VMI Keydet News and Notes

Changes/Additions to Web Site

2010-06-11T12:46:00.005-04:00

Hello all...Just wanted to fill everyone in on some changes/additions to VMIKeydets.com.

We've heard your concerns regarding several of the ads on our web site, particularly the pesky Virginia Beach that has inundated the Internet recently, and now we've taken action...JumpTV (the company that hosts VMIKeydets.com) has told us that, although they cannot completely eliminate the ad, they can take it off certain pages and greatly reduce how often it shows up everywhere else. That should be done by now, although it could take some time to filter down to you, the user.

Secondly, our summer blog will debut Sunday morning..."Logging Miles", a blog discussing the summer training for cross country, will be a bi-weekly feature to begin, but is expected to move to a weekly column in late July. It's a work in progress, but we hope you enjoy having some original summer content on the web site!

Speaking of track and cross country, we've added some new features to the track and cross country pages. If you check out the left-hand menu bar, we've put in some interesting links that we'll show here as well - If you're watching a blog or twitter feed from a meet, and the marks are given only in metric (or only in English), you can use this link to easily convert them.

If you're new to track and field, and wanting to learn about the logistics or history of a race, a good, basic place to start is at Wikipedia's Track and Field article, linked here (is listed as "Track and Field Primer" on Keydets.com). Finally, if you're following the exploits of the cross country teams next fall, and want to know how the meets are scored, we've given you a full tutorial here. Again, these are all accessible from the sport menu bars at VMIKeydets.com, giving a central access point for all these useful items.

There are a couple of other things we're working on and throwing around, but they're still in the planning stages, for the most part. We'll post more about them as they get more solidified.

This Week in VMI Athletics - June 1

2010-06-01T15:52:00.003-04:00

Hello, and welcome to what will be the final weekly blog post of 2009-10. We'll continue to use the blog as needed for updates, so check back when you can...We'll also try to post on Twitter when there's info here, so that you know to come check. The weekly posts should resume in late August...

We are planning some things for the summer, including a new bi-weekly blog on preparation for the 2010 Cross Country season, written by Jenna Moye and Ermin Mujezinovic. That should debut somewhere around June 10, give or take a couple of days, and we're still discussing names for it. Feel free to email me (saloisbj@vmi.edu) your suggestions.

Felix Kitur highlighted this week, as a runner-up finish in his second race at the NCAA Preliminary Meet sent him on to Eugene, Oregon, where he and Coach Paul Spangler will head next week. Kitur's first race is on June 9, with the final hopefully to follow on June 11...If you'd like, you can check out videos of Kitur's races at the VMI Track and Field Youtube Channel, located here. An in-depth preview of the men's 800 in Eugene should run early next week, and will be accompanied by an interview with Kitur and Spangler.

Baseball also wrapped up, with Cory Spangenburg being named Freshman of the Year and Jordan Ballard earning First Team All-Conference honors. The Keydets picked up a win over UNC Asheville on the tourney's first day, before ending their season with losses to Coastal Carolina and Winthrop. Certainly not the way they wanted to end the year, but VMI should be a real threat next year, as only Jordan Ballard and Tanner Biagini are done with their time at the I.

Lacrosse also had news this week, with Tim Moran being announced as an honorable mention All-American. That is the first-ever All-American honor for VMI lacrosse. Also, the final 2010 stat rankings came out today, and after the NCAA tourney (won by Duke in thrilling OT fashion), the Keydets' Stephen Robarge finished fourth in D1 in face-off percentage and second in ground balls per game.

This Week in VMI Athletics - May 25...Sort of

2010-05-25T12:28:00.002-04:00

We won't do a full blog this week, because there simply isn't that much to say...Except make sure to follow VMI baseball at 4 p.m. today as they open the BSC Tournament down at Winthrop. It'll be VMI vs. UNCA at that time, streamed on the Big South Network and on VMIKeydets.com.

Also, make sure to follow our Twitter feed on Thursday and (hopefully) Friday for live updates from Greensboro, N.C., as Felix Kitur competes in the NCAA Preliminary Round (which used to be the Regional meet) and bids for a trip to Eugene.

This Week in VMI Athletics - May 18

2010-05-18T16:28:00.002-04:00

Here's an update regarding what's going on in VMI Athletics this week -

Tonight's baseball game versus Virginia, scheduled to be the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Keydets, has been canceled. Recent heavy rains caused poor field conditions at Davenport Field, and the game will not be rescheduled. Baseball will get back on the diamond Thursday night, hosting Presbyterian at 6 p.m.

Of course, the Keydets salvaged the final game of their series with Winthrop this weekend, rallying for a 7-5 win Sunday. The win moved VMI into fourth place in the league standings with just three games to play.

The other sport still going, track, saw action this past weekend at the IC4A Championships. Felix Kitur, as he's been all year, was outstanding. The junior finished second in the 800-meter finals, a day after running a 1:47.62 to rank (at the time) sixth in the country. That time now places Kitur fifth in the region and eighth in the country, with the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships set to begin in Greensboro on May 27.

Swimming and Diving announced its team awards this past week, and you can check out a release on that here.

That'll do it for this very short recap...Enjoy the week, and we'll be back with you next week for another edition of This Week in VMI Athletics!

This Week in VMI Athletics - May 10

2010-05-10T12:04:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to a post-exam version of This Week in VMI Athletics. Baseball returns to action tomorrow night versus Richmond, taking on the Spiders at 6 p.m. down at Gray-Minor Stadium. Weather is a concern, but as usual, any updates/changes will be posted on VMIKeydets.com the moment we know of them.

Women's soccer has released its 2010 schedule, highlighted by a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo. for a tournament hosted by Air Force. Check out the full schedule release here, and a women's soccer captains release here.

Track sent Matt Sagar to the Duke Twilight Qualifier yesterday, in a last-ditch effort to allow him to qualify for IC4A's...And qualify he did, running a PR of 9:09 in the steeple to make this coming weekend's Championships. That meet will be in Princeton, N.J. and VMIKeydets.com will be on hand with a live blog, chronicling such storylines as Sagar and Satterwhite's efforts in the steeple, the performances of Chad Lawson and Cody Davis and Felix Kitur's efforts to become a two-time IC4A champ.

That blog is going to be a little different from what you see at the Big South Championships...I'll be using the software provided by www.coveritlive.com, which is also used by such sites as Yahoo Sports (they use it every week for their NASCAR in-race chat). Check out an example of it here.

What this allows for is more of a chat room feel, with you, the viewer, able to ask questions as I'm typing, without having to take the time to send me an email, etc. I can then put the comment into the window, verbatim, with just one click. At the same time, I can moderate to ensure that one person is not asking all the questions, keep the atmosphere family friendly (and focused on track!), etc. I can also plug in photos, video, and link the blog window itself to our Twitter page if I have to go across track to cover a field event (some may recall I did this several times at the BSC Championships in April). Hopefully there will be some other, different features as well, but those are depending upon conditions at the facility.

Tim Moran led the postseason honorees for VMI lacrosse, as he was named to the all-conference first team for the third time in his illustrious career. Moran wrapped up his four years in Lexington sixth in goals, eighth in assists and seventh in total points in program history. You can read all about that here.

Basketball wrapped up its signing class with the announcement of Sean Armstrong's signing...He looks to be pretty solid, at least based on his background listed here.

Oh yeah, by the way...VMI women's water polo has its first coach! Welcome to the I, Anna Phelps.

That'll do it for now...Check back next week!

This Week in VMI Athletics - May 4

2010-05-04T09:50:00.002-04:00

Baseball finally got off its epic slide, ending its 11-game losing streak Sunday and going into exams with a 7-5 win over Radford.

The Keydets don't play again until May 11, when they host Richmond at Gray-Minor, so if there ever was a time to have gotten a win...Sunday was it. Still left on the schedule? The Winthrop Eagles, who VMI is currently battling with for control of one of the top four spots in the conference. Those spots are critical, because they get you out of the play-in games held the first day of the tourney, and make it where you have to lose your first game to draw Coastal Carolina...If you miss the play-ins and win game #1, you have a chance to build momentum and get on a roll before you face the Chanticleers, and who wouldn't want that?

Other sports have seen interesting weeks, particularly track. Felix Kitur took part in an epic 800-meter race at Liberty Thursday night, as he posted what was, at the time, tied for the fifth-fastest time in the country (1:47.78). The race's story was picked up by letsrun.com, and VMIKeydets.com's video was noted by Liberty, UVA and letsrun. Anyway, that time remains the fifth-fastest time in the East Region, and puts him in good shape for the upcoming regional meet.

On the women's side, Michelle Feole led a VMI sweep of the top three spots in the javelin, while Jennifer Sing and Kate Collins both had strong outings in the pole vault. Sing's, in particular, was notable, as she became just the third VMI woman ever to clear 11 feet in the pole vault.

We were speaking of track's regional meet earlier...The format of Regionals and Nationals has changed a bit this year. What used to be the Regional meets have now become the first round of the Championships, as the meets have been combined to act as one, all-encompassing get-together. View more details on this, as well as a PDF of the structure of this meet, here.

In another track-related tidbit, alum Donnie Cowart '09 hit the B standard in the 3K steeple this past week. Take a look at that here.

Lacrosse ended its season Saturday at Patchin Field with a 12-11 overtime loss to Canisius, one of the most epic games I've seen in a long time. The careers of Tim Moran, Brett Leonard, Sean McCoy, Dave Padgett, and the rest came to an end with the final horn. The Golden Griffins, VMI's archrivals, were left out of the MAAC Tournament after losing in a random draw.

Men's soccer released its schedule this past week...Games with some new opponents (Mercer comes to mind), as well as the return of the Sculley Memorial Tournament. The women's schedule shouldn't be too far behind the men's.

Finally, football held its final spring scrimmage this past Friday. You can check out the recap from that here, and also, check out Coach Woods' Twitter account @SparkyWoodsVMI.

Thanks, as always, for joining us...We will have a condensed blog next week, despite the fact that there won't be any events to recap. Enjoy the slower time period, but keep watching VMIKeydets.com for news that could come out during this time. Anything's possible.

This Week in VMI Athletics - April 26

2010-04-26T14:23:00.003-04:00

Welcome back to our weekly sojourn through all things Keydet...

Let's open with lacrosse...Honestly, Saturday's ending was the strangest I've ever seen...

"During a Wagner (1-11, 1-5 MAAC) timeout with 52 seconds remaining in the overtime, the Seahawks set up a play. After several deliberate passes, Travis cut to his right, toward the middle of the field. He fired off a shot from about 10 yards out, angled just to the right of VMI (2-11, 0-6) keeper Kelly McMinn. Originally, it was ruled that the attempt was just wide, but after conferring, the officials determined that Travis’ shot had gone through a small portion of the net in the upper right-hand corner of the mesh, just over McMinn’s left shoulder. The ball had then come out of the back of the cage, meaning that the goal would stand and the Seahawks had prevailed."

That's right, the ball went through a part of the net and out the back. A one-in-a-million shot, believe me. The LAXers will try to get back on the winning track versus Mount St. Mary's, a game that will match the Keydets against the top RPI team in the MAAC. The Mount are currently #23 in that ranking system...Game notes will hopefully be out later today.

Track saw a pair of IC4A qualifying efforts this week, as the 4X800-meter relay team finished 15th in its section at the Penn Relays and qualified for IC's in the process. Also qualifying was Matt Satterwhite, thanks to a PR in the steeplechase during Sunday's meet at High Point. The next meet for the team is Thursday at Liberty, and VMIKeydets.com is expected to be on hand to get photos and, likely, to have periodic twitter updates for the middle portions of the event.

Baseball's had a rough week...The losing streak is now at seven, following a 6-2 loss to #7 Coastal Carolina Sunday. The Diamond Dwellers are back in action tomorrow night, and it doesn't get much easier. Virginia Tech is the opponent, fresh off taking two of three at #3-ranked Georgia Tech.

In a bit of news, the men's soccer schedule is nearly finalized. We hope to publish it within the next 10-14 days, barring an unexpected setback.

Wrestling also had news...Josh Wine was named to the VaSID All-State team.

This Week in VMI Athletics - April 21

2010-04-21T10:18:00.003-04:00

Hello, and welcome to another edition of This Week in VMI Athletics!

Let's open with track...Hopefully everyone was able to follow along with the blog from Charleston! The men's team finished fourth at this past week's Big South Championships, a performance that wasn't quite as high as last year's (second) but did have many strong outings. Felix Kitur's meet record in the 800 (on his birthday, no less!) was certainly a highlight, as were the two all-conference steeplechase performers.

The women's team didn't quite perform to expectations, as the squad has suffered through injuries for the majority of the year, but Chandale Williams did run under 56 seconds for the first time in her career, breaking her 400-meter record by more than a second. Also, Zipporah McCann broke the Keydet heptathlon record with her outing at the meet.

Track now heads to the Penn Relays and High Point, meets which were previewed just a few moments ago.

It's been a rough week for baseball, and who would have expected that a week ago tonight? That's because seven days ago, the Keydets topped then-#1 UVA 12-3 in front of a record crowd at Gray-Minor...But it's been a slide since. Four straight losses, including three at conference rival Liberty, send the Keydets into William and Mary tonight on quite the skid. See if they can turn it around by clicking here.

Lacrosse lost to Siena 13-8 Saturday, falling despite leading 6-5 at the half and 4-0 early in the game. Improvement is taking place, and the Keydets certainly hope it continues into this weekend's game versus Wagner. Notes and a preview for that should be up Friday, but fans should note the game time has been changed to 2 p.m. due to a football intrasquad scrimmage (most of the scrimmage will take place in Foster Stadium, hence the LAX time change).

That'll do it for this week...Check back next week for more news from Post.

Blog Tomorrow

2010-04-20T15:13:00.002-04:00

Look for this week's blog tomorrow...Make sure to come out and support VMI Baseball tonight versus VCU, with a 6 p.m. start. If you can't get there, the game will broadcast on 96.7 3WZ, with Wade Branner on the call.

This Week in VMI Athletics - April 12

2010-04-12T12:54:00.004-04:00

We'll open with something other than baseball, just to give this week a bit of variety. It's been announced within the last hour that VMI's Stephen Robarge is the Division I leader in face-off percentage (63.8%). As a team, VMI ranks second in D-I in that stat, trailing only Hartford...Robarge is also second in D-I in ground balls per game (8.09) trailing the face-off specialist from, you guessed it, Hartford.

For all fans wanting to see if the Keydets can get back on the winning track, you can go here to watch the game for a $5.95 fee.

Track has perhaps its biggest weekend of the year, starting Thursday in Charleston as CSU hosts this year's Big South Outdoor Championships. As we were last year, the VMI Athletic Media Relations office will be on hand to live blog and otherwise chronicle the events...The blog was a no-doubt, rousing success last year and should be a similar venture in 2010. You'll also be able to follow along the Big South Network's video streaming, as well as live results. The full preview on VMIKeydets.com, evaluating the Keydets' chances in particular events, should be up either Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Also from track, an alumnus wrote up a perspective on late March's Military Championships. Please check that out at the bottom of this post.

Wade Branner did an audio interview with Head Football Coach Sparky Woods earlier this week, and you can check that out here.

Now, baseball :-)...Rankings haven't come out yet for this week, but the Keydets are expected to remain ranked for the fifth consecutive tabulation after sweeping Gardner-Webb to run their win streak to eight. There is a chance VMI could move up to 27th in a matter of moments (Baseball SID Christian Hoffman, sitting right behind me, is pressing refresh on his web browser every couple of minutes).

Back to the on-field action...Alex Haitsuka had a huge week, including a 4 for 5 Sunday and a cycle Tuesday versus Longwood. Jordan Ballard tied the VMI record for career home runs Saturday, and Cory Spangenburg had a nice week as well. This is quite the roll...And now the Keydets draw UVA. Virginia comes into Gray-Minor Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. tilt, in a game that will be the first matchup between two ranked teams ever at the Keydets' home facility. The Hoos are currently ranked #4, but could move up as high as #1 in some polls after taking two of three from second-ranked Georgia Tech...Notes and a full preview should be up tomorrow.

IMPORTANT NOTE - The Virginia game is expected to draw one of the largest crowds in the history of Gray-Minor Stadium. Fans are strongly encouraged to park on the parade ground and walk to the stadium, as parking down the hill will be severely, severely limited and congestion will be high in that area. Also, we recommend that you purchase tickets in advance, just in case (540-464-7266).

That'll do it for this week...Check back next week for another update from Post, and hopefully more ranking updates from baseball!

NOTE AFTER PUBLISHING - Keydets are ranked 26th in Collegiate Baseball poll...Release to follow later today.
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It’s Saturday in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The air is cool and clear. Miles away from major cities and sports arenas, a few spectators stand and sit in the chill for hours to watch a great and sadly unheralded sports event.

The press and media presence is minimal. There is no wide video screen. There are no instant replays. There is no loud music. America is tuned into March Madness when sixty four teams will compete before screaming fans in massive arenas. There will be Cinderella stories and close games, but none of that can inspire one as the competition which unfolded last weekend at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).

Here was held the 2010 Military Track & Field Championships. Present were teams from all the Federal Academies- Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine together with the Citadel and VMI. Over 350 athletes competed over two days. These athletes do not aspire to be professional stars; most are to become second lieutenants and ensigns and some, future generals and admirals.

It was a privilege to spend several hours at this meet watching athletes, some of national stature and many more competing for the joy of competition. I sat next to Bobby Ross VMI Class of 1959, a career college and professional football coach who started his coaching career at VMI and concluded it at West Point. Along the way he won a national championship at Georgia Tech and took the San Diego Chargers to the Super Bowl. This man knows intercollegiate athletics, its purposes, its successes and its challenges.

He also knows what it means to be a member of the military. His son Kevin was a distance runner and captain of the Navy track team in the 1980’s. With a daughter-in-law serving in the Army in Afghanistan and a daughter married to a Navy Captain, just back from Afghanistan, the Ross family knows well the sacrifices our service men and women and families make defending our country.

Together, we watched race after race. We marveled at the competition and incredibly “squared away” young men and women in the races and field events. They were uniformly trim, athletic and fiercely competitive.

Yet the true majesty of the meet was not lost as we watched and talked. These were not just athletes; they will be the future leaders of America. More importantly, they would soon be responsible as young line officers for America’s greatest treasure- its young men and women serving throughout the world in its most dangerous places. They will place their own lives at risk and will be responsible for the lives of those they will command. They will undertake whatever mission they are given no matter how dangerous it might be. How they have been trained to endure pain and lead amidst adversity will determine whether men and women die, are wounded or return to their families safely.

Just when we thought it would not be possible to be more proud of a group of young Americans, the track meet hosted two races – 100 and 200 meter events. This time young military veterans would be the runners. This time they would be not just runners, but wounded warriors running with artificial legs. They gave all they had to run those meters with grit and courage- the same grit and courage that, no doubt, had helped them overcome the pain of their wounds. Other wounded veterans refusing to give in to their injuries and showing the same determination the runners displayed competed in field events.

As the last race was run and the loud speaker system announced the order of team points, we focused not on who won or lost, but that from these fields of friendly competition, these Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen would one day serve as comrades in arms defending our nation. On those occasions, they may reflect with pride on one spring weekend in Virginia when they met, competed and prepared to lead our Armed Forces in their defense of our freedom and liberty.

Certainly the commentaries and press will describe with much fanfare another brand of sacrifice, leadership and courage throughout March Madness. Yet if they wanted to see a much different level of collegiate athletics, sacrifice, courage, commitment and leadership and one vital to our nation, they should have been in Lexington, Virginia this weekend.

May God bless and protect this very special group of American athletes and patriots.

George. H.”Skip”Roberts, Jr. is an attorney practicing in Lexington, ran cross country and track at VMI 1964- 1968 and served in the United States Air Force. He may be reached at sroberts@wawlaw.com.

This Week in VMI Athletics - April 6

2010-04-06T13:34:00.003-04:00

As the temps begin to rise in the Lexington area (85 degrees is possible this week), baseball continues its amazing run. Ranked 29th for the second straight week, the Keydets are now 23-5 on the year and 7-2 in the Big South. This weekend will send VMI down to the Carolinas to take on Gardner-Webb, in three games that will NOT be played in Boiling Springs. Rather, the three-game set will be in Spartanburg, S.C...But first, the Keydets have a pair of mid-week games, with Longwood coming to Gray-Minor Stadium tonight and James Madison to follow Wednesday. Internet audio will be available for both games.

After a two-week road trip, lacrosse is back in town to take on the Saint Joseph's Hawks. SJU sits at 0-10, while VMI comes in having been on the wrong end of six straight results. As they say, something's got to give...The Keydets and Hawks always have close games, and this one should be no exception.

Track had a great meet down at Liberty last weekend, with Kate Collins and Chandale Williams setting new VMI records. James Alexander posted two IC4A marks and moved himself into position to possibly qualify for the regional meet, while Felix Kitur triumphed in the 400-meters. Next up, a trip to UVA on the 9th and 10th with the Big South Championships to follow the weekend after...It's VERY likely (but not officially set yet) that we'll repeat last year's coverage at the conference meet by blogging, etc.

In something you may have noticed on pretty much all of our sport sites, nominations are now being accepted for the distinguished coaching award. Read more about that here.

Of course, what would an update be without Reggie Williams news...Here's our latest capsule on him. Finally, VMI football announced three additional signings this week...Check those out here.

That's it for now...Make sure to catch VMI baseball vs. Longwood tonight on VMIKeydets.com!

This Week in VMI Athletics - March 29

2010-03-29T12:30:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the latest version of This Week in VMI Athletics!

VMI baseball continues to roll, staying in Collegiate Baseball's top-30 (#29) after taking two of three from Charleston Southern this past weekend. The only loss was to CSU ace Tyler Thornburg, who allowed just two hits in a thrilling 1-0 CSU win two weeks after pitching a CG against the Florida Gators. That kid can pitch. Jason Farley answered with a CG of his own in the second game of Saturday's twinbill, pitching VMI to a win. Tuesday sends the Keydets to Virginia Tech, in a game that will be broadcast on 1450 AM WREL in the Lexington area (as well as VMIKeydets.com).

VMI football announced three new recruits today, and you can check out that article here.

Track comes off a solid weekend at the Military Championships, which were hosted here in Lexington. Hannah Granger smoked the field in the 5K, setting a new school record by some 20 seconds, and Felix Kitur hung on late to win the 800. Both teams finished fourth, which was a strong result, and now the squads will prepare to head to Liberty next weekend for a meet there. We'll be on hand with some twitter updates on Saturday, although we'll not sure how much or when yet.

Lacrosse lost to Detroit-Mercy 11-8 Saturday, falling to 2-7 overall and 0-2 in the MAAC. Keith Long continues to show improvement, as he posted three goals and an assist, while Sean McCoy appears to be back to his normal self as he stopped 11 shots in defeat. Manhattan is up next for the Keydets, in a game which is set for noon on Saturday.

Women's soccer will hold a skills clinic April 24, and you can check out more info on that here. That'll wrap up this week's blog, check back next week for further update!

No blog this week

2010-03-25T13:00:00.002-04:00

No blog this week, as we prepare to host the Military Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday at Foster Stadium. Follow along through a live blog on VMIKeydets.com, as well as periodically updated results at this link. In addition, Charleston Southern comes to town for a three-game series at Gray-Minor Stadium, the final two games of which will be on the Big South Network. Make sure to follow along!

This Week in VMI Athletics - March 19

2010-03-19T21:53:00.002-04:00

Not long ago, the #30 Keydet baseball team ran its record to 17-1, improving on what was already the best start in VMI history. A two-run home run by Graham Sullivan in the top of the ninth broke a 3-3 tie with High Point, and VMI held on to win 5-4. That came after sweeping The Citadel in a two-game midweek series (game one here, game two here). Of course, Jordan Ballard had a banner week award-wise, as he was not only the Big South Player of the Week, but also earned co-ECAC Player of the Week honors and was tabbed one of the National Players of the Week.

The series with High Point will continue tomorrow evening, and it promises to be another interesting game offensively (both teams came in to tonight's game in the top-five nationally in batting average). Tune in via the VMI Sports Network on www.vmikeydets.com.

Speaking of broadcasting, tomorrow's lacrosse game at Foster Stadium is going to be streamed on the Big South Network. The Keydets, led by current MAAC Offensive Player of the Week Tim Moran, will take on Marist in the MAAC opener for both teams, and the stream can be viewed for a $3.95 cost. Check out the full preview here.

Track's outdoor season will begin next Friday, as the Keydets host the second Military Championships at Foster Stadium. Check out the meet information here, and be aware that there will be no charge for admission. Our coverage from the meet is still being worked on, but that'll certainly be put out there when we figure out what's viable.

Believe it or not, that's it from Post this week...Things have been slow as the cadets have been on Spring Break. We're excited for lacrosse tomorrow and track the next week, and once again, congratulations to baseball on its 17th win of 2010!

This Week in VMI Athletics - March 11

2010-03-11T12:05:00.002-05:00

Let's open this week's blog with the hottest team on Post, VMI baseball. The Keydets started off the year rolling, winning their first 10 games, before losing to Bryant 8-5 this past Monday. VMI's offense has been rolling, as the team is hitting .374, paced by Graham Sullivan's .432 clip. The team is outhomering its opponents 24-2, led by Cory Spangenberg's four and Sam Roberts' five. Pitching has been solid, led by Adam Lopez's 21-2 K/BB ratio. The Keydets will be back in action beginning today, as they face La Salle in the opener of a four-game weekend series. That game has been moved to 4 p.m., with the other three games taking place at 5, 1 and 1. Yes, those are strange times.

I'm told that fans can watch every game next week, with three games broadcast online by The Citadel. The three games at High Point will be on the Big South Network, and in addition, it is possible that every game next week will be an audio broadcast (even if just online) by some combination of Wade Branner and Christian Hoffman. That last part, however, is still up in the air.

Lacrosse is also in action here on Post Saturday, as the Keydets have their final non-conference game of the year. Vermont comes to town for a 1 p.m. start at Foster Stadium. VMI is looking to rebound from two consecutive losses, albeit to a pair of the best offensive attacks in D-I (Robert Morris and UVA). The Catamounts come in at 0-4, but have lost those four games by just 10 total goals, so this should be a close, competitive and hard fought game all the way through. Live stats, of course, will be available on VMIKeydets.com.

LAX has also announced that its April 10 game with Saint Joseph's will feature a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project. The release on that is available here.

Track wrapped up its indoor season at the IC4A Championships this past weekend, and Felix Kitur led the way by claiming the title in the 800-meters. Video of his winning effort is available here.

Unfortunately, that time did not qualify Kitur for the NCAA Championships (although it did earn him Big South Indoor Track AOTW honors), so the indoor season is, in fact, over for VMI. The Keydets' next event is the Military Championships, an outdoor meet at Foster Stadium the last weekend in March. Look for more info on that shortly, but it promises to be an exciting meet filled with great competition.

Also on the running front, women's cross country was named one of the USTFCCCA's All-Academic teams. A fine honor for the ladies, who enjoyed a banner year on course as well!

Wrestling wrapped up its season as well, posting seven placewinners and a fifth-place team finish at the SoCon Championships.

In other news, Reggie Williams '08 had a career-high 28 points earlier this week versus New Orleans. The final game of his first 10-day contract is tonight. Stay tuned for further information on whether it will keep "raining" in Golden State.

Blog to move to Thursday

2010-03-11T01:41:00.000-05:00

At least for this week, the blog is moved to Thursday...We spent Wednesday promoting the Military Championships track meet (March 26-27), hence, the need to move the blog to Thursday.

This Week in VMI Athletics - March 3

2010-03-03T13:24:00.002-05:00

Well, basketball season ended for the Keydets last night. Down 24 to top-seeded Coastal Carolina, VMI clawed back within seven before eventually losing, 82-73 to the Chanticleers down in Conway. It was a spirited comeback, but Coastal is not a fluke, by any usage of the term. They have talent inside and out, and when they can run out to a lead shooting the ball like they did, they could beat anyone.

Before the game, three Keydets were named to Big South Postseason squads, including Stan Okoye and Austin Kenon. You can read all about those honors here.

Speaking also of basketball, the second Keydet to ever make the NBA debuted last night, as Reggie Williams '08 got on the floor for the Golden State Warriors. He had 10 points in 20 minutes of play, and clearly impressed GS coach Don Nelson. Reggie's back in action tonight against Vince Carter and the Orlando Magic in a game that will be available on NBA TV.

Baseball is off to the best start in program history, as that squad has begun its season 7-0, including yesterday's 11-inning win at Maryland. Freshman John Garrett earned the win in relief, as he retired all six hitters he faced. In a strange stat, the Keydets' seven different wins have come from seven different pitchers. VMI returns to the diamond Friday, taking on Maryland Eastern Shore.

Lacrosse is also on a roll, fresh off a 14-7 win over Presbyterian yesterday in Clinton, S.C. Tim Moran had four goals, Kelly McMinn (the MAAC Rookie of the Week) had 10 saves and VMI was able to play its bench in the second half after pouring on the goals early (en route to a 9-1 advantage). The Keydets are 2-2 for the first time since '05, and will host the highest scoring team in Division I on Saturday, as Robert Morris comes to town for a 1 p.m. start at Foster Stadium.

Wrestling is getting ready for the SoCon Championships this weekend...We'll have a preview up in a day or two, but for now, check out this feature story on Josh Wine.

Track will go to the IC4A/ECAC Championships this coming weekend, fresh off a solid outing at the conference championships. The men were third, led by Dada Titcombe's 24 points (including the longest indoor long jump in the Big South since '05), while the women scored the most points they ever had at a conference meet (52), won multiple events for the first time (Granger (5K) and Collins (pole vault) and finished in a tie for sixth. That's a team on the rise.

That'll do it for this week...It's a busy week coming up, so make sure to check in on VMIKeydets.com throughout the next seven days, and follow Reggie Williams on the various media outlets.

Pushing back a day

2010-03-02T15:12:00.001-05:00

We're going to push the blog to tomorrow because of everything that's going on...Don't forget to tune in to basketball's tournament game tonight at 7 p.m.!

This Week in VMI Athletics - Feb. 23

2010-02-23T01:39:00.000-05:00

All right, let's get right into it, shall we? It's been a crazy week.

A week ago today, Austin Kenon exploded on Senior Night. A career-high 38 points later, the Keydets had a huge 91-84 win over High Point, helping VMI keep its tournament hopes alive. Next up? Charleston Southern, who's enjoying a respectable year down at the BucDome. That game goes off Thursday night, and a win would be, shall we say, helpful. Looming in the season finale is Coastal Carolina, who is bearing down on the Big South record for regular season victories.

It would be nice for the Keydets to be looking for a momentum win in Conway, rather than simply trying to get into the conference tourney...However, if VMI does get in, that season-ending game at CCU could pay dividends. The Keydets and Chanticleers would likely face off again, just days after the regular season ended, and it is very hard, historically speaking, to beat a team in two games that close together. It is certainly a two-sided coin, without a doubt.

Wrestling continues to march toward the SoCon Championships...A 31-9 loss to Chattanooga ended the team's regular season, but they have time to rest up and train for the conference tournament, as that doesn't take place until March 6.

Baseball opened its season with an impressive sweep of Bucknell this past weekend...The three-game series featured some very notable play from a handful of freshmen, particularly Cory Spangenburg, who hit .500 with two doubles and a home run over the three-game sweep. This week's game with Richmond has been postponed, leaving the Keydets looking toward Friday for their return, when Lafayette is expected to come to Gray-Minor Stadium for the opening of a three-game series.

Also with baseball, our popular player blogs have made a return. Tanner Biagini is filing this one from baseball, and it is quite the humorous read so far...Make sure you check it out, and read all about the "House that Sam Roberts Built".

Lacrosse had a head-turning game Saturday, nearly pulling off an upset of Army before eventually falling, 11-9. A four-goal comeback in the fourth quarter, a push that got the Keydets within one with 5:51 to play, fell just short as Army notched the clincher in the final 90 seconds. Stephen Robarge was the catalyst for the team's performance, as he won 16 of 19 face-offs on the day, helping earn himself the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Jacksonville comes to town Saturday, fresh off its first win in program history, a triple OT thriller over #18 Denver. That game will be at 1 p.m.

Track sent a handful of athletes to Virginia Tech this past weekend, and action was headlined by Felix Kitur posting an NCAA Provisional Qualifying time in the 800-meters (1:49.55). The Big South Championships now loom large, and VMIKeydets.com is conducting an in-depth preview all this week. Monday, we broke down the contenders in the women's pole vault, and later today, we'll have a detailed overview of the men's weight throw. The series culminates Friday with an interview with VMI head coach Darrin Webb, before the Championships begin Saturday in Clemson, S.C.

In a side note for track, we're preparing for the Military Championship meet that we'll host at Foster Stadium in March...Look for more info on that as we get closer to the date.

Swimming and Diving closed out its season this past week, as they took part in the CCSA Championships. James Goodwillie had a great meet (In a bit of a scoop, Goodwillie and the aforementioned Robarge will share the VMI Athlete of the Week honor that'll be announced later today), including earning the first podium finish for the Keydets since they joined the conference. Both the men's and women's teams broke multiple school records, and matched their best finishes since becoming part of the CCSA.

Finally, VMI men's soccer coach Ben Freakley announced his resignation Wednesday. He will accept a position at Georgia Southern, and a national search for a new head coach is underway. Former assistant Richie Rose has assumed the title of Interim Head Coach during the search.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Feb. 16

2010-02-16T11:41:00.004-05:00

Let's jump right in...

The picture at left is from VMI lacrosse's
season opener, a 16-5 loss at Navy Saturday afternoon. The Keydets fell behind early, but a solid performance from redshirt freshman keeper Kelly McMinn, as well as three goals from Tim Moran, helped keep the game somewhat competitive. LAX is back in action Saturday at West Point, taking on Army.

Baseball is on the verge of opening its season, with three games scheduled for this weekend. There is still snow on the field and on the grounds as a whole, but at this moment, the games are still on. There certainly will be updates on the web site if that changes.

Also for baseball, I'm told that the season preview and the entire media guide will go onto the web site either today or tomorrow. Also scheduled to debut in the next 48 hours is a player blog for baseball, written by Tanner Biagini...No official title yet, but these blogs have gotten good reviews for other sports, and this one should be no exception.

Basketball split its North Carolina road swing, including pulling out a huge win at Gardner-Webb. That victory, coupled with the Keydets' victory over HPU earlier in the season, puts VMI at the #8 spot in the Big South standings with three games to play...And those three games begin tonight, as High Point comes into Cameron Hall for Senior Day. Tip is at 7 p.m.

Track and Field competed in two meets this weekend, with a Lindsey Carty PR pacing the teams at Liberty and five IC4A qualifying marks coming in Akron, Ohio. There's a question right now where the Keydets will next compete, as they may send a few competitors to Virginia Tech this coming weekend. The conference championships will be the following weekend, Feb. 27-28, in Clemson, S.C.

Wrestling dropped a pair of SoCon duals this week, falling to UNC Greensboro and App. State. Senior night is Friday evening, as the Keydets host Chattanooga.

That's all for this week...Check back next week, when we just might have the first baseball results of the new year.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Feb. 8

2010-02-08T15:22:00.004-05:00

With apologies to the Colts fans who might be reading, one has to feel good for the Saints today. What a story...I truly believe this year's New Orleans team was one that, 20-25 years down the line, you look back on and remember. Now then...

A vicious winter storm hit the Mid-Atlantic this week (picture at left - Saturday, 5 p.m., about two miles from the Hill), and even though we here at the I didn't get the three feet Washington did, we were still belted pretty well...But the sporting events marched on in true VMI fashion. We'll start with track.

Hannah Granger was profiled by the Big South this week, as she was put in the "Musco Women's Spotlight". The lengthy interview revealed some interesting answers by the 2009 Big South Women's Cross Country Champion...Take a look here.

Despite the snow you see above, the VMI Winter Relays ran on...Didn't mean the pun (track "ran" on) :-). Anyway, the weather precluded all visiting teams except Washington & Lee from attending. Cody Davis posted two personal bests (and is likely to be the VMI Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career), and Aquisi Harris set a new PR in the weight throw. Track's back in action this coming weekend, splitting into two groups. One set of athletes will go to Akron, Ohio, while the other travels to Liberty. Results will be posted on VMIKeydets.com as always.

Speaking of this next weekend, lacrosse will open its season for the third consecutive year at the Naval Academy (Noon, Saturday). The 2010 LAX interactive guide is in its final proofs right now and hopefully will be released by Wednesday, followed by game notes and a preview sometime Thursday. We'll be there, but are still working out the details of what we'll be able to do (live blog, tweeting, etc).

Wrestling was in action this past weekend, as they braved the bad weather to go up to the All-Academy Championships, where they placed fifth. Five Keydets finished in third place in their weight classes, including Josh Wine, who suffered his first loss of the year. Wine now stands at 17-1 on the season.

And finally, basketball went 1-2 this week. A loss to Radford started the week, as Art Parakhouski tied a Cameron Hall record with 22 rebounds (oh yeah, he also had 30 points). This just in: He's pretty good. The Keydets rebounded Thursday with a rout of Presbyterian, overcoming an early 22-8 deficit, before falling to Winthrop (despite a furious rally in the last 3:40) to conclude the week. VMI's back in action this Thursday, taking on Gardner-Webb in a road game that is, without a doubt, the Keydets' biggest game of the season.

In other news, Reggie Williams '08 was named to the D-League's All-Star squad this week. We've got everything you ever wanted to know about those festivites, but were afraid to ask.

Of course, it was football signing day on Wednesday, and the Keydets were not idle. 12 student-athletes inked deals to become cadet-athlete, and you can read capsules on them here.

Finally, Wade Branner hosted the Winter Sports Showcase (presented by Buddies True Value Hardware) on 3WZ radio this past Wednesday, and the event was taped for 'Roo-Tube (picture at left). Several VMI coaches, including Sparky Woods, Duggar Baucom, Rocky Trudgeon and Darrin Webb all discussed the current state of their programs...The event is linked here.

That's all we've got for this week...Baseball's season opener is just 11 days away, but no events are on Post until Feb. 16, when basketball returns to action vs. High Point. We'll talk to you next week.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Feb. 1

2010-02-01T15:00:00.002-05:00

What is about this week that seems to bring out hectic scheduling at the I? We have three home basketball games, a home track meet, lacrosse's 2010 debut (an exhibition event) and a Winter Sports Radio Show at Salerno's...All of it in a five day span. Welcome to the 2010 incarnation of the Winter Blitz.

Basketball comes off a disappointing effort in Lynchburg Thursday, and will look to rebound tomorrow night at Cameron Hall versus the defending conference champions, Radford. The Highlanders have lost three of their last four, including a 92-84 loss to UNC Asheville (currently the hottest team in the league) on Sunday. Presbyterian (Thursday) and Winthrop (Saturday), two teams who beat the Keydets on their home courts, will also visit Lexington this week.

The 2010 VMI Winter Relays are approaching, one of two track meets the Keydets will host this year. The meet is scheduled to go off at 8:30 Saturday AM, with the men's weight throw. One could make a day of it, and could plan to watch the Winter Relays, hit the lacrosse game up at the Turf Field (see below), then visit Cameron for VMI/Winthrop, which will include the presentation of this year's three-legged stool. An Alumni Game will follow the current Keydets' efforts on the hardwood.

Lacrosse will make its 2010 debut Saturday in an exhibition, as was mentioned above. Belmont Abbey and W&L will both be participating in the event, currently scheduled for the Turf Field at 11 a.m. Hopefully the snow will melt off and conditions will cooperate. In a side note, the Interactive Guide for LAX is near completion, and is expected to be ready by early next week.

This winter's radio program is titled the VMI Winter Sports Showcase, presented by Buddies True Value Hardware, and it will take place Wednesday night at 6:30 at Salerno's in Lexington. Various VMI coaches will be arriving periodically to be interviewed by Wade Branner, "The Voice of the Keydets", and one can (of course) purchase dinner. The event will be broadcast on 96.7 3WZ in the Lexington area.

That'll do it for this week...Congratulations to the newly minted Class of 2013, as they successfully broke out this past Saturday. Check back next week for results of all the above events, and another look inside Keydet sports.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Jan. 26

2010-01-26T12:31:00.003-05:00

Welcome back to another edition of This Week in VMI Athletics...We certainly have plenty to report here, as we'll open with the news of a radio show.

As you may have seen in the sidebar of the basketball game notes, we'll be hosting a radio show, the "Winter Sports Showcase Presented by Buddy's True Value", Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Salerno's here in Lexington. The show is at 6:30, and will be broadcast on 96.7 3WZ in the area...Guests are still forthcoming, but they will be a series of VMI coaches. We're just not sure which ones yet.

Wrestling returns to action tomorrow, having won three consecutive dual matches, including a sweep of Davidson and Millersville this past Friday. The Keydets will take on Liberty at 7:30 at the Thunderdome, and the match will be broadcast on the Big South Network. VMI has not lost at home this year, so it should be a fun night.

Track comes off a strong performance at one of the more historic venues in the country, the Armory in the Bronx, New York. The men finished ninth overall, with efforts that included a runner-up finish in the weight by Chad Lawson and an IC4A qualification by Felix Kitur. The women saw Hannah Granger finish third in the 3,000-meters and set a school record, while her sidekick Jenna Moye PR'd by some 35 seconds to finish fourth. T&F will now be off this weekend (along with the rest of VMI athletics), and will not return to action until Feb. 6, when they host the Winter Relays at Cormack Field House.

Basketball pulled one out against High Point Saturday, as the Keydets survived a second-half rally to get a much-needed Big South road win. Austin Kenon made six free throws in the final 14.1 seconds to seal the win, and send the Keydets into tonight's matchup with Southern Virginia (and hopefully, Thursday's game at Liberty) on a good note.

VMI baseball was picked sixth in the Big South preseason poll...Multiple-time defending champ Coastal Carolina was the preseason favorite, but in an odd twist, it wasn't unanimous.

Swimming and diving competed in its final regular season event Sunday, as the men split the tri-meet (defeating Howard but losing to St. Peter's), while the women dropped three decisions. The CCSA Championships are Feb. 18-20 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Finally, in perhaps the biggest news of all, the Keydets announced next year's football schedule this week. Trips to UVA and Army will highlight the slate, as well as the return to the list of William & Mary. Tickets go on sale July 1.

Tomorrow

2010-01-25T17:34:00.001-05:00

Check back in tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 26) for the latest edition of This Week in VMI Athletics.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Jan. 18

2010-01-18T13:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to another week here in the exciting life of VMI...Let's open by looking forward. This week, the Media Relations office will send a member of its team to the Great Dane Classic (in New York City) with Track and Field. There will not be a live blog due to the layout of the meet, potential lack of a secure, consistent work area, etc, but there will be Twitter updates throughout the event, both here and (we expect) here as well. We'll also be taking pictures, as our equipment allows, both for a post-meet photo gallery and for our files throughout the year...Certainly excited about this event, as it's held at the home of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, one of the more noted indoor T&F facilities in America.

Speaking of track, their interactive guide was released to the world on Sunday. Take a look here...Special thanks to Joel Balthaser Design for his extra effort on this project. The team also competed in Ohio this past week, with James Alexander and Jenna Moye leading the way. Moye now tops the conference results for the women's mile, although granted, it is still early in the year.

Basketball's Stan Okoye was named Big South Freshman of the Week just a few moments ago, thanks to his two double-doubles for the Keydets' in Big South action last week. Unfortunately, the team suffered two setbacks in those games...Now, they have to get off the slide by facing the defending conference champion Radford Highlanders. That game is Thursday at 7 in Radford...The Highlanders are beatable, as they come off a game in which they were, to be honest, defeated quite handily by the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (70-55). Of course, CSU has been VMI's lone conference win thus far in 09-10...Strange.

Wrestling had a great week, winning two matches, including pulling off the 21-18 upset at Duke Sunday afternoon. The Keydets also knocked off Franklin & Marshall earlier in the week (33-10) and fell to the Citadel in their SoCon opener (24-10). Josh Wine remains undefeated on the season, as the Keydets recorded their first win against an ACC opponent since defeating Duke, 22-15, on Nov. 13, 2005. It also marked VMI's first road win since a triumph over The Citadel on Feb. 18, 2007 (strangely, the score that day was also 21-18).

Finally, Swimming and Diving got back to action at Davidson, suffering a setback on Friday evening. That's all for this week, as it's expected to be pretty quiet around Post until the 26th, when Southern Virginia visits Cameron Hall for the annual Rockbridge County Shootout (that's not the official name) with the Keydets.

Reggie Raining on Versus Network

2010-01-13T11:20:00.001-05:00

Reggie Williams '09 will play in the NBDL's first nationally televised game of the year, Sioux Falls vs Fort Wayne, this Saturday night on the Versus Network. Check your local listings for time and channel.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Jan. 12

2010-01-12T16:02:00.002-05:00

Well, after quite the sabbatical, we're back with you for another edition of This Week in VMI Athletics...And it's been a strange one. Two basketball losses, one each to Winthrop and Presbyterian, before last night's surviving of (sorry, but there's no other way to put it) a furious rally by Randolph College, has marked an odd week for VMI basketball. Thankfully, the losing skid is over, and we are about to resume conference play. UNC Asheville comes to Cameron Thursday night, followed by Gardner-Webb Saturday evening (NOTE THE 7 P.M. start) for a pair of crucial Big South games among three teams that are, indeed, struggling.

Before we see Asheville in Lexington, wrestling returns to action tomorrow by taking on Franklin & Marshall. Live updates will be provided on the VMISID Twitter page, accessible here. Two setbacks, to N.C. State and George Mason, comprised the Keydet grapplers past seven days. During the break, they conquered the Wilkes Open, as Josh Wine won five straight matches to claim that crown. Wine was named the SoCon Wrestler of the Month for December, as he went undefeated in the month to earn the honor.

Basketball roundball lunch returns tomorrow, back in action at Salerno's at noon. Later in the week, Coach Baucom's talk should be posted to 'Roo-Tube.

Track and Field returns to action this weekend, traveling to the Doug Raymond Invitational at Kent State. The next weekend will see the Keydets travel to the historic Armory in New York City, a meet which VMIKeydets.com will be there for. We hope to provide some sort of coverage live from that meet, although we haven't quite worked out the details yet.

That's all for now!

One Day Delay

2010-01-11T16:39:00.000-05:00

For those of you interested, we'll go ahead and push the blog back to tomorrow (Tuesday) this week, since we have a game tonight in Cameron. Basketball looks to break its losing streak and takes on Randolph College at 7 p.m...This is a time change from what was originally listed in some formats, so come on out and support the Keydets!

We'll be back here tomorrow for a full week in review.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Jan. 4

2010-01-04T12:38:00.002-05:00

Hello all, and welcome back to the blog for a new year. The snow from Dec. 18-19's storm continues to be on the ground, although nothing new has fallen in several days.

Let's open with a quick note: Basketball's Jan. 16 game against Gardner-Webb, previously scheduled for 1 p.m., is now a 7 p.m. tip at Cameron Hall. Again, now a 7 p.m. start.

There's not that much else to report, but let's quickly hit what's happened around Post since we last checked in.

Basketball's gone 0-2, including losses to George Mason and Liberty. Coach Baucom was not happy Saturday, saying that "Until guarding becomes important to us, it's going to be a long season." Follow along Thursday, as the Keydets try to break their recent skid at Winthrop. The 7 p.m. start will be broadcast on the VMI Sports Network and available via vmikeydets.com.

Josh Wine's heavyweight title led wrestling's lone outing over the holidays, a trip to the Wilkes Open in Wilkes, Pa. Wine won five straight matches to prevail, and was joined in placing by Ronnie Ellsworth, who finished fourth at 197 lbs.

The Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) announced their All-State women's soccer team over the break, and Audrey Falconi and Angela Redmond both made appearances on the squad.

Reggie Williams '08 continues to sizzle in the NBDL, having been named the performer of the week for games of Dec. 21.

Check back next week for updates on the remainder of happenings around VMI Post.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Dec. 14

2009-12-14T01:45:00.002-05:00

Hello all! Welcome to the final 2009 edition of This Week in VMI Athletics...We certainly hope everyone has a great Christmas and a blessed holiday season, and that everyone is able to spend time with family and loved ones over the next 17 days.

In addition to those things, if you live in the Fairfax area, perhaps you can see some Keydet basketball. VMI will travel up to Fairfax to take on George Mason on the 22nd, in what will be the Keydets' final game of 2009. VMI, of course, comes off a disappointing loss to Seton Hall this past Saturday, in which the Pirates scorched VMI for 134 points, including 40 (mostly on 12 three-pointers) by Jamel Jackson.

Wrestling scored a big win on Friday, knocking off Gardner-Webb 21-15 at the Thunderdome. After being down early, the Keydets won four of the last five matches to capture the dual. The grapplers are back in action on the 29th, as they take part in the Southern Scuffle down in Greensboro.

No other VMI sports are in action the remainder of the month, so things have slowed down considerably around Post. However, we do want to keep you apraised of some off-Post news...Reggie Williams '07 scored 27 points on Saturday to lead the NBDL's Sioux Falls team, but the Skyforce came up just short against Fort Wayne. For reasons undisclosed, Williams recieved his first "Did Not Play" of the season in Sunday's rematch between the clubs, won by the Skyforce 110-100.

In addition, we do want to let you know that updates will be occuring on VMIKeydets.com over the holidays, including a pair of "Getting to Know"-style Q&A sessions with track and field athletes. Keep checking for those, as well as for game notes and any other news surrounding the George Mason game. Don't forget, basketball is back on Post Jan. 2 versus Liberty, make your plans now to attend.

Once again, Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope you all have a safe and wonderful time, and we'll be back with you in 2010.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Dec. 7

2009-12-07T17:14:00.002-05:00

Welcome to another edition of This Week in VMI Athletics, on a frosty, FROSTY day in Lexington. It snowed much of the day Saturday, and dropped well into the 20's on Sunday, where it is expected to be once again tonight. Makes it feel like Christmas, with the weekend snow still on the ground.

In fact, today just might feel like Christmas to any water polo advocates in the area as well. It came out today that Water Polo will be the newest women's sport at VMI, #7 to be exact. View the complete story here.

Wrestling was in action this weekend and struggled, but the team did see the return of Josh Wine, the two-time SoCon champ. They also became the first team at VMI to possess the wave of the future, an "Interactive Guide" to describe their program. Many prominent teams and programs are moving their previously printed pieces online, and the Keydets are no exception. Track is scheduled to follow with a similar piece shortly.

Speaking of track, one of the most resurgent programs at the I opened its season this week, taking part in the first men's/women's meet in the country, the Liberty Kickoff in Lynchburg. The jumpers were impressive, and a handful of individual efforts were notable...It's a good basis for training before the meets in January begin on the 16th of that month.

Swimming and Diving returned to action in Ashland, Va., taking part in the Yellow Jacket invite. The men were victorious over Hood College, while the women set a handful of school records and came home fifth.

Finally, as I'm sure you know, basketball split its first two conference games. The loss to a VERY legitimate Coastal team was followed by a resounding shooting performance against Charleston Southern, one which sparked the Keydets to another win over the Bucs, their seventh straight. VMI is 4-0 when leading at the half, 4-0 at Cameron Hall and 4-0 when allowing under 100 points.

Time for some news and notes...

As the women's soccer NCAA Tournament just ended, our own Angela Redmond concluded this season fourth (yes, FOURTH) in the country in save percentage (89.3%). Impressive.

Wrestling's match Friday versus Gardner-Webb, set for 7:30 in the Thunderdome, will be videostreamed. It will also be the final home event for VMI Sports in 2009.

Finally, as you may have already noticed, the Jan. 16th basketball game with Gardner-Webb has been moved to 7 p.m.

That's it for this week...Check back next Monday, as the year winds down, for the final edition of the Blog in 2009.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Nov. 30

2009-11-30T08:59:00.002-05:00

Well, we certainly hope everyone had an excellent and restful Thanksgiving! The Christmas trees are up, the holiday hustle and bustle is ready to go and you can almost hear Judy Garland (who introduced the song in the 1944 movie, "Meet Me in St. Louis") singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in the background...

VMI basketball dropped a 115-95 decision to UNC Wilmington in its lone game last week. The Keydets fell behind big early, but battled back to make a game of it in the second half before UNCW pulled away late for the 20-point win. Coach Baucom continues to tweet that the Keydets are young and a "work in progress", so we can only await to see the start of Big South play, which begins this week in fact.

Coastal comes into Cameron Hall on Dec. 3 in a game that will be regionally televised (more on that in the couple of days via Twitter and the game notes), and thus, will begin much later than normal (9 p.m.)...Following the Chanticleers' visit, Charleston Southern pops in on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start, before the Keydets' get back to out-of-conference action next week. That game against the Bucs is the final game at Cameron until 2010, as the Hall will be empty between Dec. 5 and Jan. 2.

Before ALL that can happen though, VMI hosts Lynchburg College tonight at 7 p.m. Come on out if you're in the area!

Basketball's not the only sport going on right now, as track and field opens up this week with a meet at Liberty. It is believed the Liberty Kickoff indoor meet may be the first-such indoor meet in the country this season, and VMI will be a part of it Wednesday and Thursday in Lynchburg.

A full preview of the two-day competition will be posted, likely Tuesday, while a complete indoor season preview should be expected in mid-to-late December as part of the track and field media guide. A preliminary time schedule for this week's meet is available here.

Finally, the Keydets placed seven on the Big South's All-Conference teams last week, including Tim Maypray, George Handler and Marc Ray on the conference's first team. Check out the release here.

That'll do it for this week...Hope to see you tonight for basketball and here next week for more news from around VMI Post.

Reggie Rain

2009-11-23T10:38:00.001-05:00

Reggie Williams '08 rained a game-high 27 points on the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League Friday night in Sioux Falls' tuneup for the upcoming D-League season...Box Score here.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Nov. 22

2009-11-22T22:49:00.002-05:00

Well, we got the feedback we were looking for, and the blog will continue. Hopefully we can come up with some new ways to use this feature, but until we do, let's quickly review recent happenings here on Post.

There haven't been many. Football suffered a heartbreaking loss to Old Dominion yesterday...It was a very tough season for the Keydets, with four of VMI's nine losses being decided by seven points or less.

With that, we turn attention to basketball, which currently sits at 2-1 after a 19-point win over West Virginia Wesleyan last week. As Coach Baucom tweeted after the game (and I'll give the exact quote to you), "hopefully we will start shooting the ball well. we r still young & a work in progress." The roundballers return to the hardwood on Tuesday, taking on UNC Wilmington down in North Carolina. The next game at Cameron Hall, which is actually the next home event on post, isn't until Nov. 30 against Lynchburg College. That's a 7 p.m. start, and will be the last game before Dec. 3's conference opener against Coastal.

Wrestling competed at the Keystone Classic today, posting a single placewinner (John Pope - 125). You can read Coach Trudgeon's words here, as he is clearly disappointed with today's outing.

Work has begun on both the track and field and wrestling media guides...Don't want to raise too many expectations, so I'll hold my comments on that to just revealing that news. However, we're very excited about this year's products, and we hope you will be too. No release dates yet though.

Speaking of track, they are preparing for their opener Dec. 3 over in Lynchburg. If you're interested in attending, you can find all the needed info here. Of course, track's sister sport, cross country, just wrapped up its season, and we put a video recap with Coach Spangler. That's accessible here.

I do believe that'll do it...With so few events, I'm not sure you'll see much from us on the blog next week, unless there's breaking news, but the blog as a whole will continue. Again, thank you for your feedback, as it is very appreciated. A Happy Thanksgiving to all, and thank you for reading This Week in VMI Athletics.

Evaluation

2009-11-16T17:22:00.002-05:00

We've hit an interesting point, heading out of the fall sports and into the winter ones, and with that, comes a time for evaluation. The Twitter account that we launched in the summer has been a big hit, one that seems to be very popular among the alums (and even among those who have very little connection to VMI). However, we haven't heard a lot about this blog since it opened...So what I'd ask is this: If you read the blog, send me a note at saloisbj@vmi.edu, tweet to us, or contact us in whatever manner you wish. Just somehow let us know that you like what you see here. It's not much, but it is something. If no one's reading what we put here, we may reassess and try to come up with some other ways to utilize our time in order to best serve you, the supporter of Keydet athletics. Time is the great currency, and if we need to reallocate ours in order to improve the product, we will.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Nov. 10

2009-11-10T15:08:00.002-05:00

Another gut-wrenching loss for football...Let's try to move on past that and discuss the remainder of This Week in VMI Athletics.

The Keydet gridiron squad will head to West Point this weekend to take on Army in VMI's lone FBS game of the year. Unfortunately, no live video will be available for the contest. However, Wade Branner and Cal Murray will be in attendance to call the game and the contest will be televised by CBS College Sports on a tape-delay basis. Get the gameday central page, as well as full information on how you can see the contest, here.

Strangely, that's not the only time the Keydets will face a Black Knight squad this coming weekend. Friday night brings Army basketball to Cameron Hall for VMI's 2009-10 season opener. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and Christian Hoffman will, for the second-consecutive season, call the first contest of the year on the VMI Radio Network. That brings us to a couple of interesting tidbits about basketball...

1) The 2009-10 media guide is scheduled to be put on the web site later today, as the covers are being sized for that operation as I type this.

2) Former VMI standouts Reggie Williams and Travis Holmes have been drafted by teams in the NBA Development League (NBDL) in Nov. 5's eight-round D-League Draft. Williams was taken by the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the third round, and Holmes was snatched by the Utah Flash in the sixth round. Rosters for the D-League teams now sit at 15 players apiece, but must be trimmed to 10 by Nov. 25. If Holmes and Williams both end up on the active, regular-season roster, VMI fans should take note of the scheduled Feb. 17 matchup between the Skyforce and the Flash, the only regular-season meeting between the clubs.

Back to current VMI news...

Women's soccer gave it a great run, didn't they? The thrilling game with Coastal Carolina was one of the most exciting moments for Keydet athletics in some time...Although the ladies came up short against Winthrop, it was a great season and one all VMI supporters should be proud of.

Men's soccer is seeded eighth for Thursday's Big South Tournament, with top-seeded Coastal Carolina the opponent. The Chanticleers come in on a four-game winning streak, while VMI has dropped six straight, but the regular season game between the clubs was a battle. Coastal pulled it out, but it took nearly 100 minutes to arrive at the 1-0 victory. There should be a preview available tomorrow.

Cross Country is back in action this weekend, traveling to Louisville for the regional meet. Coach Spangler stated at last week's football lunch that his goal for the women was to finish the year as the top team in the Big South, which will be a tall order and would involve beating Liberty at this meet. He also stated he believes the Keydet women could end up as one of the top 15 teams in the region, despite running four freshmen (sometimes five!) in their top six. High praise indeed!

Speaking of the mid-week lunches that are put into 'Roo-Tube, I'm hearing talk that Wednesday's luncheon at Salerno's will feature both Coach Woods and Coach Baucom...Not sure if that's official, but it should be fun if so. Both are engaging and certainly good with the question-and-answer format.

The 2010 baseball roster has now been posted online. Not really sure what else to say about that, but it's certainly an intriguing one with a lot of talented newcomers.

Work has begun on doing some minor revamping to the track and field pages, with their season opener right around the corner (Dec. 2-3). Old links have been pulled, while an "Away Meet Central" has been worked up, featuring everything available about VMI's meets on the road this season.

Make sure to check out the Photo Store as well on VMIKeydets.com, as we've added a considerable number of photos from the past year in all sports, from men's soccer to women's swimming.

We'll be back with you next week to prepare for the season finale of the football team, as well as another home basketball game.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Nov. 2

2009-11-02T14:28:00.003-05:00

It's time for another update on what's been going on around VMI Post this week.

Women's sports have been the highlight of the past seven days, without question, headlined by the women's cross country team at the BSC Championships. The squad finished second, which was the best effort ever by the team at the conference meet. Hannah Granger won the individual title, which was a program first, and Jenna Moye was the Freshman of the Year, thanks to a fourth-place effort. Moye was the program's first-ever Freshman of the Year. Coach Paul Spangler was very deserving of his women's Coach of the Year honor, which he received post-meet.

Women's soccer continued its impressive end-of-season run, following up last week's win over Liberty with a 2-1 win over Radford this past Friday at Patchin Field. The Keydets celebrated Senior Day with two goals from seniors, as Chrissy Beach and Kat Underwood found the back of the net to give VMI its first-ever win over RU on the pitch. The players then found out Sunday that they would be the #5 seed in this week's Big South Tournament, and would take on #4 Coastal Carolina at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Charleston, S.C. A full schedule is available in the last paragraph of this article.

Also from the women's pitch, Angela Redmond's 89.0 save percentage ranks eighth in the country at the conclusion of the regular season. Certainly a stat worth noting.

Men's cross country was fourth at the BSC Championships, as they did not (in the words of Coach Spangler) have their best performance. Men's soccer will look to break a three-game losing streak tonight against Liberty, while swimming and diving just competed in New Jersey this past weekend. Swim results are notoriously hard to get, regardless of the school, but a full release for the men's side of that trip should be up shortly (women's release is here, as they earned their second win in program history...both by one point over NJIT).

Football suffered another disappointing loss, falling 31-21 to Charleston Southern Saturday afternoon. These league games have been remarkably similar, but the road gets tougher from here. Lynchburg is a tough place to play now, and the Flames will come in ranked 16th in FCS.

That's it from Post this week...Check back next week for another update!

P:S: The full baseball schedule should be posted within the next day or so.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Oct. 26

2009-10-26T09:02:00.002-04:00

We're back with another edition of This Week in VMI Athletics...Led by Howard Abegesah.

The senior running back ran for 165 yards and three scores as VMI's running game rolled up over 500 yards of total offense, and the Keydets finally broke their five-game losing skid, winning 31-20 over Presbyterian Saturday in Clinton, S.C. Kyle Hughes also ran for over 100 yards, and in the process, became the fourth quarterback in Big South history to run for over 1,000 yards in his career.

Men's soccer dropped two games this week, including an overtime loss to Coastal Carolina yesterday. Women's soccer fell 1-0 in its only game, as seven of the team's 10 losses this season have been by just one goal.

Men's swimming picked up a win over Pfeiffer, 157-118, as James Goodwillie notched three event wins. The women's team fought hard, but came up short to the Pfeiffer women despite a pair of varsity relay records.

That's been just about it here from Post this week...We're preparing for Friday's Hall of Fame Banquet, on a day that will be quite busy here at VMI. Two soccer games (women at 12:30, men at 4) and the banquet, with football vs. Charleston Southern to take place the following day. Also, cross country heads to the Big South Championships next weekend, and fans should look for an interview with coach Paul Spangler on 'Roo-Tube later this week.

Until next week...

This Week in VMI Athletics - Oct. 19

2009-10-19T14:17:00.002-04:00

All right, we're hopefully back to the Monday/Tuesday time schedule with this blog now. Let's review the past few days here on Post.

Once again, football fell just short, losing 27-20 to Stony Brook thanks to a touchdown with about a minute to go. It's been a really tough year, without question, but perhaps the Keydets' best chance for a win comes Saturday in Clinton, S.C., as VMI takes on winless Presbyterian College. Game Day Central should be up in the next 24 hrs.

Cross country competed at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C. this past Friday, with the men struggling a bit. The team finished sixth, but was the third-place Big South squad present, as the Keydets finished behind Coastal Carolina and High Point, who won the meet. Coach Spangler was disappointed, as you can read about here. The women's team was very solid, placing fifth and beating Coastal, HPU, Elon and Clemson, among others. Great showing for them...Could they challenge for a Big South title in two weeks?

Swimming and diving competed at Georgetown Saturday, and you can read all about that here and here. The teams will return to action Saturday, hosting Phiffer at 2 at the Clark King pool.

Women's soccer split its games this past weekend, winning and losing one apiece, and squared its conference record at 3-3 in the process. The men earned a huge win Wednesday, besting Gardner-Webb in shutout fashion, before UNC Asheville escaped with a win at Patchin on Saturday. The soccer blitz that had been going on at VMI's home field these past three weeks is now over, with each team having just one more home game this season. October 30 will see both the men and women's senior days, with the women's game being first, vs. Radford at 12:30.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Oct. 14

2009-10-14T20:06:00.003-04:00

First off, my apologies for this blog being late. With the ruckus surrounding Big South Media Day in Charlotte, it's been difficult to sit down and do it, but here we are.

Football, after another tough, tough loss, will host Stony Brook this week in the Seawolves' first-ever visit to Foster Stadium. This is a tough team folks, as they were picked behind only Liberty in the Big South preseason poll. However, it will be a battle. You may recall Conte Cuttino and Edwin Gowins, their two star running backs, each ran for over 233 yards in the game between the team's last year...And Stony Brook still only won by 14. Here's the gameday central for what has a chance to be the best game at Foster Stadium this year, and one of the best games overall.

Basketball also has news...The Keydets, a year after going 24-8, were picked fifth in the conference's preseason poll, which was released yesterday (Tuesday) at media day in Charlotte. A prospectus has also been released for the upcoming season.

Women's soccer had a rough week, going 0-2 down in South Carolina, but they'll be back in action Friday at home against Gardner-Webb (that game may be streamed on the Big South Network, we're still waiting on weather). Speaking of the Runnin' Bulldogs, men's soccer earned their second win of the season just three hours ago, topping Gardner-Webb 2-0 behind goals from Forrest Moul and David Rochow. The visiting team did not have a shot on goal in the second half of that contest, so it was quite an impressive outing. The men are back in action Saturday, right before football, as UNC Asheville comes to town for a 11 a.m. start. After Saturday, men's soccer has just one more game at Patchin Field in 2009, so come on out and support the team!

Cross country is back in action this weekend in their final meet before Oct. 31's Big South Championships...Don't sleep on that team folks. Members of the Big South staff were talking at basketball media day yesterday, and they brought up the vast improvement that program has made in a very short time. Yes, VMI cross country was brought up at the conference's basketball media day. This is a conference championship possibility, health permitting, but it will be a battle.

We'll be back with you next week for another update on This Week in VMI Athletics!

We'll be back

This Week in VMI Athletics - Oct. 6

2009-10-06T10:57:00.001-04:00

As VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry sits over my shoulder doing preseason award nominations with Christian Hoffman...

It's been a strange week athletically here on post, and this will be a somewhat condensed blog. Everyone knows about the loss to Gardner-Webb, one that took the wind out of Foster Stadium. Let's quickly move on from that to Coastal, the next opponent on the docket. Here's your gameday central.

Women's soccer went 2-0 on the weekend, defeating Presbyterian and UNC Asheville to take each of their first two conference games. A very strong performance by the Keydets, without question, and now they get a Coastal/Charleston road swing this coming weekend. Live stats will be available for both of the crucial games.

Lacrosse had an impressive performance in its lone fall ball scrimmage, disposing of Washington & Lee in a thriller, 15-13 Friday night. If Tim Moran isn't a frontrunner for MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, something's wrong...The attackmen's performance was a good sign for the Keydets as well, as they appeared to be able to clear out the area in front for Moran and Brett Leonard to go to work.

Hannah Granger broke another school record at this weekend's Paul Short Run. Another day, another record. Ho hum.

Men's soccer will take on Howard tomorrow, in a game that will be videostreamed live on the Big South Network. Look for a preview later today on VMIKeydets.com.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Sept. 29

2009-09-29T11:04:00.002-04:00

All right, we're back with another update from VMI Post.

As you know, the football team had a very impressive performance in Richmond this past weekend, giving the nation's #1 team all it could have wanted in a 38-28 loss. Kyle Hughes became the first player in recorded VMI football history (and that's a LONG history) to have multiple games with over 100 yards rushing and over 100 yards passing. That effort earned him Big South Offensive POTW honors for the second time in his four-year career.

This week, the Keydets host Gardner-Webb, a team that's been the proverbial thorn in VMI's side for years. VMI has never beaten GWU, although they've come close on a number of occasions. It should be a very competitive game at Foster Stadium Saturday, with a start time of 1:30. Here's your Game Day Central link.

Cross Country had a big week as well, despite not even competing. The Keydet men were ranked in the first US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings of the regular season, placing 15th in the Southeast region. That's only the second time in program history that has occurred, and continues to signal that this team is a legitimate threat for VMI's first Big South title in any sport since joining the conference. VMI XC will be back in action Friday, taking part in the Paul Short Invitational in Lehigh, Pa.

Finally, of course, there's soccer. The men won their lone contest of the week, earning their first victory of the season by beating Longwood 4-2 Saturday. Kip Zechman led the squad by scoring the game's first goal and assisting on the eventual game winner, a Brandon Gary header in the 72nd minute. Four players, including Zechman and Gary, scored their first collegiate goals in the win. The Keydet men have now scored six goals in the past two games, after being held without a score for their first five contests.

That game was played in a driving rain, which caused the field to suffer a bit. The women's game the next day, also against Longwood, was played to completion, but today's (Tuesday) contest versus Elon was cancelled due to the field conditions. Here's the official release on that.

The VMI women split their two games this week, winning a 1-0 overtime battle at UMBC Thursday, thanks to an Amanda Berrios goal in the 94th minute. The team then lost to Longwood in the aforementioned Sunday game, 2-1 despite several attempts in the final minutes. It's a busy week for the Keydet women, as they will open conference play Friday by taking on Presbyterian at 4 p.m. That game will be on the Big South Network, and VMI will turn around Sunday and host the UNC Asheville Bulldogs at 1.

And of course, there's the annual fall lacrosse exhibition, the Lee-Jackson Classic. This year, the game will be played at W&L's Wilson Field on Friday, Oct. 2, with live stats available. We're working on getting the full bios in for the lacrosse freshmen right now, and hope to have a recruiting class release out within the next week to 10 days.

Back with you next week!

This Week in VMI Athletics - Sept. 22

2009-09-22T11:09:00.002-04:00

All right, it's time for another update on this week in VMI Athletics!

As you probably know, the Keydets went to Harrisonburg this week to play No. 6 JMU on the gridiron. The Dukes pulled away in the second and third quarters for a 44-16 win, but the Keydets did show some positive things in significantly limiting the James Madison rushing attack, as you can see in this article. Kyle Hughes surpassed the 2,000-yard mark for career passing, while Tim Maypray became just the fifth Big South player with 30 career TD's.

This week, believe it or not, brings an even stiffer test...A visit to top-ranked, defending national champion Richmond. The 3-0 Spiders come off a 47-0 shellacking of Hofstra, and with the balanced offense and impressive defense they possess, are quite the opposition. All the pre-game information you could ever want is available here.

Fans should note that due to staffing issues, updates from the Richmond game on the @VMISID twitter feed will be extremely limited if they do, in fact, take place. You can still follow the game in the traditional ways, whether it be via live stats, Wade Branner's radio call or the video streaming available at Richmond's web site (or via the gameday central link in the last paragraph).

It's been a rough week for Keydet soccer...no wins for either squad. Longwood visits for games against both the men and women this coming weekend, with the men's game taking place Saturday and the women's game on Sunday. Both games will start at 2 p.m. at Patchin Field, and the Sunday women's game will be on the Big South Network.

It was a great weekend for VMI cross country, with the men winning the Big South Preview and the women placing second. Hannah Granger won the women's individual crown, with Andrey Dmitriev finishing third on the men's side...

All five Keydet men finished in the top-12, while no other team had more than two runners among that grouping. VMI edged out Liberty, who is currently ranked sixth in the region, so it was an impressive win. On the women's side, freshman Jenna Moye finished fourth to help the Keydets to the runner-up finish, which came in spite of one of the team's top runners being held out due to illness. The squads are off this week before returning to action at the Paul Short Invitational on Oct. 2.

A new assistant baseball coach has been hired, with the release forthcoming (sometime today). Check back for that...And I do believe that about wraps it up. Check back next week for the newest installment of This Week in VMI Athletics!

This Week in VMI Athletics - Sept. 15

2009-09-14T16:23:00.002-04:00

It's been a tough week for the VMI soccer programs, as they each have gone 0-2. Women's soccer lost 1-0 to Delaware State today, after dropping a close 2-1 affair to Campbell Saturday. The men lost both games in the Sculley Memorial Tournament, including a stunning 1-0 loss to Rider after the visitors scored off a direct corner kick with 28 seconds left. The Keydets had three quality shots in the last 10 seconds, but could not notch the tying goal in that game and fell to 0-4.

Football is getting ready to return to action, with a trip to James Madison next on the schedule. The Dukes come off an OT loss to FBS opponent Maryland this past weekend. The VMI/JMU game is Saturday at 6 in Harrisonburg, and is a matchup of the only two schools to lead their respective leagues in rushing each of the last three seasons. Both are also leading their conferences (Big South and CAA respectively) in that stat this year. The contest will also, of course, feature Tim Maypray, who is the NCAA's active leader in all-purpose yds per play. Get all your relevant game day links here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204793305

Basketball, as we tweeted last week, is waiting on the status of one game before finalizing its schedule. The team is taking pictures this week (as is the wrestling team), as it continues to prepare for the upcoming season.

The next scheduled event on Post is Sept. 26 (men's soccer vs. Longwood), which begins the blitz that is October. From Sept. 26 through Oct. 18, there are no fewer than 12 athletic events here at VMI, including 10 soccer games and a pair of football games. Parents' weekend (Oct. 17) is the busiest day in that time, with UNC Asheville coming to town for men's soccer at 11 a.m., before Stony Brook visits for football later that afternoon.

Finally, we wanted to fill you in on the video streaming schedule for soccer. We will stream five more home soccer games, and several road contests will be streamed by those respective institutions. The five we currenly plan to run are:

Sept. 27: Women's soccer vs. Longwood
Oct. 2: Women's soccer vs. Presbyterian
Oct. 7: Men's soccer vs. Howard
Oct. 14: Men's soccer vs. Gardner-Webb
Oct. 16: Women's soccer vs. Gardner-Webb

Brad Salois and Christian Hoffman will bring you those games live on the Big South Network.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Sept. 8

2009-09-07T21:24:00.002-04:00

The first Labor Day here in the U.S. was celebrated Sept. 5, 1882, but it did not become a federal holiday until 1894, when the Pullman Strike led federal legislation to be rushed through, creating the new holiday. The day now symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and here on VMI Post, creates a bit of a slow-down after a busy, full first weekend of competition.

As I'm sure you know, football prevailed 14-13 Saturday over Robert Morris. The Colonials' defense was impressive, but the Keydets' fourth-quarter drive, ending in a Tim Maypray TD run, was enough to give the home team the win. Then today, the news came that Eric Church, who made his first career start Saturday, had been named Big South Defensive POTW. View that story here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204789318

Football is now off this week, in a rare Week 2 bye, before returning to action Sept. 19 versus James Madison in Harrisonburg. A daunting task, to be sure.

Also in action this weekend were the cross country and soccer teams. Cross country performed well at the VMI Relays, held at the Virginia Horse Center. In case you missed it, real-time coverage from the meet was available on our Twitter account, and some of you did comment on that. We certainly appreciate you following along. The highly touted freshmen class, both guys and girls, was VERY impressive.

Cross is back in action officially in two weeks, also Sept. 19, at the Big South Preview meet in High Point, N.C.

Women's soccer took on UNC Wilmington at Patchin Field Saturday morning. UNCW pulled out a 1-0 victory, thanks to an early header off a corner kick...We had to go back a few years with our statistical methods, as the stats had to be kept by hand due to a last-minute computer failure. That was a unique experience, to say the least, but one which was a little surprising in its ease.

Men's soccer is now 0-2, after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of ETSU Friday night. However, the program will host the inaugural Jay Sculley Memorial Tournament this coming weekend on Post. Rider, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Liberty will all come to town for a four-team, round robin soccer tournament to be played Friday and Sunday at Patchin Field.

The teams will have a dinner Saturday night which will feature a former player as a speaker, as well as the presence of relatives of Jay Sculley, VMI's first-ever men's soccer coach, whose contributions to the Institute are being recognized through this tournament. We'll certainly have more information on that, the standard previews and such, on the web site going forward, but if you want more information on the non-soccer part of the tournament, call Doug Bartlett of the VMI Keydet Club at 540-464-7328.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Sept. 1

2009-08-31T23:40:00.004-04:00

It is game week!

After a long summer, it is game week on Post at VMI. The week opens officially tomorrow, with a soccer doubleheader at the newly resodded Patchin Field. The Keydet women take on Howard at 2 p.m., while the VMI men battle Mount St. Mary's at 4:30. Both contests should be hard-fought, competitive matchups.

Thursday brings the football kickoff dinner, which will take place at Salerno's in Lexington. The food ($9 buffet, includes everything) is expected to begin at 6:30.

The dinner will feature a 1/2 hour radio show beginning at 7 p.m., hosted by the "Voice of the Keydets", Wade Branner. Wade is expected to interview several folks related to the football program, as well as at least one other head coach. I have it on good authority track and field head coach Darrin Webb will be one of the others interviewed, time permitting. The dinner can be heard locally on 96.7 3WZ, which is accessible here (not sure of the station's plans to stream the event or not): http://www.wrel.com/

Friday brings the season opener for VMI cross country, as the Keydet runners will take on competitors from VCU and Longwood at the Virginia Horse Center. That meet will begin at 4 p.m...

And finally, Saturday...I'm quite sure anyone reading this knows what happens Saturday, so here's all the info you need. Before the game against Robert Morris starts at 1:30, check out women's soccer battling UNC Wilmington at 11 a.m. at Patchin Field.

Gameday Central (includes audio and live stats): http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204783196

Official VMI piece on parking and other regulations (note the change on parade ground parking, as well as the new location for remote parking): http://www.vmi.edu/show.aspx?tid=22373&id=23905

The gates will open at 12:30. This is a change from previous years.
__________________________________

Finally, here is a listing of the information relevant to Saturday provided by VMI Marketing and Promotions:

Games and Activities include:

-First 500 kids will receive VMI Football wristbands provided by Barnes and Noble College Booksellers

-First 1000 fans will receive a coupon for a free McDonald’s hamburger, small French fries, or a cone

-Pregame: Kangaroo bounce house, games, prizes, and the Corps March-On!

-Halftime: Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization youth football game and Papa John’s “Free Pizza for a Year Contest”

-Also…Aramark “Concession Special” this game: $1 soft pretzels with mustard

________________________________

We're all excited here, and ready for another great year of VMI athletics...We all know, and we hope you do too, that Saturday will truly be No Ordinary Game Day.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Aug. 25

2009-08-24T22:55:00.004-04:00

Hello, and welcome to the third edition of This Week in VMI Athletics, published for the week of Aug. 25, 2009.

As mentioned on our Twitter account, we do have a scoop of sorts...I've been told the basketball schedule should be released within the next several days. No details on a precise time, but it is forthcoming.

Since we last published, we saw the first official, regular season athletic event of 2009-10, as women's soccer took on George Mason. Mason prevailed 3-0 in a contest at W&L's Watt Field, and the Keydet women are scheduled to return to action this coming Friday at Jordan's Point Park, as VMI will face Elon. Weather could play a factor in that contest, as the field at Jordan's Point is suspectible to rain. Stay tuned to VMIKeydets.com, and the Keydets' Twitter feed, for any updates regarding the timing/scheduling of Friday's contest.

In other news, it's preview week in the VMI Athletic Department. With less than two weeks before the first football game, the Institute's other sports are in full swing. Men's soccer just wrapped up a week of intense preseason practice, and Ben Freakley's team continues to prepare for its Sept. 1 opener versus Mount St. Mary's. Look for a full preview of the Keydet men's soccer squad later this week.

The cross country rats had their pictures taken last Friday, and the returning runners, including Felix Kitur and Hannah Granger, will have their photos snapped Wednesday afternoon. That should lead to a full preview of the upcoming cross country season, which has been delayed slightly to push it closer to the Sept. 4 opener. That preview, including a near-20 minute interview with XC Coach Paul Spangler, should run sometime this week as well.

On a related note: The VMI track program, both on track and in cross country, has been one of the up-and-coming programs on Post for the last 2-3 years, and this recruiting class has a chance to be very special. We've been spoiled the last couple of years, with some of the great recruiting done by Keydet coaches (in all sports), but a freshman class with this much potential does not grow on trees. Certainly anything can happen in Division I athletics, but watch out for this group, even if it takes them a year to gel.

Finally, a sport you don't hear a lot about in the fall, VMI lacrosse, announced its 2010 schedule today. That can be viewed here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204780686

That about does it from Post this week...11 days until Robert Morris.

Upcoming home schedule:
Friday, Aug. 28: Women's Soccer vs. Elon, Jordan's Point Park (6 p.m.)

Tuesday, Sept. 1: Women's Soccer vs. Howard, Currently Scheduled for Patchin Field (2 p.m.)

Tuesday, Sept. 1: Men's Soccer vs. Mount St. Mary's, Currently Scheduled for Patchin (4:30 p.m.)

Thursday, Sept. 3: Football "Kickoff" Show at Salerno's Restaurant in Lexington, broadcast live on 96.7 3WZ

Friday, Sept. 4: Cross Country Season Opener, Virginia Horse Center (4 p.m.)

Saturday, Sept. 5: Women's Soccer vs. UNC Wilmington, Patchin Field (11 a.m.)

Saturday, Sept. 5: Football vs. Robert Morris (1:30 p.m.)

This Week in VMI Athletics - Aug. 18

2009-08-17T17:08:00.003-04:00

Edition two of This Week in VMI Athletics is being published a day early, due to a busy day of soccer preparation tomorrow.

That's right, it's almost that time of year. As we discussed last week, the initial women's game is set for Friday evening at Washington & Lee, with the first men's game scheduled to be at Patchin (as part of a men's/women's doubleheader) Sept. 1. Both teams are, for the most part, practicing at nearby Jordan's Point Park here in Lexington, which is well within walking distance of Patchin Field. Pictures from today's men's soccer practice should be available on keydets.com tomorrow, and the team photo day is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m.

The women's soccer preseason poll was released this past Thursday, with the Keydets picked seventh. Audrey Falconi was the runner-up in the preseason POTY voting...Read more about that here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204774609

A photo gallery of women's soccer preseason practice has been posted here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?&PALBID=343348&DB_OEM_ID=9800&FLASH=YES

Also, wrestling announced its freshman class, with nine incoming rats bound for Lexington. The release can be found here: http://www.vmikeydets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9800&ATCLID=204773211

Today's temperatures are well into the 90's, making it the roughest day for football practice thus far. According to football contact Wade Branner, there have been no significant injuries incurred thus far, and all players who are injured are progressing well in their respective rehabilitations. In other football related tidbits, the current plan (subject to change) is to feature two player interviews per day on 'Roo-Tube over the course of the next several days.

Finally, Cal Murray '83, former VMI punter and color commentator for the VMI Sports Network, is acting as a volunteer assistant, working with this year's punting roster.

Update

2009-08-11T16:51:00.003-04:00

I've just learned (there are no windows in the Athletic Media Relations office :-)) that there's inclement weather here in Lexington. This may prevent the taking of photos, depending on what is actually going on at the practice field, how inclement the weather is, etc.

This Week in VMI Athletics - Aug. 11

2009-08-11T13:46:00.002-04:00

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!

Early Changes

2009-08-04T16:46:00.003-04:00

I've made some quick changes to the blog, making it easier to go through and utilize. Comments will now be easier to post, although they will be moderated to eliminate spam, and the site clock has been corrected. You must be a "member of the blog" to comment (again, just reducing spam), but the word verification step has been undone. Never got the point of that. Other changes could be forthcoming, as I find more nuances of the Blogspot software.

Welcome!!

2009-08-04T11:36:00.000-04:00

Hello Keydet fans, and welcome to the VMI Keydets blog! We're here to provide you with regular commentary and synopses of occurrences here on Post...Check back often for updates, particularly once games begin August 21, when updates are likely to be weekly.