This Week in VMI Athletics - Aug. 11

Welcome to the first edition of This Week in VMI Athletics! Remember to follow us on twitter (http://twitter.com/VMISID), as we often break news and relay small details there first.

The week of August 11 brings not only warm temperatures, but several news items from the Keydet Athletic Department. First off, football practice will get underway later today. The workout, which will be in helmets only, is set to take place on the VMI Turf Field at 4:30 p.m. A full schedule of practices, as well as brief comments from Coach Sparky Woods, can be viewed here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204772918. Fans should expect a photo gallery from the practice, which hopefully will be up late tonight (tomorrow at the latest).

VMI basketball coach Duggar Baucom recently left for a 10-day overseas trip to visit U.S. Military bases, and has been utilizing the microblogging site Twitter to share his experiences (http://twitter.com/duggarvmihoops). He recently tweeted such events as his first meet-and-greet with the troops and an excursion in a Stryker Assault Vehicle. The VMI Athletic Media Relations office plans to post periodic updates on VMIKeydets.com, relaying tidbits about Baucom's trip throughout his time overseas. We have also been re-tweeting some of Baucom's comments thus far.

The official announcement of a new women's soccer coach is forthcoming, possibly as soon as late today. We broke that news on Twitter earlier today, and now we give you the name and some background: Megan Flowers, a 2005 graduate of Southern Utah, is the newest Keydet assistant. Flowers, a four-year starter as a goalkeeper during the inaugural years of SUU women’s soccer, joins the Keydets after most recently working as goalkeeper coach for the Northern Virginia Majestics and the Virginia Olympic Development Program (ODP). She has also worked as a trainer with the Max Touch Soccer Academy and the Stafford Soccer Association, while coaching with Brentsville District High School and the PWSI ’92 Girls soccer club.

In other women's soccer news, VMI's Audrey Falconi has been nominated for a prestigious national award. The Lowe's Senior CLASS award honors the nation's top seniors for their achievements on and off the field. Sports Information personnel may nominate seniors from their squads, and the award's staff will choose the top-30 nominees based on information provided. Only one VMI athlete has ever made the top-30 in any of the Lowe's Senior CLASS sports, that being baseball's Trey Barham in 2008. View more about the award here: http://www.seniorclassaward.com/about/.

Finally, one more announcement regarding Coach Bryan Williams' program: The season opener versus George Mason, set for August 21, has been moved to Washington & Lee's soccer facility (http://www.wlu.edu/x2094.xml). Directions can be accessed at that link. It is worth noting that that's the only game officially moved at this point.

As our last piece of news for the week, past VMI baseball jerseys are now being auctioned off, as seen here (http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204773015). These jerseys, worn in particular during the program's 1993 run to the Southern Conference Championship Series (shown above), can be bid on at the website www.GovDeals.com (linked above) for the next week (auction ends on Monday, Aug. 17). The current plan is to add more jerseys over time, so if you're interested in this sort of thing, keep tabs on that site periodically to ensure you don't miss new additions!

Go Keydets!