GP THE GEORGIA PLAYBOOK
THIRD ISSUE MAY 2011 MICHAEL BENNETT
Why the sophomore receiver is ready to step up and shine between the hedges UGA plays host to this year’s SEC Championships. Find out who to look out for as the men’s and women’s team fight for titles
ONWARD TO OMAHA
It hasn’t been easy, but this year’s baseball team is hungry to make it back to the College World Series UGA golfer Russell Henley goes up against the pros and wins
SAUDIO DOUMBIA
The French native talks about his long journey to Athens and how he’s ready to represent UGA tennis at nationals
+ Men’s track & field sprint coach
Jon Stuart gives lessons in speed
Contents
contributors Creator/Graphic Design: Justin Gaymon A.J Papas: Men’s and women’s golf rundown Karthik Adimula: Baseball rundown Emily Houston: Men’s and women’s tennis rundown Britteny Hubbard: Softball interviews Jordan Thomas: Interview with Michael Bennett Eve Machovec: The Open Water
6 The Rundowns Give Highlights on all In-Season UGA Sports 16 ALL-SEC Softball Captain Megan Wiggans Talks Nationals and Heading to the Pros 20 Who Got Next: A Look at UGA’s Receivers 28 UGA Hosts This Year’s Track & Field SEC Championships 30 Three Bulldog Captains Talk Nationals and Memories 32 Men’s Track & Field Sprint Coach Jon Stuart Gives Lessons in Speed 34 Onward to Omaha
Melanie Watson: Onward to Omaha Lauren Black: Editing Blame the rest on Justin Gaymon Photographers: Ethan Treacy Justin Gaymon All unmentioned photos are courtesy of Georgia Sports Communication
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May 2011
Editor’s Letter We’re finally here, three issues in and still going strong. I’m just glad the countless hours and sleepless nights that I’ve put into this magazine are paying off. The readership and fan base is constantly growing, and I have little doubt that The Georgia Playbook will soon become a household name among UGA sports fans. This past month has also been a good one for me athletically. I started the month running a 4x4 on the USA blue team at Penn Relays. I ran one of the fastest splits of the day and ended up bringing our team from 4th to 3rd by passing a runner from Bermuda. USA red won the event with Bahamas taking 2nd and my team placing 3rd. I went on a week later to run my main event, the 400 hurdles in Kingston at the Jamaica Invitational. The meet was packed with 50,000 fans and I ended up having a great race. I won, beating a few Olympians and almost hitting a personal record. My time of 48.54 was the fastest I’ve ran since I took 4th at the 2008 Olympic trials, running 48.45. I’ll be running in Rome, Ostrava, and New York before heading to US Nationals in June. There I’ll be competing for a spot on the US World Championship team. I’m going for it. You can get more on me and my travels as a professional track athlete at my blog www.justingaymon.tumblr.com Justin Gaymon
The Rundowns
Mid April-Mid May Coverage The softball team’s start to this year’s season can only be described as dominant. After the 1st few weeks of the season, the team obtained their 1st number one ranking in program history, but since then has fallen to the number eight spot behind rivals Florida and Tennessee. Their recent losses to Auburn and Arkansas may have flawed their otherwise consistent schedule, but the lows have only made the team stronger and more determined to prove that they are deserving of a national title. They proved this during their last series win over Mississippi State on May 8th. The Dawgs outscored Mississippi 2211. The final game was scored 10-2 and started with Britteny Hubbard sending a solo home run deep over left field. Ashley Razey decided to one-up her teammate as she drilled a three run homer that brought two other Dawgs home in the bottom of the 3rd. Hubbard accepted Razey’s home run challene and sent another one over the fence right after Razey. Brianna Hesson decided to join the home run derby, smacking a two-run home run over left field in the bottom of the 4th leaving the Dawgs one away from tying the team’s singegame home run record. The game ended on a mercy rule RBI by Ashley Pauly that brought Hubbard home and the crowd into cheers. The team will head into NCAA regionals on May 20th with Super Regionals starting on 28th, and the World Series on June 2nd.
The Diamond Dogs hit the ground running in April with seven consecutive wins against Mississippi State, Charleston Southern, and Ole Miss. By mid-month, the Dogs had their momentum slowed down by fierce rival number nine Georgia Tech and number four Florida. Keeping a 12:7 ratio of wins to losses in April, Georgia ended the month on a sweet note by taking down number 14 Razorbacks 3 - 0 at Foley Field. Michael Palazzone, a Georgia junior, pitched an amazing eight shutout innings against the Razorbacks. Palazzone was relieved in the 9th inning by junior, Tyler Maloof, who capped the victory with his NCAA leading 15th save. Palazzone went on to receive SEC pitcher of the week honors. The Diamond Dawgs next series was against the Auburn Tigers. The team started the series down two games to nil, but went on to display their tenacity by saving a series sweep. During the third game, the team rallied behind from a eight run first inning deficit to win it in the ninth 1411. Though they did lose the series, that last game proved that this team is tough and determined to fight to the end. Georgia looks to turn up the heat against Kentucky, Kennesaw State, and Vanderbilt before entering the SEC Tournament in Hoover, AL starting on May 25th. The Dawgs failed to make the tournament last seaon, but this year has their eyes on the prize.
Coming off an 8th place ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, the Bulldog women continue to show success on the court through out the late season. The team recently earned an NCAA Championship at large bid and will get to show off their skills to a home crowd in Athens, Georgia. The Bulldogs number 8 seed will allow the team to make its 25th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Tennis Championships. The lady bulldogs will kick off the NCAA tournament against Marist on Saturday May 14th at noon. With an at home advantage the team is projected to do big things. As the bulldogs look forward to NCAA, it is important to look back at the season as well. Although Georgia fell 4-1 to Tennessee in the semifinals of the SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament, they have not come up short of success. Recently, the Bulldogs had five members earn All-Southern Conference honors. Chelsey Gullickson and freshman Maho Kowase were named First Team All- SEC and senior Cameron Ellis, freshman Kate Fuller, and Lilly Kimbell were not far behind, earning Second Team All-SEC honors. Georgia standout Chelsey Gullikson and Kate Fuller also earned bids to the NCAA Individual Tennis Championship. Gullickson is a defending NCAA single champion and is currently ranked No. 25 in the nation. The NCAA team Championships will be on May 19-24 at Stanford University. The NCAA singles and doubles championships will be follow on May 25-30.
After claiming the regular SEC championship title at the Dan Magile Tennis Complex the Bulldogs are excited and ready to roll into the NCAA Championships. The big dogs not only claimed the highly anticipated SEC title but also had five men honored by the Southeastern Conference. Senior Javier Garrapiz and Wil Spencer were named first team All-SEC and senior Drake Bernstein and junior Sadio Doumbia played a close second earning second team all SEC Honors. The Georgia men’s tennis program is no stranger to success. The bulldogs are making their 33rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships. The Georgia men’s tennis team was awarded an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA Championship on their home turf of Athens Georgia. The Bulldogs are currently ranked no 6. “You play hard all season for hopefully the reward of hosting the first and second rounds. It’s for your guys to get to play at home and especially for our seniors to have two more matches here. It’s also great for our fans around the area and in the community who support us. Hopefully they’ll get to see some great tennis.” said head coach, Manuel Diaz. Heading into the championships the Bulldogs have individual as well as team success. Georgia’s Sadio Doumbia, Javier Garrapiz and Will Spencer earned singles bids to the NCAA Championships in Palo Alto, California. The Georgia men will battle in Athens, Georgia in hopes of advancing out of the Regional round and earning themselves a spot at Palo Alto on May 19.
The Men’s track and field team has been gearing up for one of the most inportant meets of the season: the SEC Championships. UGA will be hosting this year’s Championships, the SEC meet will once again bring out the fastest times, highest jumps, and furthest throws out of all the NCAA conferences. SEC and National Champion titleholder, Torrin Lawrence, will be leading the men’s sprint squad as he looks to place highly in 200 meterdash, 400 meter- dash, 4x4 meterrelay, and 4x100 meter-relay. Junior John Smith will be reaching for a podium finish in the pole vault while junior Brian Moore looks to carry on the UGA tradition of javelin dominance and obtain his second SEC title in the event. Georgia newcomers Teanor Davilor and Justin Welch will be reaching for respective gold medals in the shot put and hammer throw. The men’s team is full of many other stars and is striving for their first conference victory since the 1930s. With the help of the home crowd, they have a good shot of getting what they want.
Before starting the conference championships the women’s track and field team headed to Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Junior Coleen Felix took third in javelin (156 feet, 2 inches) and the distance medley relay team, comprised of Stella Christoforow, Odeika Bent, Megan Malasarte, and Ashley Shiver, took 5th in the event finishing in 11:34.14. Senior Bridget Lyons displayed her dominance in the 10,000 meter-run by setting a personal best pace of 33:31.14 for the win. Lyons is expected to be one of the many women who will lead this year’s team at the home SEC Championship meet on May 12-15th. The team is striving for a top three finish and hopes to get wins out of Saniel Atkinson in the high jump, Hilenn James in the shot put, Colleen Felix in the triple jump, and Nicole Lomnicka in the hammer throw.
Arriving in Simon’s Island, Georgia’s men’s golf began the SEC Championship weekend with the hope of facing off against Florida. While 2010 Freshman of the Year, Bryden Macpherson, started the 3-day competition off strong with 1-under-par 69, it was ultimately seniors English, Henley, and Hudson that shot under par, keeping Georgia competitive, in the final round of the tournament. At the end of Day 1, Georgia trailed Florida by only 7 shot; the closest they managed to get to their rivals during the championship The Bulldogs ended up 4th in the Championships with a score of 22over 862. Florida’s team placed first with 8-over 848. Despite their loss, Georgia looks optimistically toward their next opportunity at the NCAA Regional starting May 19.
The women’s golf team had a slow start at their NCAA West Regionals in Auburn, Washington last week. With 24 teams competing, the women landed themselves in 18th place after the first day of competition. They needed to finish among the top 8 teams in order to advance to the NCAA Championships this month. By the end of Day 3, they had managed to pull themselves up to the 14th spot, but were 18 strokes away from advancing. If you’re hoping for some silver living, you’ll be pleased to know that one Lady Bulldog, Marta Silva Zamora, will be golfing in the Championships. Outside of the top 8 teams, NCAA accepts the 2 top-scoring individuals. Zamora, always a consistent performer, lived up to her role as the team star and earned herself a spot in the Championships. She played well, finishing the tournament with 3-over 219. Sophomore Emilie Burger also shone brightly, outperforming Zamora on Days 1 and 2, and barely missed the 2nd individual spot for the Championships, which came down to an 18th hole bogey on Saturday. The Playbook will keep an eye on Zamora as she goes for the W at the NCAA Championships, which take place at Texas A&M’s course this year.
T h e
A L L - S E C
S l u g g e r
Megan Wiggins
talk s rankings, goals, and pl aying for the pr os
Losing the Number One ranking: I think it was a good thing. I think it made us a better team knowing we’re not where we should be at the end of the season. [Our losses] have helped us find out things we need to get better and capitalize on. When you lose it makes you a better and stronger team, and I think that’s what it did. Now we can just fight to be #1 at the end. The postseason: As a team, I’d say our goal is to do everything we can to get to the last game and win it. We need to play Georgia softball. We’ve experienced good and bad. I think we’re a great team and everyone has the same goal in their head right now. As a player I want to strive to get better every day and work so I can look back and be a part of a team that made history.
being drafted for the pros: I’m really excited and I can’t wait to play at the next level and I get to play with Goler. It’s just something that you think about on a daily basis now because it’s actually going to happen. It makes you think back to all the times you could have given up in the past. It helps you as a person to know that your hard work has paid off and shows one of your dreams coming true. Playing For USA: Well, it’s always been a goal of mine. Before I even knew about the pro-team, I really wanted to play for the USA team and that’s always been a dream of mine...But with the whole ordeal of the Olympic team (taking softball out of the Olympics) that’s probably not going to happen.
83
May’s Lucky Numbers Michael Palazzone was named SEC pitcher of the week after throwing eight shutout innings against number 14 ranked Arkansas.
7
The Georgia equestrian team’s three-time national title streak recently came to close. The team fell to Auburn by just a few points 51-49
The men’s and women’s track and field team will enter the home SEC Championships with seven athletes seeded in the numero uno position.
21
Tailback Washaun Ealey recently received an unconditional release to transfer to another school in 2011. He played in a total of 21 UGA games.
6
Six Bulldogs were selected in this year’s NFL draft. A.J. Green 1st round Bengals, Kris Durham 4th round Seattle, Clint Boling, 4th round Bengals, Justin Houston 4th round Kansas City, Akeem Dent 4th round Atlanta, Shaun Chapas 7th round Dallas.
Heading into the SEC tournament, the No. 4 ranked Georgia softball team has outscored their opponents 265-72. Tripling your opponents runs sounds like an amazing feat to me, but to the women on the team, it’s just playing good ol’ fashioned Georgia softball. Here’s how they do it: ALISA GOLER: Georgia Softball in my opinion is playing with your heart and every ounce of energy you have. I can’t imagine playing on any other team or different environment, but we have fun because we love softball and we get to play it...we just have the greatest team synergy because of that. I mean, how often do you get to take the field with nine of your best friends? It’s pretty rare that you get that opportunity. I think that most of us, especially the seniors, realize that. BRIANNA HESSON: We have a different energy, a different swagger about us. I think a lot of it has to do with our team chemistry. There are a lot of college coaches that have asked our coach how she taught us to play the way we play: with energy and having fun. You don’t get taught that. We come out and let our hair hang down and I think that’s just a part of Georgia Softball.
On May 14th, the 18th ranked Georgia women’s tennis team will be making their 25th consecutive NCAA Tennis Championship appearance. The team finished the regular season 16-4 and will kick of the tourney at home against Marist (13-7.) Nadja Gillchrist, one the team’s leading players talks about heading into the tournament.
THE SUMMER SWING Nadja Gilchrist talks about surprising the field at this year’s NCAA tournament.
On playing the first two rounds of the Championships at home: I’m really excited that we get to have the first couple rounds my senior year at home. Not a lot of people get that advantage
and I know we can do some damage. I’m just really excited to play at home in front of the fans. Biggest strength heading into the tournament: I’ve been in and out with an injured elbow and wrist, but am ready to play now. My major strength is being healthy and people not knowing it. It’ll be like a surprise attack One thing you want to get out of the tournament: Winning the team tournament. That’s what I want to do. That’s all I want to do.
ATHLETE OF THE MONTH RUSSELL HENLEY The kid goes up against the pros and wins
Georgia golfer Russell Henley made history as he become only one of two amateurs to ever win a Nationwide Tour tournament. The professional event took place on May 8th on UGA’s golf course. Competing against the pros, Henley entered the match a true underdawg, a fairly new position to the young shooter. The Georgia golfer used the support of the home crowd to overtake the field on the third day of competition, finishing 3-under par. Henley battled to the end with Troy Kelly, a pro since 2003 who finished 1-under.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Henley said. “Just getting to play in this golf tournament was a tremendous opportunity, and to win it means the world to me. My goal is to be a professional golfer, and this reinforces to me that I can compete at the professional level.” The only set-back was that Henley was forced to forfeit the $99,000 first-place prize money to keep his amateur status. Kelly, the runner-up happily accepted the check. Henley did however get to keep a pretty cool looking trophy.
? WHO GOT NEXT
A LOOK AT THE RECEIVERS
Tavaress King, Justin Scott Wesley, above) are three likely targets for
MARLON BROWN (JR) The cheers turned to jeers as Marlon Brown, who came to UGA as one of the nations highest ranked receivers failed to live up to expectations. During his freshman year Brown recorded just two receptions for 15 yards. He went on to show improvements during his sophomore season, receiving the team’s most improved offensive player of the year award. Hopefully his progression will continue and Brown will have the break out season a lot of fans have been waiting for. TAVARESS KING (JR) As the leading returning receiver, 27 receptions for 504 yards, it looks like Tavarres King will be the go to guy at the position. King has been recently talking a lot about stepping up as a leader stating, “Being a leader is an every-day thing…That’s what I’ve been pushing myself to do, in the weight room, in the classroom, on and off the field. It’s just grinding, really, and making sure everybody’s right there with me.”
RANTAVIOUS WOOTEN (JR) Another guy that holds unlocked potential. In two seasons he’s only been able to ammass 17 receptions for 3 touchdowns, but did however have to deal with the switch from QB to receiver and a plethora of various injuries. But despite all that, Wooten has shown sparks of tremendous athletic ability. He’s also shown his versatility, returning kicks and picking up a few rushing yards here and there. This guys due for a breakout season. MALCOM Mitchell (FR) A pure athlete that could stand out at a number of positions. He has the 4.4 speed, sure hands, and aggressive attitude needed to go up and grab tough passes in traffic.
JUSTIN SCOTT WESLEY (FR) The 6-foot, 200 pounder is A 100 and 200-meter AA Peach state champion. Guess that’s why many consider him to be “the fastest football player in Georgia.” He’s clocked a 10.3 in the 100-meter dash. That’s fast enough to get him into the SEC track and field finals in the event. The problem is that Wesley has gained a little mid-section weight since running those times. MICHAEL BENNETT (RFR) With the early departures A.J. Green and the senior fourth-round pick Kris Durham, Michael Bennett has the timely opportunity to help pick up the slack at the wide-receiver position and become a key contributor to the team.
Last year, Bennett redshirted and learned from the older guys as he worked in with the scout team at During his senior year at Voldosta High, Mitchell hauled in 77 passes for practice and watched from the sidelines in games. 1,419 yards. He’s one of the many Dream Teamers that’s expected to 2011 may be Bennett’s time to shine. come in and make an immediate He has been praised by teammates impact. and coaches for his spring practices progress and is now in the position to be a mojor contributor to the UGA receiving core. Luckily, we had some time to sit down and catch up with the young up-andcomer.
and Rantavious Wooten (pictured quarterback Aaron Murray this fall.
UGA RECEIVERS
GP GP: How have you grown as an athlete and person from being here? Bennett: As an athlete, just bigger, stronger, faster, just normal stuff, you know. One, my body’s just maturing more and two, the strength and conditioning program is doing a good job. And then my receiver skills have gotten a lot better, my fundamentals, blocking, running routes and stuff. Coach Ball is a big fundamental guy. And then as a person, just learning how to manage my time. We got study hall, practice, school, meetings. Just stocked up all day, so you gotta manage your time well to get everything done.
GP: What would you consider some of your strengths? Bennett: Strengths, just…discipline. I mean I feel like I can take coaching pretty well. I feel like I can go up and get the ball at the highest point. I have good hands. GP: Weaknesses? Bennett: Weaknesses, I got a lot of those. I’m not a very good blocker, gotta work on that. I don’t know, just good block technique, need to work on my blocking, need to work on my route running or I said this was a strength and as a weakness
because like Coach is always getting on me. I mean like getting off the press is a big thing because corners in the SEC are gonna… GP: Jam you non-stop, always in your face? Bennett: Exactly, if you don’t know what you’re doing when you get up to that line, you’re gonna be screwed. GP: What is the one thing that you learned from last season that you will take with you to get better for next year? Bennett: I redshirted last year, so I did a lot of scout team stuff. A lot of watching from the sidelines of games and stuff. And I just learned that losing sucks and I don’t want to do that anymore, so this year I’ll just take it upon myself to be the best I can be to get the team to get some wins.
GP: What do you believe the team was missing or needed in order to become an elite contender in the SEC? Bennett: We were missing... some leadership probably, senior leadership. We were missing…the ability to finish, in the fourth quarter. We were close in about five of those games. So…if we just learn to finish, get some leadership, we, I don’t know just get some toughness, I guess. We’ll be a contender, and we were a good contender last year with A.J., you know, and Justin Houston was good, but…we’ll be alright this year. GP: How did it feel to practice, and be around the likes of A.J. Green, Justin Houston, and Akeem Dent on a daily basis? Bennett: Well, A.J. taught me a lot as a receiver. He’s a really just cool guy in general. Just making all those crazy catches and everything, I mean he’s unbelievable to watch, but when I ran a route, sometimes he’d just come over and give me a pointer or two about what to do. And just to be around talented players like that every day is… mind-boggling, but you just gotta step up to the occasion, you know. Just imagine, Justin Houston is dropping back, and he’s about to knock the crap out of you. You gotta suck it up, you know? Continued on next page..
MEMORABLES Hines Ward 1994–1997 His 149 career receptions for 1,965 yards placed him second in team history. He also played tailback and totaled 3,870 allpurpose yards, second only to Herschel Walker in Bulldogs history. Lindsay Scott 1978-1981 Lindsay Scott earned himself a spot on the Sanford pre-game highlight reel with his game saving 75-yard touchdawn against Florida in 1980. Easily one of the greatest moments in Georgia sports history. That play kept Georgia undefeated and lead to the team winning a national title that year. A.J. Green 2008-2010 Began to truely shine during his 4th collegiate game against Arizona state back in 2008. But many forget he was a star before that. In high school, Green racked up 5,373 career receiving yards with 279 receptions. He’s still listed as 2nd in receiving yards and 4th in receptions by the National Federation of High School Football.
GP: What did you learn from the older guys, specifically A.J. and Kris? Michael Bennett: Kris kind of took me under his wing soon as I got here because he understood the white boy receiver struggle, so he showed me a lot. He showed me the ropes , some of the ins and outs and stuff. A.J., I mean we had a strong relationship, and you know me and Kris really got along well so Kris was definitely somebody I looked up to on the team.
GP: What’s the pressure like of some people expecting you to fill the shoes of guys like A.J and Kris? Michael Bennett: Well… I’m not A.J. I’ll tell you that straight up. I’m not A.J. I’ll never be A.J. so…I know my capabilities but I mean I definitely have room to improve so. They’re big shoes to fill but at the same time I’m just gonna try to play… how I play. Just be me, you know. I’m not going to try to be A.J. because I know I can’t, but I can still produce for the team.
FROM PARIS WITH LOVE Saudio Doumbia talks Tennis, France, and Creme Brulee Photos coutesy of Georgia Sports Communication Well...Paris airport anyway. Saudio Doumbia, the Borderes, France native, dreamed of playing in the NCAA but began his American tennis career at The University of Auburn Montgomery after one of his classes failed to transfer, making him NCAA Ineligible. While at Montgomery, an NAIA school, Doumbia compiled a 21-1 match record and lead the team to a league Championship.
After spending two years at Montgomery Doumbia decided to transfer, but admits that at the time, Georgia was not on his mind. GP: So how did you end up at UGA? Doumbia: I didn’t want to come here at first. I never expected to come here but my coach at
NCAA BOUND Saudio Doumbia along with teammates Javier Garrapiz, and Will Spencer have all earned bids to the singles divison of the NCAA Tennis Championships. Each of these Bulldogs have earned All-SEC honors this season and are looking to make their mark on the 64-player field. The match begins on May 25th, and is held in Palo Alto, California. Montgomery talked me into visiting and told me to be nice. After talking to the coach here I said to myself, ok maybe I need to come here. GP: What made you change your mind? Doumbia: The first thing is the history of the program. Georgia is about tennis. John Isner and other great players amazed me. This is the place to be. The facilities were really nice. Everything was amazing and it seemed like a good place to practice and study tennis. I wanted to come here and play for this school because Georgia is more than tennis, it’s a family and when you play for them you’re making history. It’s a big thing. GP: So what are some of the differences between here and Montgomery? Doumbia: At Montgomery there
were only five people coming to matches. Here we have 2,000 coming to matches. Montgomery had no indoor courts…This is like a different world. GP: How have you grown as a player from being here? Doumbia: My serve and volley has improved a lot. We play a lot of doubles. I’m getting stronger physically too because we practice and condition a lot. GP: What are your goals as a Bulldog? Doumbia: I don’t have many personal goals, just team goals. We can win nationals indoor, outdoor, and SECs. I want to help the team do everything. GP: What are some of the differences between French and American tennis playing styles?
Doumbia: In France a good player has good technique. They want you to have good technique and be smooth. Here it’s all about winning. Players here have such bad form but they’re winning tournaments. American style is also about being strong mentally. GP: What do you miss most about France? Doumbia: The food. French food is amazing. Here we eat at the dining hall everyday, but the thing that I miss is my mom cooking for me. Ice cream, creme brulee, and cheese. You can’t find them here...French are the best. I say that jokingly to my teammates everyday but I still love America. Doumbia has won 33 singles matches this year, the most of any Bulldog. He’ll enter the NCAA singles tournament on May 25th ranked 51st.
SEC C H A M P I O N S H I P S
UGA plays host to this year’s SEC Championships, an event that test true athleticism; seeing who can run faster, jump higher, and throw further. The men’s team enters the meet with a shot at winning it for the first time since the 1930s. The women have their eyes set on breaking into the top three. Though both teams are star studded, they’ll need the help and support of the home crowd to carry them through. The Championships take place on May 12-15th. Here are some of the athletes to keep your eyes on...
MICHAEL AYERS Decathlon (SR) Ayers will be leading a great group of Georgia decathletes. Tommy Barrineau, Ben Davies, and David Silverstein will be joining Ayers and are projected to dominant the two-day, 10-event comp.
AARON EVANS Junior, 800-meter dash (JR) The reigning east-region champ will not only have to contend with the fieldm, but overcoming a slew of injuries as well. His toughest competition will come from Alabama’s Fred Samoei (1:45.52). Evans will enter the meet with a time of 1:48.93, but is likely to run much faster. TORRIN LAWRENCE 400-meter dash, 4x100, and 4x400 (JR) Last year’s NCAA indoor 400-meter champion looks to take his first outdoor SEC title in the event. Lawrence is looking to run well under his seeded time of 45.61 and lead the 4x100 and 4x400 teams to the podium.
BRIAN MOORE Javelin (JR) Three-time SEC field athlete of the week. Moore’s SEC leading mark of 241 feet, 11 inches is way out of the rest of the field’s league. Florida’s Stipe Zunic is seeded second at 239 feet. Alex Giacomin is another Bullodg in the event who’s looking to join Moore on the podium. JOHN SMITH Pole Vault (JR) Smith entered last year’s SEC Championships seeded 6th but managed to jump up to the number two spot. He enters this year’s championships seeded third (17 feet, 2 1/3 inches) and hopes to upset LSU’s Marcus McGehee (17 feet, 7 1/3 inches) for the top spot.
MEN’S SEC & UGA TRACK RECORDS 100-METER-DASH SEC Record: Richard Thompson 9.93, LSU, 2008 UGA Track Record: Mel Lattany 9.98, Bud Light, 1984 400 METER-DASH SEC Record: Derrick Brew 44.29, LSU, 1999 UGA Track Record: Derrick Brew 44.29, LSU, 1999 800 METER-DASH SEC Record: Otukile Lekote 1:45.27, South Carolina, 1991 UGA Track Record: Mark Everett 1:45.46, Florida, 1990 LONG JUMP SEC Record: Erick Walder 28 feet, 1 inch, Arkansas, 1992 UGA Track Record: Marcus Bailey 26 feet, 5 ½ inches, , UGA, 1994
SHOT PUT SEC Record: Brent Noon 70 feet, 5 ¼ inches, UGA, 1995 UGA Track Record: Reese Hoffa 70 feet, 9 inches, Former UGA, 2011 HAMMER THROW SEC Record: Andras Haklits 242 feet, 7 inches, UGA, 2000 UGA Track Record: Andras Haklits 260 feet, 1 inch, UGA, 2002 JAVELIN SEC Record: Chris Hill 261 feet, 4 inches, UGA, 2009 UGA Track Record: Breaux Greer,284 feet, 9 inches, UGA, 2004 DECATHLON SEC Record: Mikael Olander 8126 points, LSU, 1985 UGA Track Record: Brian Brophy 7537 points, Tennessee, 1990 TEANOR DAVILMOR Sophomore, Shot Put (SO) Auburn’s Stephen Saenz enters the meet with a leading throw of 63 feet, 7 inches. Saenz mark was recorded at his home War Eagle track. Davilmar (58 feet, 5 inches) will be looking to get the best of Saenz at home. Davilmar and fellow Bulldog Caleb Whitener (58 feet, 2 inches) will need the home crowd support to help them knock off Saenz.
JUSTIN WELCH Hammer Throw, Discus (FR) Welch was recently named the SEC freshman of the week. He’s favored to win the hammer and is currently ranked 4th in the nation in the event. His SEC leading mark of 225 feet, 2 inches puts him way ahead of his nearest competor, Michael Laur of LSU, 218 feet, 2 inches.
GEORGINA NEMBHARD 100, 200-meter dash (SR) Don’t blink during either of Nembhard’s events because a lot can happen in an instant. Nembhard, seeded 8th in the 100 and 9th in the 200 may be an underdawg, but is ready to surprise the fields with a couple of breakthrough performance.
MEGAN MALASARTE 800-meter dash (FR) Malasarte has so far made a habit of lowering her personal best time. She’ll be fighting til the finish to better her 7th place seed of 2:07.10.
NICOLE LOMNICKA Hammer Throw (JR) Lomnicka has been dominant in the hammer all year. Her season best of 212 feet, 3 inches is well out of reach of the rest of the field. Her nearest competitor is more than 10 feet behind. Lomnicka’s teammate Alesha Asijie is likely to medal in the event as well.
TAYLOR ADAMS 3,000-meter steeple (SR) Adams enters the meet seeded 3rd in the steeple. She is new to the event, converting to the steeple from the 800 just this past year. Look for her to drop seconds off of her incoming time of 10:25.94 and be in contention to win it.
COLLEEN FELIX Triple Jump (JR) Felix leaped to a huge personal best of 44 feet, 6 ¾ inches earlier this year. Her mark is ranked 3rd in the country and 1st by a while in the SEC. Fellow Bulldogs Maria Augutis, Saniel Atkinson, and LaTroya Darrell are also looking to score big in the event. HILENN JAMES Shot Put (FR) With an incoming throw of 52 feet, 11 ½ inches, James is in great position to medal at the championships. She’s been throwing farther and farther all year, and will most likely improve on her personal best at the meet.
BRIDGET LYONS 10,000 meter (SR) Lyons crushed last years field in the event and will most likely do so again. She’ll enter the meet with a time of 33:31.14. Her time is nearly a minute faster than her nearest competitors.
EVE MACHOVIC Discus, Shot Put (JR) Machovec finished 7th in the shot put last year with a mark of 46 feet, 10 3/4 inches and is looking to improve on that performance this year.
SANIEL ATKINSON High Jump (SO) A month ago, Atkinson amazed the crowed by leaping into a meet winning personal best of 6 feet at UGA’s Spec Towns Invitational. She’s tied with Auburn’s Maya Pressley, but seems to perform at her best while at home. LUCIE ONDRASSHKOVA Heptathlon (SO) The Czech Republic native should easily medal in the fiveevent competition. She along with three other competitors will be fighting a close battle for first.
WOMEN’S SEC & UGA TRACK RECORDS 200 METER-DASH SEC Record: Debbie Ferguson 22.35, UGA, 1999 UGA Track Record: Debbie Ferguson 22.35, UGA, 1999 400 METER- DASH SEC Record: Miki Barber 50.63, S Carolina, 2001 UGA Track Record: Miki Barber, S Carolina, 2001 3,000 METER-STEEPLECHASE SEC Record: Sarah Madebach 10:13.73, UGA, 2007 UGA Track Record: Sarah Madebach 10:21.04, UGA, 2007 HIGH JUMP SEC Record: Lavern Spencer 6 feet, 1 1/4 inch, UGA, 2007 UGA Track Record: Lavern Spencer 6 feet, 6 inches, UGA, 2010 POLE VAULT SEC Record: Katie Stripling 14 feet, 5 ¼ inches, Arkansas 2009 UGA Track Record: Thore Elisdottir 14 feet, 3 ¼ inches, UGA, 2001 HEPTATHLON SEC Record: Sharon Jaklofsky 5969 points, LSU, 1991 UGA Track Record: Tonya Lee 5587 points, Tenessee, 1990 HAMMER THROW SEC Record: Jenny Dahlgren 235 feet, 6 inches, UGA, 2006 UGA Track Record: Jenny Dahlgren 260 feet, 1 inch, UGA, 2007
BY JUSTIN GAYMON, PHOTOS BY JUSTIN GAYMON
Nationals & Memories NCAA singles Champion Chelsey Gullickson, SEC Champion javelin thrower Brian Moore,and first team All-SEC softball star Brianna Hesson
Chelsey Gullickson
Brian Moore
Brianna Hesson
Looking to Nationals
We have new freshman and I’m excited to see them experience NCAA’s. To get to see us grow as a team at NCAAs is what I’m probably most excited about
Just the competition that’s there and competing against the friends that I’ve made from other schools. I’m trying to get that All-American status and represent Georgia.
The finals overall is very important because you got 64 teams competing for the same thing. Any team can win it on any given day.
Greatest Strength
I definitely feel like my confidence is.
Biggest strength is definitely my speed on the runway.
I would have to say my hard work.
Best Part About Being a Dawg
I feel like the experiences and priveldges we get from Rankin to our facilities to how teachers are very easy going with athletes here. So definitely the way they treat us and take care of us
The friendships that I’ve made here at Georgia and definitely my coach. He’s helped me fine-tune my technique so I can throw consistently over 70 meters and be a contender.
Just playing in the SEC and wearing the G everyday. Knowing that I’m not only representing myself and my school and my family, I’m representing the program.
Most Memorable Moment
Defineitly since I’ve been here wininng in NCAA’s especially since it was at home. Just having my friends and family here to experince it with me. It definitely sticks out and I’ll always remember it.
Outdoor SECs last year. Winning it on my first throw.
Personally, I think it would be making ESPN top 10 plays 3 times in one week.
The Future
I’m not sure yet. I’m going to see how these next two years go with tennis...
Hopefully I can continue throwing javelin. Continue my dream of being an Olympian.
I’m looking into playing professional softball with the NPF league.
SPEED Camp with UGA men’s sprint coach Jon Stuart
What to do now: The most immediate thing you can do to get faster is resistance exercises. You’re going to feel the difference with this. And that’s pulling a small sled, or running up a gradual hill, not a really steep one, and sometimes running up stadiums or stairs. Those are the things that are going to have you feeling faster. Long term: Some of the long term things are just making some slight improvements to technique and training fast at a high intensity at all times. Jogging is not going to make you faster, but that actually activity of sprinting will make you faster. So the faster you train the better. But it’s not going to happen over one day or week. Sometimes it takes six months or up to a year to see significant results. Misconceptions: A lot of people like to go in the weight room. They work really hard and get some big muscles and gain a lot of weight, but it’s not necessarily weight that they’re going to be able to use. A lot of times the more weight you gain the more weight you have to push around. Someone that’s fast is usually like a racecar. They have a light frame, light body, and very powerful legs. A powerful engine in other words. Doing heavy resistance exercises like running up a really steep hill or pulling a lot of heavy weight like a heavy sled or a heavy tire. Those things are going to slow you down. You’re basically doing slow movements. If you’re going to do a resistance exercise it must be fast and it must be done with a lighter weight so you can still move fast.
Coached 12 years at UGA
Has had over 15 athletes place into UGA’S top 10 all-time records list
Favorite phrase: 1...2....Go!
THE OPEN WATER BY EVE MACHOVIC
Open water swimming is to pool swimming as trail running is to track running. This is the venue transition graduating UGA swimmer Troyden Prinsloo is committed to make in order to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Prinsloo’s glorious college days are lined with accomplishments such as a 2009 national title in the 1,650 freestyle and being the 2009 SEC champion in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle. He swam in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for South Africa, placing 22nd in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Preliminaries, but is now training for a new event called the Open Water 10K. The Open Water 10K has been around for decades but was recently added to the 2008 Beijing Olympics by the International Olympic Committee. Open Water swimming is a extremely different from pool swimming because there are no lane lines or starting
blocks and it also presents a different type of stroke that entitles more use of the upper body. Prinsloo has traveled twice to South Africa this spring to begin his Open Water career. In February, he competed at the Quelle Midmar Mile, finishing 4th with a time of 2:01:16. He competed again in April in the Telkon SA National Open Water Championships and placed first, tying with Chad Ho, improving his time to an outstanding 1:57:18:37 and qualified for the FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China in late July. As Troyden continues to train and finish school, he plans to do a few more competitions in Europe this summer to prepare himself before the FINA World Championships. He must placed top ten at Worlds in order to automatically qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
ONWARD TO OMAHA By Melanie Watson, Photos by Justin Gaymon
“It hasn’t been easy but you have to go through the valleys to get to the mountain top.”
The last time the Diamond Dogs made it to the College World Series in Omaha, NE was almost 3 years ago when they fell to Fresno State. The team finished that year with an overall record of 45-25-1, and an SEC record of 20-9-1. The Dawgs looked to redeem themselves with another trip to Omaha the following year but fell short in the 2009 NCAA Regionals. The 2010 season was an even greater disappointment as the bulldogs failed to even make it to the SEC Tournament.
Regionals (16 Sites) June 3-6 Super Regionals (8 Sites) June 10-13 Men’s College World Series June 18-29
Stetson and losing series against both Baylor and Florida State. Head coach David Perno refused to let his team become discouraged by their slow start. “It’s hard. When you get as close as we did in ’08 and it’s right there and you couldn’t finish it, it sticks with you. But at the same time all you can do is compete in your league. That’s where you gotta keep their heads. It’s all about winning the SEC. If you can compete in the front of the league then you definitely are good enough to win a national championship. The goal has to be to get in the front of our league. If we can do that, we’re good enough and if we catch a couple breaks who knows?” Coach Perno said. Since then the Bulldogs have accomplished great things including a sweep of Mississippi State and series wins against LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
Coming into this season, the team had one goal: make it back to Omaha. “I just want to come through this year and give everything we’ve got. Go all out for the team and try to make a run at what we came here to do. When we came here as freshman we all decided that we wanted to take the team to Omaha. That’s what we came here to do so I don’t want to leave that job left undone”, Cecil Tanner said. However, this task is easier said than done. The Dawgs quickly found themselves in a rut at the beginning of the season after being swept by
It hasn’t been easy but as of early May the Dawgs hold an overall record of 24-21 and compiled a record of 13-8 in the SEC. They have a shot at tying or even surpassing their record in 2008 as they have already certainly won more games than they did last season. “Considering all the guys, I think we’re okay. I think we’re in good hands this year. Our heads are in the right places. We’re doing some good things on the field, we’re doing some good things in the classroom and they just seem to mesh very well”, Coach Perno continued, “It hasn’t been easy, but you have to go through the valleys to get to the mountain top.” Through it all, these Bulldogs continue to blaze their path to the final destination: Omaha.
N EXT ISSUE
TAKING BAC K THE
HEDGES