Two Track And Field Members Will Represent USA At NCAA National Championships
Kaitlyn Beans and Renaldo Frechou look to make Jaguar history for the Track and Field teams in their first seasons donning the Jaguar uniforms.
They will travel to Eugene, Oregon this week to compete in the NCAA Division I National Championships with an opportunity to become All-Americans.
Beans is the first individual in school history of the men’s or women’s program to qualify for the national finals in any of the four jumping events: triple jump, long jump, high jump or pole vault. She earned her berth by placing seventh in the women’s triple jump at the East Region Preliminary Championships recently. She is the first-ever Jaguar freshman to advance to the national event.
But to make the story more facinating, Beans never competed in the triple jump before joining the Jaguar team. She was a three-sport start at Brewbaker Technology High School in Montgomery, Alabama.
Her performance in postseason competition has been quite remarkable as she earned the gold medal in the Sun Belt Conference Championships with a jump of 13.19m and set a new school record by more than four-tenths of a meter and topped her personal best by more than seven-tenths of a meter.
Frechou, a sophomore from Paarl, South Africa, set all-time Jaguar records in the men’s hammer throw in his first meet of his Jaguar career at the Jaguar Opener in March. He became the first Jaguar to throw over the 60-meter mark. He would break his own record five more times over the course of the season by routinely improving his marks. He tossed a 64.36m at the regional preliminaries and never finished outside of the top five until the regional competition.
They look to join an elite club of five individuals who have earned All-American honors at South Alabama. David Kimani (2000), Tonny Okello (2006, ’07) and Vincent Rono (2006, ’07) for the men and Adjoke Odumosu (2007) and Lindsay Schwartz (2011, ’12) for the women’s team. If they finish among the top eight in their respective events then they could add their names to that list.
The competition will be held June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
Jaguar Football Announces Two Road Kickoff Dates This Fall
The University of South Alabama announced kickoff times for their first two road games of the 2014 season.
They will open the season on Saturday, September 6 at Kent State with kickoff scheduled for 1pm CDT and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. This will be the Jaguars second trip to Kent, Ohio and the third time overall they have met on the gridiron. The Jags lost the first game in 2012 in Ohio, then defeated them last season in Mobile.
The Jags will then return home for two games, including their home opener against Mississippi State and their conference opener against Sun Belt newcomer Georgia Southern.
Their next road game will be on September 27 when they travel to Moscow, Idaho to take on the Idaho Vandals in the Kibbie Dome. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 4pm CDT. This will be the Vandals first season in the Sun Belt as they joined as football-only members.
Kickoff times for all remaining games are still yet to be determined.
USA’s Jereme Jones Selected One of 14 for ’14 Freakish Athletes In College Football
Jereme Jones was included in the list of 14 freakish athletes in college football for 2014 by Mike Huguenin on NFL.com. Jones will be a senior in 2014. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Jereme Jones was selected as 14 for ’14 Most Freakish athletes in college football by Mike Huguenin.
The Jaguar fans were posting this all around on Social Media sites, for good reason. Jereme Jones was named #12 on the list with his 84 receptions and 10 touchdowns over the past two seasons. But little did many know that he was pound-for-pound the strongest guy on the Jaguars team.
According to the article he reportedly is 5’8″, 167-pounds, squats 545 pounds, bench presses 365 pounds and hang cleans 335 pounds. He also has been timed with a 4.48 40-yard dash can vertical jump 37.5 inches and broad jump 10’1″. He reportedly only has 7.5% body fat too.
But what they did not note was his consecutive games with a pass-reception streak is currently sitting at 39-consecutive games and also his ability to make some amazing catches. Jereme has the heart of a Jaguar with the hands that seemingly are coated with stickum spray.
Jones is in good company with players from Arizona State, Oregon, Iowa, Florida State, Northwestern, Georgia, East Carolina, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Syracuse, Auburn, Baylor and Louisville.
Congratulations Jereme! I know all of the Jaguar fans look forward to see what you do your senior season.
Head over to NFL.com and read the article for yourself. Click here for the link directly to the page.
UL-Lafayette Set To Host Baseball Regional
Coming off of winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have earned a top ranking in the polls for the first time in program history and will host the Lafayette Regional in their quest to get to the College World Series.
The Cajuns (53-7) earned their first-ever top ranking in the Baseball America and USA Today polls and regained their top ranking in the Collegiate Baseball ranking, which they held for three weeks earlier this season.
Lafayette holds the national best record and the longest winning streak as they head into the NCAA Tournament with 10 games. Sophomore Blake Trahan was named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and was named as one of six Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week. His home run against UT-Arlington in the championship game of the SBC Tournament gave the Cajuns a 6-5 win. In the past four games he has gone 7-for-11 with a home run, a double, two triples and 5 RBI.
The Cajuns will open play on Friday, May 30 at 7:00pm against #4 seed Jackson State. They will then face the winner of #2 seed Mississippi State and #3 seed San Diego State who will play at 2:30pm on Friday, May 30.
UL-Lafayette And Alabama Win Super Regionals
Both the University of Alabama, who eliminated South Alabama from the Tuscaloosa Regional, and fellow Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette both won their Super Regionals to advance to the Women’s College World Series.
After a walk-off home run in extra innings, the Crimson Tide (50-11) came back in the second game of the weekend to defeat Nebraska 2-1 to earn the Super Regional win for the ninth time in program history and for the third time for this senior class.
The #2 seed Alabama will open the Women’s College World Series against #7 seed Oklahoma on Thursday, May 29 at 9:30pm.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (49-8-1) defeated Arizona 7-1 to earn their way to Oklahoma City to take on Kentucky (49-17) in the first round of the 2014 Women’s College World Series. Their game is scheduled for 7:00pm on Thursday, May 29. The winner will take on the winner between Oklahoma and Alabama.
In the other bracket #1 seed Oregon will face #8 seed Florida State at 2:30pm on Thursday, May 29. They will take on the winner between #5 seeded Florida and #13 seed Baylor that will take place at 12:00pm on Thursday, May 29.
Nine Jaguars Qualify For NCAA Track And Field Preliminaries
South Alabama have nine student-athletes from the men’s and women’s track and field team that have qualified to compete in 10 different events at the NCAA Division I East Region Preliminary Championship.
Five members from the men’s team have an opportunity to compete. Freshman Renaldo Frechou and senior Adam Patterson both qualified for the hammer throw. Connor Smith qualified for the pole vault for the second consecutive season. Jan-Louw Kotze qualified for the discus. Patrick Rohr qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Noelle Jones qualified in both the women’s high jump and javelin, this is the third time in her career that the senior has qualified in the javelin after doing so in 2011 and 2012. Fellow seniors Leah Hixon and Bobbie Williams will make their third consecutive appearance in the javelin and hammer throw preliminaries respectively. Freshman Kaitlyn Beans will round out the Jaguar squad after qualifying for the triple jump.
The NCAA Division I East Region Preliminary Championships will be held at the University of North FLorida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, FL on May 29-31.
Jaguar Softball Review
*Catching up after a short vacation*
After advancing to the Regional Final in the Tuscaloosa Regional to face #5 Alabama, the #21 ranked Jags fell 3-0 to end their season.
Jaclyn Traina struck out 11 Jaguars to improve her record to 22-3 on the season while holding USA to only two hits for the game.
Farish Beard took the loss in the game after giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out one with one walk in four innings of work. Hannah Campbell threw four innings of relief and only allowed one hit.
Chloe Rathburn and Emily Messer were the only Jaguars to record hits in the game.
The Jags defeated SIU-Edwardsville and USC-Upstate to get into the final for the third trip to a regional final in as many seasons.
“I am extremely proud of my kids,” said Jaguar head coach Becky Clark. “I can honestly say that they left everything on the field, there was no holding back. Our kids went after it 100 percent, even in front of a stadium full of people. They had the audacity to believe that they could come out and win two games. That is what you are supposed to do, you are supposed to step out on the field knowing that you can get it done. If you don’t believe that you shouldn’t be on the field. Our kids did that and I am proud of them for making that decision.”
The Jaguars end the season with some new single-season records. They set records for: Lowest ERA (1.29), Fewest Walks Allowed Per Game (1.4), Most Strikeouts (416), Fewest Earned Runs Allowed (70) and Fewest Walks Allowed (76).
This was the programs third consecutive 40-win season in only thier eighth year of existence.
Senior Hannah Campbell finished her career as a Jaguar as the program’s All-Time leader with the fewest walks allowed per seven innings (1.24), Wins (83), Saves (16), Appearances (149), Complete Games (93), Games Finished (40), Innings Pitched (791.1) and Strikeouts Looking (180).
Fellow senior Julie Moss, who missed most of the season due to an injury, finishes her career among the All-Time Top-10 in Batting Average (.301), Slugging Percentage (.452), Hits (113), Triples (5), Home Runs (11), RBI (65), Total Bases (170), Sacrifice Flies (5) and Sacrifice Hits (19).
“I’m extremely proud of our seniors and what they’ve done for this program,” Clark said of the two Jaguar seniors. “It kills me that I won’t get to coach those kids again. It’s been an amazing experience to coach those kids, not only because of what they’ve done on the field, but because they’ve 100-percent done it the right way. They’ve done it with class, and they’ve represented our program in a first-class manner.”
Hannah and Julie, thank you for your hard work and determination both in the classroom and on the field. Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar!
Jaguar Softball Opens Regional Play Against USC Upstate On Friday
The Jaguar softball team moved up one spot in the polls ahead of the start of Regional Play on Friday. The #21/22 ranked Jaguars will open against #24 ranked USC Upstate on Friday at 3:30pm on ESPN3 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The host, #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, are hosting their 10th consecutive regional tournament and will open against SIU-Edwardsville at 6pm on Friday.
This will be the first meeting between the Jaguars and USC Upstate. The Jags enters with a 40-12 record while the Spartans, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, enters with a 45-7 record and were eliminated by Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
This is the Jaguars third regional tournament appearance in as many years. They have reached the finals of each of the Regionals they have participated in over those three years as well.
Last season, the Jags hosted their first-ever regional and faced #19 Florida State after defeating Mississippi State in an elimination game. They ulitimately lost to the Seminoles 8-7 in eight innings.
The Jags lost to the Crimson Tide earlier in the season and look to revenge that loss and finally knotch a win against the Tide for the first time in program history.
Go Jags!
Campbell Named To All-District Team; Hallford To Watch List; Golf Begin NCAA Play
USA Softball’s Hannah Campbell, a senior, became the first Jaguar softball student-athlete in program history to earn Capital One Academic All-District honors as announced on Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The left-handed pitcher from Satsuma, Alabama earned first-team honors with a 3.47 GPA in Exercise Science which she just received her degree in.
She is currently ranked third in the nation in ERA with a 0.92 mark and walks allowed per seven innings (0.76) to lead the Jaguar pitching staff, which also leads the nation in overall ERA with a 1.28 mark.
She was drafted third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Akron Racers in March and will join them in August to become the first Jaguar softball player to move into the professional level and the first female student-athlete to be drafted professionally in program history.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America ballot where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be chosen later this month.
District 4, the district that Campbell was selected to, includes the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
USA Baseball’s Brandon Hallford was named to the 2014 Gregg Olson Award watch list on Tuesday.
The award is named after the former Auburn All-American right-hander and presented by Toolshed Sports is awarded annually to college baseball’s breakout player. Olson became one of the top collegiate players in the nation after an initial season filled with only mixed success then went on to become a two-time All American, a first round draft pick, American League Rookie of the Year and MLB All-Star.
Hallford is one of 80 student-athletes named to the initial watch list which will be narrowed down to a list of semifinalists on May 30. The winner of the award will be named in Omaha, Nebraska during the College World Series held June 15-26.
In 16 appearances this season, he has a 3-2 record with seven saves while striking out 27 with 15 walks in 36 innings pitched. He is tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference in saves on the season as the team enters the final regular-season series of the year.
The South Alabama Men’s golf team begin playing in the NCAA East Regional on Thursday in their second-consecutive NCAA appearance.
Last year Tyler Klava led the Jags at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Baton Rouge as he tied for sixth place individually and won a playoff on the first hole to advance to the NCAA Championship and finish in the top half of the field.
Both Lane Hulse and Blake Kelley tied for 17th place by shooting a 224 while Michael Garretson shot 230 over the three days. They propelled the Jaguars to a sixth place finish in the team standings and just two strokes off of a playoff for the final spot in the national championship.
Jaguar Baseball Swept By #3 Ranked Louisiana-Lafayette
Then #3 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns swept USA over the weekend to further improve their season record to 46-7 overall and 23-4 in conference play.
Friday night’s game was postponed due to rain which made for a double-header on Saturday.
In the first game, the Jags fell 5-2 as Cajun’ right-hander Austin Robichaux allowed only two unearned runs on two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
In game two of the double-header on Saturday, ULL loaded the bases against USA’s Kevin Hill on a pair of singles and a walk before Greg Davis delivered a grand-slam home run to put the Cajuns up 4-0 early.
An RBI double in the fourth inning put the Cajuns up 5-0 then a two-run home run put the Cajuns firmly ahead 7-0 in the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Jags were down 7-0 when Drew LaBounty drew a walk, followed by a single by Andrew Tindell which was followed by another walk to DeGallier. Cummings then delivered with an RBI single to right-center to score the first run of the game. Cole Gleason then delivered a two-run single to score Tindell and DeGallier to cut the lead to 7-3.
Wojciechowski hit a single to score Cummings. Hawthorne walked to load the bases and put the tying run on base. Jones grounded out to shortstop for the first out of the inning but it scored Gleason to cut the lead to 7-5. Davis Knapp then hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored Wojciechowski and cut the lead to just one run. LaBounty hit a two-out RBI single to center which tied the game at 7-7 but the Jags could not muster any more damage the rest of the game.
In the top of the ninth, after a single and a stolen base, Greg Davis delivered a two-out RBI single to right field for the eventual game winning run.
The Cajuns completed the sweep on Sunday with a 13-3 win. Hunter Soleymani took the loss in 2 2/3 innings after allowing six runs on eight hits with one strikeout.
The Jags go on the road for their final series of the regular season when they play Troy on Thursday through Saturday, each game scheduled for 6pm in Troy.
With three games left, Lafayette is secure in the #1 seed with a 23-4 record. Arkansas State currently holds onto second with a 17-10 record, followed by Texas State at 3rd with a 16-11 record, followed by UT-Arlington in fourth with a 15-11 record, currently fifth is Western Kentucky with a 13-13 record, followed a three way tie for sixth between Georgia State, South Alabama and Louisiana-Monroe all at 10-6. Troy is just outside of the top-eight in ninth place with a 9-17 record and UALR is right behind them in 10th with a 9-18 record.
The top eight schools will play in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament to be held at Eddie Stanky Field on May 21 through May 25.