A Message from the Athletic Director: February 2021

A Message from the Athletic Director: February 2021

by Christy Cabrera Chirinos

Hurricane Fans,

We’ve entered one of the busiest times of the year for UM Athletics. Our winter sports are in the thick of ACC play while many of our spring sports have just started their 2021 campaigns.

Our 2021 football schedule was released last week which features seven home games and a season-opening matchup with defending national champion Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. After facing the Crimson Tide, we return to Hard Rock Stadium for four consecutive home games. Our annual meeting with Florida State is November 13 in Tallahassee, and our home finale will be against Virginia Tech on November 20. As always, it’s a challenging schedule but I know we’re all excited and already looking forward to seeing the Canes on the gridiron this fall! For ticket information please call 1-800-GO CANES or visit miamihurricanes.com/tickets.

Our men’s basketball team scored a big win on ESPN’s Big Monday with a last-second, 77-75 triumph over Duke at Watsco Center. Elijah Olaniyi led the team in scoring with a career-high 21 points, one of three Canes in double figures. Next up we host No. 16 Virginia Tech Saturday at noon on Fox Sports Sun. Tune in to cheer on the Canes!

Our women’s basketball squad returns to action this Sunday at Watsco Center as they face Florida State. Tipoff is 1 p.m. on ESPNU. Tune into the root on the Canes! Senior guard Kelsey Marshall is pacing the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and just moved into second place on UM’s all-time list for career three-pointers with 230.

Our swimming and diving team has completed its regular season and is preparing for the ACC Championships, which will be held in Greensboro, N.C., from February 17-27. Good luck to the Canes at the conference meet!

Our track and field squad is coming off two strong meets to start their indoor season. Last weekend the Canes captured two events and posted three NCAA Top 25 marks at the Bob Pollock Invitational at Clemson, after setting two school records in their season-opening meet at Texas Tech’s Red Raider Invitational.  Next up is another meet at Clemson on February 12. Good luck to the Canes!

Our golf team is finishing up its opening tournament of the 2021 season at the UCF Challenge in Orlando. The Canes shot 11-under in the first round Sunday – the fourth best round in program history – and sit in fifth place in the 17-team field after two rounds. Good luck to the Canes in the final round!

Our women’s tennis team (2-1) split a pair of matches against ranked SEC foes last weekend, defeating No. 23 Ole Miss before falling to No. 15 Vanderbilt. Defending NCAA singles champion Estela Perez-Somarriba is 3-0 on the young season and ranked second nationally. The Canes next travel to UCF on February 13, while the men’s team opens its season this Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 16 UCF at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Good luck to Canes tennis!

Our baseball team has announced its full schedule, which includes a season-opening series at Florida starting February 19 and 36 ACC games, an increase from the usual 30 conference games. Our first home series will be February 26-28 against Virginia Tech. The Canes are ranked in numerous preseason polls, and catcher Adrian Del Castillo and first baseman Alex Toral were named to Baseball America’s Preseason All-America team this week. We can’t wait to see the Canes out at The Light!

Our football team set a program record last week when nine student-athletes were named to the All-ACC Academic Team. The nine honorees were Jose Borregales, Bubba Bolden, Amari Carter, DJ Ivey, Clay James, D’Eriq King, Jaelan Phillips, Quincy Roche and Jarrid Williams. The previous UM football record was eight, which was set in 2006. Our nine selections tied Clemson for second-most in the conference, behind only Duke (11). Congratulations to our student-athletes, the football staff and our academic services staff on a tremendous accomplishment!

We recently launched the 2021 Hurricane Club Student Impact Fund annual campaign, which offers a great way to make an immediate impact and help ensure that we support our student-athletes athletically, academically and culturally for years to come. Gifts to the Student Impact Fund support scholarships, academic services, medical care and comprehensive well-being, nutritional programs, and leadership development. For more information on the how you can help us Build Champions by supporting the Student Impact Fund, please call the Hurricane Club at 305-284-6699 or visit www.UHurricaneClub.com.

If you have any questions or need any assistance, please feel free to contact a member of our staff. For the latest information on UM Athletics, please be sure to visit our website — miamihurricanes.com – download our Miami Hurricanes app or follow us on our various social media channels, where will be posting content related to Black History Month throughout February. I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. Enjoy this month’s magazine!

Go Canes!

Blake James