A Message From The Athletics Director - May
Hurricane Fans,
Take a walk along campus this week and you will see plenty of caps and gowns — along with proud seniors and their friends and family — as the University of Miami prepares for spring graduation ceremonies.
We’re also proud to watch 70 student-athletes across 13 sports receive their undergraduate degrees. It’s always a bittersweet moment to see them go after watching them grow and develop as students, athletes and community leaders over the past four to five years. But we know all of them are destined for great things on their journey after college because we are Building Champions at The U. Congratulations to all of our graduates!
In addition to the graduation festivities, it’s a busy week for Miami Athletics as we host both the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Cobb Field Thursday through Saturday, and the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships at Neil Schiff Stadium on Friday and Saturday.
Amy Deem’s women’s squad is ranked 20th in the nation heading into the conference meet, which UM is hosting for the first time since 2009. The competition starts Thursday morning with the decathlon and heptathlon, and runs all the way through Saturday night’s sprint event finals. Come out to Cobb Field to watch some terrific track and field, and cheer on the Canes as they chase the ACC title!
Our women’s tennis team earned the 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons. The Hurricanes (16-7) will face LIU Brooklyn in the first round Friday at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to play the UCF-FIU winner in the second round at noon Saturday. Miami is 23-1 all-time at home in NCAA team play and has reached the second round 16 years in a row, dating back to head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews’ first campaign at the helm in 2002.
When you check out the tennis this weekend you will also have the opportunity to watch the newly crowned ACC Player of the Year, as sophomore Estela Perez-Somarriba became the fourth Hurricane to capture that honor last week. Estela has posted a dominant 24-1 record this season and will enter the NCAA Singles Championship as the No. 3 seed. She also earned first-team All-ACC honors, while senior Sinead Lohan earned second-team honors. Congratulations to Estela and Sinead, and good luck to all of the Canes in the postseason!
Our men’s tennis team earned its first NCAA berth since 2011, a remarkable achievement for Aljosa Piric and his players. Miami will head to Gainesville, Fla., and face North Florida in the opening round at 10 a.m. on Saturday. In addition, for the first time in program history, three Hurricanes earned All-ACC honors. Freshman Adria Soriano received a spot on the second team, while fellow freshman Bojan Jankulovski and senior Christian Langmo earned third-team accolades. Congratulations to all of the Canes and best of luck in Gainesville!
Our golf team wrapped up its season at the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas, this week – its sixth consecutive trip to regionals. Congratulations to Dewi Weber, who made the All-ACC Team and thus became just the second golfer in program history to earn All-ACC honors in consecutive seasons.
Our baseball team has won five consecutive games after defeating Florida Gulf Coast, 7-1, Wednesday night. The Hurricanes return to ACC play this weekend with three games at Virginia Tech. Miami closes out its regular season with a three-game home series against Boston College from May 17-19. We hope to see all of you at The Light to cheer on the Canes as we honor head coach Jim Morris for an incredible 25 seasons as skipper.
Dave Sanderson’s rowing squad ventures to Clemson, S.C., for Sunday’s ACC Rowing Championships. Good luck to our five boats as they compete on Lake Hartwell!
We announced last week that head football coach Mark Richt has received a contract extension through the 2023 season. Mark has done a phenomenal job of building this program – and generating enthusiasm for this program – since the day he arrived back on campus. We look forward to continued success under his watch, both on and off the field, for many years to come. Season tickets are moving at a brisk pace as we look to sell out our season ticket allotment at Hard Rock for the first time in school history. If you haven’t already secured your seats for 2018 please call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit hurricanesports.com/tickets.
If you’ve been on campus you might have noticed the towering structure rising above the Hecht Athletic Center. The magnificent Carol Soffer Football Indoor Practice Facility is scheduled to be completed in August, and our crowdfunding campaign that focuses on outfitting the interior continues to build momentum. 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.
We also recently launched the Building Women Champions campaign, an initiative that will enhance scholarship support, leadership development and career coaching for Hurricane female student-athletes. Please visit buildingwomenchampions.com to learn how you can help.
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
