreck.com. Under the “Ticket” tab, click on 2012 Caravan.
Golfers Headed to Oklahoma as No. 2 Seed
Coach Bruce Heppler and Georgia Tech’s golf team learned Monday that it will be the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Norman (Okla.) Regional, May 17-19 at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
The Yellow Jackets, who earned an automatic berth by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last month, are playing in an NCAA regional for the 15th straight year and for the 21st time in the 23 years the NCAA has used a regional qualifying format. They are part of a regional field that includes 14 teams and five individuals. The top five teams advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament at Riviera Country Club in California the first week of June.
The full Norman Regional field, in order of seed, includes the nation’s top-ranked team in Texas, the Yellow Jackets, 13th-ranked Washington, No. 23 Florida State, No. 31 Oklahoma (host), No. 36 Saint Mary’s, Calif. (West Coast Conference champion), No. 35 Illinois (Big Ten Conference Champion), No. 48 Middle Tennessee State, No. 49 South Carolina, San Diego, Arizona, Sacramento State (America Sky Men’s Golf Conference champion), IUPUI (Summit League champion) and Loyola-Chicago (Horizon League champion).
Softball in Action Today at ACC Tournament
After a 12-8 ACC regular season, Coach Sharon Perkins and the Georgia Tech softball team has earned the No. 3 seed and faces No. 6 seed Virginia (26-24, 8-13) in the first game of the ACC tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C., today at noon. The game will be broadcast live on RSN.
The Yellow Jackets (33-21, 12-8) finished third after taking two of three games from Virginia Tech in their ACC series finale April 28-29 to earn the tie-breaker over the Hokies.
Here’s the full schedule along with TV coverage opportunities for the ACC Softball Championship.
Thursday, May 10
Game 1: #3 Georgia Tech vs. #6 Virginia, Noon, RSN
Game 2: #2 Florida State vs. #7 NC State, 2:30 p.m., RSN
Game 3: #1 North Carolina vs. #8 Boston College, 5 p.m., ESPN3
Game 4: #4 Virginia Tech vs. #5 Maryland, 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Friday, May 11
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 1 p.m., RSN
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 3:30 p.m., RSN
Saturday, May 12
Championship Game: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 4 p.m., ESPN
Women’s Tennis in NCAA Regionals Again
Coach Bryan Shelton and our women’s tennis team begin play in their NCAA Regional Friday at 2 p.m. in Tuscaloosa (Ala.). The first-round opponent is Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, senior Jillian O’Neill and sophomore Alex Anghelescu earned at-large bids to the 2012 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships May 23-28 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
O’Neill earned a top-16 seed in the singles championship and, along with Anghelescu, was selected to the doubles championship when both fields were announced by the NCAA.
