AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 23
Thursday, August 23, 2007
While Techsters were at the beach …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll tack on a football note or two after practice tonight, but I thought today I’d review changes at Tech in and around the athletics department since the end of the 2006-‘07 school year, while fans — at least those with sense and opportunity — were sunning themselves, golfing, etc.
I asked the sports information department to help with a list, and this is ALL generated by them (spearheaded by Mike Stamus). I’m merely a relay.
Some of these items are much better known than others.
Off the Field
• Big overhaul of the annual giving and donation structure for Tech athletics, anchored by the new TECH Fund, which establishes minimum giving levels tied to season tickets in various seating areas of Bobby Dodd Stadium and Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Some happy, some sad, many still withholding judgement.
• In the planning stages is a new stadium for Tech’s softball team, which will be located next to the O’Keefe building and open in 2009. Looks like they’re already tagging trees to be felled adjacent to current parking lot. Maybe I’m wrong.
• Tech’s former football locker room on the ground floor of the Edge Center being transformed into a new Technology Center facility for student-athletes.
•Georgia Tech Athletic Association, through its website, RamblinWreck.com, has formed a partnership with TeamFanShop, a company that specializes in online stores that sell officially licensed products for collegiate and professional athletic teams. More options available for purchase.
Women’s Basketball
• Teri Moren, formerly head coach at the University of Indianapolis, hired as an assistant • Mark Simons promoted to associate head coach • Ballyhooed recruiting class now in school includes high school All-Americans in Iasia Hemingway (Newark, N.J.) and Alex Montgomery (Tacoma, Wash.)
Women’s Track
• Samantha Musil, a freshman from Dubois, Neb., earned the silver medal in the women’s discus at the Pan American Junior Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil. • Adriane Lapsley, a former Tech standout, hired as an assistant
Men’s Basketball
• Anthony McHenry, member of the 2004 Final Four team who finished eligibility in 2005, working in the basketball office as a student assistant. Played in Leicester, England last year for former Tech point guard Karl Brown, a member of Tech’s 1990 Final Four team.
Golf
• Hired Christian Newton as assistant coach, following two years at Alabama and two years at Georgia Southern • Three current Tech players, Cameron Tringale, Taylor Hall and John-Tyler Griffin, and one former Tech player, Carlton Forrester, qualified for the U.S. Amateur, ongoin at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Swimming and Diving
• New coach Courtney Shealy Hart - Two-time gold medalist at 2000 Summer Olympics … NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year (2000) while swimming at Georgia … … National Champion in 50-meter freestyle, 100m free, 100m backstroke, 400m free relay and 400m medley relay … 26-time All-American • Tech will host 2008 ACC Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Feb. 20-23, 2008 (women), Feb. 27-March 1 (men)
Softball
• Projected to be one of the top teams in the nation next season by ESPN.com. Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=hays_graham&id=2942209
Baseball
• Assistant Bobby Moranda became the head coach at Western Carolina and assistant Josh Holliday accepted an assistant coaching position at Arizona State. New assistants are Bryan Prince, former Tech catcher from 1998-2001, and Tom Kinkelaar, who has been the director of operations the past three years.
• Seven of the 10 current players drafted in June signed contracts, including C Matt Wieters (Baltimore) OF Danny Payne (San Diego), SS Michael Fisher (Atlanta), LHP Tim Ladd (Atlanta), OF Wally Crancer (Baltimore), RHP Jared Hyatt (Texas) and LHP Ryan Turner (Texas).
• RHP Eddie Burns (Atlanta), LHP Chris Duncan (Washington) and OF Luke Murton (N Yankees) unsigned, and back in school. One of three drafted high school prospects made it to Tech, although Derek Dietrich had recent surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.
Volleyball
• Returning 12 of 13 members of team that finished 20-12. Only additions are two local players, both tabbed AJC Players of the Year and players of the year in their respective classes (Mary Ashley Tippins - AAAA, Jordan McCullers - AAAAA).
Womens tennis
• All-American Kristi Miller was selected to play in the Pan American games but could not attend after going through wrist surgery. She has returned to the courts and should be fine for the start of fall.
