A Message From The Athletics Director - February
Hurricane Fans,
It’s an exciting time of year for Miami Athletics as our winter sports are pushing towards the postseason while our spring sports are launching their 2018 campaigns.
Katie Meier’s women’s basketball squad is playing great basketball down the stretch, winning six of its past eight games to move to 17-8 overall, 7-5 in conference play. The Canes defeated No. 23 NC State 52-48 last week, their third win over a Top 25 opponent this season. Next up is a home date with Pittsburgh tonight at 7 p.m. We hope to see you there!
Saturday is a big day at Watsco Center as our men’s basketball team hosts Syracuse at noon. Jim Larrañaga’s squad has won five of its last eight games, running its record to 18-7 overall and 7-6 in ACC play. If you’re coming to the game, get there early and help cheer on the Canes from start to finish. It promises to be an electric atmosphere.
Patti Rizzo’s golf team has won two tournaments in a row – capturing the Florida Challenge in Lecanto, followed by the UCF Challenge in Orlando. Senior Dewi Weber took individual honors at the UCF Challenge with a three-round total of 7-under par, one week after finishing second at the Florida Challenge. Congratulations to Dewi and all of our golfers on their outstanding start to the season!
Track and field competed at Clemson’s Tiger Paw Invitational this past weekend, where numerous student-athletes posted personal bests. The Canes now turn their attention to the ACC Indoor Championships on February 23-24, where Amy Deem’s women’s team is seeking a conference title three-peat.
Both of our tennis teams are off to solid starts. Men’s tennis has won four straight dual matches to push its record to 5-2. Our women’s team is 2-1 and ranked 17th in the nation heading into a Top 20 showdown with Oklahoma State this Saturday. Swimming hosted a first chance meet this past weekend and three swimmers posted performances that cracked UM’s all-time Top 10 list. Our swimmers and divers now head to Greensboro, N.C., for this week’s ACC Championships.
National Signing Day took place on February 7, as the Hurricanes put the finishing touches on a football recruiting class that is ranked among the top eight in the nation. Coach Mark Richt and his staff signed 23 players overall (18 from Florida) and 10 of those student-athletes elected to enroll early. The Hurricanes have started their offseason conditioning program and spring football is just around the corner.
Baseball head coach Jim Morris begins the 25th and final season of his remarkable career this Friday night for the first of a three-game series against Rutgers. We had the opportunity to honor Coach Morris, as well as public address announcer Jay Rokeach, at the First Pitch Banquet last Friday night. Miami is ranked in numerous preseason polls as we launch our quest for another trip to Omaha. Come cheer on the Canes at the Light this weekend!
Our fourth annual Celebration of Women’s Athletics took place this past Sunday, and once again it was an outstanding event. ESPN’s Maria Taylor served as emcee and Hurricanes track legend Lauryn Williams was the keynote speaker. The CWA also marked the launch of our Building Women Champions campaign, which will raise funds to help develop women student-athletes into leaders in competition and in life, and empower them to achieve excellence well beyond their time at UM. For more information on how you can support this initiative please visit buildingwomenchampions.com.
Our crowdfunding campaign that focuses on outfitting the interior of the Carol Soffer Football Indoor Practice Facility continues to build momentum. This project addresses three areas of the facility – our football history displays, installation of state-of-the-art technology and enhancement of recruiting services. More than 350 Hurricanes supporters have pledged nearly $33 million of the $34 million goal. Your donations will help us finish this project the right way, and elevate this facility to one of the best in the country. Visit Give2IPF.com to pledge your support and, for a limited time, receive exclusive gifts hand-selected by Coach Richt.
For the latest information on each of our varsity teams, please be sure to visit HurricaneSports.com or follow us on Twitter @MiamiHurricanes. I hope you enjoy this month’s magazine.
Go Canes!
Blake James
