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Miami Hurricanes Win Chick-fil-A Golf Challenge

Miami Hurricanes head football coach Al Golden and 1992 Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta held off a back-nine charge from South Carolina to win the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge.  

Miami’s 11-under round was one better than the Gamecocks duo of Steve Spurrier and Sterling Sharpe. With the victory in the 14-team field, The Hurricanes took home the first-place scholarship prize of $125,000. 

Team Miami finished the front nine with five straight birdies to make the turn at 8-under, one stroke ahead of two-time defending champion Georgia Tech and two shots clear of South Carolina. 

The Hurricanes and Yellow Jackets played stroke-for-stroke on the back nine until Miami pulled ahead with birdies on 16 and 17. The Gamecocks went birdie-eagle-birdie over the final three holes to make a run at Miami, but fell just short when Al Golden holed a five-foot putt for par on 18. 

“South Carolina and Georgia Tech are really good teams. We had a lot of fun down the stretch and Gino hit some big putts to keep us in it,” Golden said. “We scrambled and got lucky down the stretch.” 

“Hitting that 30-footer for par on 15 and another big putt on 17 were huge. We didn’t know they were so close on our heels until we finished 17,” Torretta said. “We just tried to stay within ourselves and we kept the ball in play. It just seemed to work today.” 

Final official results from the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge including scholarship winnings:        
        
1. Miami (Al Golden, Gino Torretta)     -11            $125,000

           
2. South Carolina (Steve Spurrier, Sterling Sharpe)     -10            $65,000

               
t3. Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson, Jon Barry)        -9                $50,000

           
t3. Clemson (Dabo Swinney, Steve Fuller)         -9                $50,000

               
5. Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer, Dell Curry)         -8                $35,000       

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge is the country’s premier head coach and celebrity charity golf event featuring NCAA head coaches and former athletes and celebrities from the same school competing against their rivals for a share of a $520,000 scholarship purse. 

In addition to the $520,000 scholarship purse, another $144,000 was generated for charitable organizations including Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Homes foster care program.

Over the last seven years, the event has contributed a total of $3.8 million in scholarship and charity, helping make the Chick-fil-A Bowl college football’s most charitable bowl game.

The ACC In The 2013 NFL Draft

The Atlantic Coast Conference again demonstrated its strength during the recently –concluded  NFL Draft, as the ACC had a total of 31 players selected, the second highest of any conference in the nation. The ACC had 10 of the first 51 players chosen in the Draft, or produced almost 20% of the most-valued players in this year's draft.

By having 31 of its players tabbed for 2013 NFL Draft, the ACC continued a streak that now stretches to nine consecutive years with at least 31 players chosen in the NFL Draft or every year since 2005, the year the Conference became a 12-team league. That is the second-longest streak in the nation.

The ACC had the first quarterback chosen in Florida State's EJ Manuel, who was selected 16th by the Buffalo Bills and the first offensive guard taken in North Carolina Jonathan Cooper, who was tabbed 7th by the Arizona Cardinals.

The ACC is fast becoming the preferred training ground for professional quarterbacks as the Conference had more starting NFL quarterbacks lead their teams into the NFL playoffs this year (4—Russell Wilson of Seattle (NC State), Matt Schaub of Houston (Virginia), Matt Ryan of Atlanta (Boston College) and Christian Ponder of Minnesota (Florida State) than any other conference. In all, the ACC had six starting QBs in the NFL which tied for the most of any conference in the nation.

In this year's draft the ACC had three quarterbacks selected—Florida State's EJ Manuel, NC State's Mike Glennon and Duke's Sean Renfree—again, more than any other conference in the nation.

Florida State had a total of 11 players chosen in the draft, the most of any school in the nation.  National champion Alabama was tied for 2nd with LSU (9), while Florida and Georgia were tied for 4th (8 each). Ten of the 12 current ACC schools had at least one player selected in this year's NFL Draft.

Miami had two players chosen in the draft, CB Brandon McGee in the 5th round and RB Mike James in the 6th round. That continues the Hurricanes' streak of having at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1975, a string of 39 consecutive years. Since 1962, Miami has only had one year when it did not have a player drafted—1974—having at least one player in every NFL Draft in 51 of 52 years.

The Atlantic Coast Conference enjoyed a very successful first day of the 2013 National Football League draft Thursday, with no fewer than six ACC players selected among the first 28 overall picks in the first round, the second highest total of any conference nationally.

The six first-round selections is the highest total for the League since the 2008 Draft when seven ACC players were taken in the first round. The six draftees gives the ACC a total of 51 first-round draft selections since 2005, the second-highest total of any conference nationally.

In all, the SEC led all leagues with 12 players selected on the first round, followed by the ACC with 6, the Pac-12 (5), the Big 12 (3) and the Big Ten, Big East, the Mid-American and Conference USA with one player chosen each.

The SEC tied the ACC’s record for first-round selections set in 2005 when the ACC was a 12-team league. The SEC counted 14 teams this year.

This year marked the second straight year an ACC player has been chosen in the Top 10. Boston College’s Luke Kuechly was chosen 9th last year on the first round. Florida State’s EJ Manuel was the first quarterback taken in the 2013 NFL Draft when he was tabbed 16th overall by the Buffalo Bills.

2013 ACC First-Round Selections:        
Jonathan Cooper, UNC Arizona Cardinals Guard 7th        
EJ Manuel, Florida State Buffalo Bills Quarterback 2nd        
Bjoern Werner, Florida State Indianapolis Colts Defensive End 24th        
Xavier Rhodes, Florida State Minnesota Vikings Cornerback 25th        
DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson Houston Texans Wide Receiver 27th        
Sylvester Williams, UNC Denver Broncos Defensive Tackle 28th         

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Just A Little Bit

Now we know that not many of you macho types out there will agree with us but we thought it would be appropriate to show the 10th ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team a little RESPECT for winning their first ACC Championship on Sunday after they defeated 30th ranked Florida State.

We agree with their coach's opinion and appreciate her candor and openness:

“My players are starting to learn things about themselves that they never knew existed,” said UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “For a coach, that is really cool. I am so happy for them and this institution. Conference titles are huge for everyone!” 

Sophomore Lina Lileikite was named the tournament’s most outstanding performer after claiming her second win in as many days from her No. 3 position. Her 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Seminoles’ Mia Vriens gave the Canes a 3-1 lead before junior Melissa Bolivar clinched the team’s first title. 

Against second-ranked North Carolina on Saturday, Lileikite won a three-set match over the Tar Heels’ 36th ranked Whitney Kay, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Combined with her win over Vriens, that was more than enough to earn the heralded award. 

After capturing yet another doubles point, Monique Albuquerque extended the Canes lead to 2-0 with her brisk, 6-4, 6-1, win over FSU’s Kerrie Cartwright at the No. 5 position. 

The Seminoles’ Amy Sargeant gave her team their only point, downing Clementina Riobueno, 6-2, 6-1, before Lileikite won her match. 

Bolivar’s 6-3, 6-4 straight-set victory over Kristina Schleich was all that Miami would need to clinch the win. Both Stephanie Wagner and Kelsey Laurente will still competing on Courts 1 and 2, espectively, when the match came to a victorious end. 

After rain halted doubles play just 30 minutes into the match at the Cary Tennis Center, both teams made their way to the nearby Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on the University of North Carolina’s campus. 

“This team was just so tough throughout the tournament,” said Yaroshuk-Tews. To be so young and come away with this win is amazing.” 

Next up for the Hurricanes will be the Division One Women’s Tennis Selection Show on April 30. The show will be aired on NCAA.com at 5:30 p.m. and will reveal who the Canes will face in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Hey, What's that Smell?

I hate to be the one to have to break it to you but that rancid stench you smell could be what is left of the rotting corpse of the once proud University of Miami baseball program.

For the first time in forever, your Miami Hurricanes hardballers are in danger of missing the ACC tournament and the NCAA playoffs after dropping two of three games to the worst team in the ACC: The Boston College Golden Eagles.

Guess how many games the Golden Eagles have won this season overall and in the ACC? Go ahead, take a guess, I'll wait.

OK, the numbers are precisely EIGHT and TWO, which also happens to be exactly how many games BC (8-35, 2-21 ACC) took from Miami this weekend in their three game series in chilly Chestnut Hill, MA.

The Hurricanes' record on the season now stands at 29-18 and 11-13 in the ACC which qualifies them for next to last in the Coastal Division of the ACC.

Ooh-ooh, that smell.

In the first game on Friday UM managed to score ZERO runs. My expert college baseball sources tell me that it is really hard to win a game when you don't score any runs but that is still unconfirmed at this time. Miami followed that up with a 5-0 win on Saturday in what would have to be considered an offensive explosion for the low scoring Canes.

On Sunday, in another pitchers' duel at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond, the Miami Hurricanes fell to Boston College in extra innings by a final score of 3-2.  

The Eagles tied the game late on a two-run homerun in the eighth inning, and a walk-off homer from catcher Matt Pare off Miami reliever AJ Salcines with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning sent the Eagles to a series victory. 

Following up stellar starts by Chris Diaz and Bryan Radziewski in the first two games of the series, sophomore lefthander Andrew Suarez twirled a gem of his own Sunday afternoon to help guide the visitors to a rubber-match win over the Eagles (to continue a strong stretch for Miami pitchers). The Miami, Fla., native and reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week allowed five hits on the afternoon, striking out seven while walking just one in eight innings. 

Suarez, coming off a complete game shutout of then-No. 12 Clemson last time out, was unable to finish off a series win for Miami despite another great start. The Hurricanes' starting rotation allowed just two earned runs over 25.0 combined innings against the Eagles, dominating to the tune of an 0.72 ERA over the weekend series. 

The team’s offense struggled to generate much offense off Eagles' starter Andrew Chin, who yielded just two hits in the game's first six innings - both singles to junior Tyler Palmer. 

Ooh-ooh, that smell.

The Hurricanes offense broke through in the seventh, aided by four defensive miscues from Boston College in the inning. With Alex Hernandez and Chantz Mack on base via two errors from the Eagles' infield, a failed pick-off attempt from Chin to second base sailed into centerfield to advance both runners into scoring position. A sacrifice fly from Fieger gave Miami a 1-0 advantage, while a well-executed hit-and-run down the first base line by senior Alex San Juan scored Mack from his perch at second to make it 2-0. 

San Juan would advance to third on a steal and error charged to Boston College catcher Matt Pare, but was stranded there after a strikeout from freshman Christopher Barr ended the inning. 

Ooh-ooh, that smell.

Boston College tied up the game in the eighth on a two-run homerun from pinch-hitter Chris Shaw. Suarez, who entered the eighth having retired the previous five batters, allowed a double to pinch-hitter Jimmy Dowdell before Shaw took him deep to rightfield to tie the game at 2-2. Suarez would retire the next three batters in order, finishing off his eighth and final inning. 

Salcines (3-4) pitched well in relief of Suarez, allowing just two hits during his first 2.2 innings of relief. But with two outs in the 11th, Pare lined a ball deep over the rightfield fence, sending Boston College to a 3-2 walk-off win with the team’s second homerun of the game. 

Ooh-ooh, that smell.

The Hurricanes will return to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field Friday for their series opener with St. John’s University. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Do I Feel A Draft In Here?

Former Miami Hurricanes shut-down corner Brandon McGee and power running back Mike James were selected Saturday during the third day of the 2013 NFL Draft held at Radio City Music Hall.

 

McGee was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round, while James was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round. McGee is the 12th Miami Hurricane drafted by the Rams and the first since Damione Lewis in 2001; James is the 13th Hurricane drafted by the Buccaneers and the first since Nate Webster in 2000.

 

With the selections, Miami now has had at least NFL draft pick in each of the last 39 years, one of the longest streaks among FBS programs.

 

 

McGee started the final 24 games of his college career at defensive back. As a senior in 2012, he tied for sixth on the team with 54 tackles and tied for the team lead with two interceptions. The Plantation, Fla., product also notched 4.0 tackles-for-loss and finished with a team-best seven pass break-ups.

 

In December, McGee was the recipient of the Captain’s Award and Plumer Award for Leadership, Motivation and Spirit at the team’s end-of-season banquet. He participated in the 88th East-West Shrine Game held in January at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.  McGee concluded his college career with 109 total tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss, 12 pass break-ups and  three interceptions in 44 games with 25 career starts.

 

 

James competed in both the Senior Bowl and NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January. He started all 12 games at running back for the Hurricanes in 2012, finishing as the team's second-leading rusher with 642 yards and six TDs. The Haines City, Fla., product concluded his career with 1,386 rushing yards and 17 scores, while catching 67 passes for 585 yards and five TDs.

 

 

One of 11 FBS players named to the 2012 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team in September, James was the recipient of the Community Service Man of the Year, Captain’s Award, Melching Leadering Award and Jack Harding Team MVP at the team’s end-of-season banquet.

 

For the latest information on Miami Hurricanes Football, follow @MiamiHurricanes on Twitter.

 

ALL-TIME MIAMI HURRICANES DRAFTED BY ST. LOUIS RAMS

1963 – Roland Benson, T

1965 – Fred Brown, E

1965 – Bob Werl, E

1971 – Joe Schmidt, WR

1975 – Dennis Harrah, OT

1989 – Bill Hawkins, DE

1989 – Cleveland Gary, RB

1991 – Robert Bailey, DB

1992 – Kelvin Harris, C

1996 – Derrick Harris, RB

2001 – Damione Lewis, DT

2013 – Brandon McGee, DB

 

ALL-TIME MIAMI HURRICANES DRAFTED BY TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

1978 – John McGriff, LB

1980 – Gene Coleman, DB

1983 – Tony Chickillo, DT

1984 – Fred Robinson, DE

1987 – Vinny Testaverde, QB

1987 – Winston Moss, LB

1987 – Dan Sileo, DT (Supplemental Draft)

1992 – Craig Erickson, QB

1993 – Lamar Thomas, WR

1993 – Horace Copeland, WR

1995 – Warren Sapp, DT

2000 – Nate Webster, LB

2013 – Mike James, RB

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Those Were The Days

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Those Were The Days

This history lesson is brought to you by the UM Sports Hall of Fame:

Talk about "Being On The Clock", former University of Miami Hurricanes football players set an all-time record by having SIX Canes selected in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft!  

Selected at #5 was Sean Taylor by the Washington Redskins, followed by Kellen Winslow at #6 for the Cleveland Browns, Jonathan Vilma was selected by the New York Jets at #12, D.J Williams taken by the Denver Broncos at #17, and the Miami Dolphins picked Vernon Carey with pick # 19 and Vince Wolfork was the 21st pick by the New England Patriots.

That is a total of SIX Canes taken in the first 21 picks of the 2004 NFL Draft. 

Known officially as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", it was held at a theater at Madison Square Garden in New York and telecast live on ESPN. The six players selected give UM a total of 19 players who have been taken in the first round over the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 drafts.

That four-year total is an all-time record for any college football program.

Miami's 10 first-rounders over the last two years surpasses the mark set by UM in 2001 and 2002 and then again in 2002 and 2003. The previous record was seven set by USC in 1968-69 and matched by Notre Dame in 1993-94.

Prior to the last four years, Miami's previous best two-year total was five, achieved three times (1987-88, 1988-89 and 2000-01). Florida State also produced five first-round lections in 1995-96, as did Tennessee in 1991-92.

Miami Plays Hardball With FAU

The University of Miami Hurricanes' baseball team wrapped up their five-game homestand in impressive fashion Wednesday night.

On a picture perfect evening in Coral Gables, UM came from behind to capture a midweek contest with visiting Florida Atlantic by a final score of 6-4.  

In a back-and-forth affair at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Miami jumped out to an early lead, fell behind, and then rallied in the later innings to claim the rubber match of the season series with the Owls.  

Freshman shortstop Brandon Lopez, who matched a career high with three hits and set a new career mark with three RBI's, delivered a clutch two-out, two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh that proved to be the difference. 

The Hurricanes (28-16) connected for two runs in the bottom of the first inning off FAU starter Kyle Miller to claim a 2-0 advantage.

With Alex Hernandez and Tyler Palmer in scoring position after back-to-back hits to open the frame, senior Chantz Mack knocked in the game's opening run on an RBI groundout. A four-pitch walk to freshman David Thompson then gave Miami runners on the corners, and senior Alex San Juan delivered an infield single plating Hernandez from third to increase the lead to 2-0. 

The leadoff single from Palmer extended his hitting streak to a season-best five consecutive games. 

The Owls would respond with three runs of their own off Miami starter Javi Salas (5-4) in the second inning on RBI singles from Mitch Morales and Nathan Pittman sandwiched around a sacrifice fly from Sean Murrell. 

But the Hurricanes would strike right back to tie the game in the bottom of the same inning, as an RBI single from freshman Brandon Lopez knotted the game up once again. With junior outfielder Dale Carey on third after a double and advance via wild pitch, Lopez dropped a single in front of FAU rightfielder Corey Keller to tie the game 3-3. 

After allowing a single run in the third to make it 4-3 in favor of the visitors, Salas would settle down to retire the next 18 batters he faced before being pulled in favor of senior closer Eric Nedeljkovic in the ninth. After allowing six hits in the first three innings, Salas would allow none the rest of the way, striking out four FAU batters on the night. 

With the game tied up at 4-4 after an RBI single from Mack in the sixth, the Hurricanes struck for two runs off Michael Sylvestri (3-1) on Lopez’ basehit through the leftside to gain a 6-4 advantage in the bottom of the seventh. 

Nedeljkovic shut the door on his tenth save of the season with a flawless inning, helping extend a string of 21 straight batters retired by Miami pitchers to close out the night. 

The Hurricanes next travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for an Atlantic Coast Conference series with the Eagles of Boston College. First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 2:30 p.m.

Baseball Tonight: UM vs FAU

Miami vs. FAU
Wed., April 24, 2013 | 6 p.m.
Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field | Coral Gables, Fla.

TV: Canes All-Access ($)
Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM (AJ Ricketts, Alex Schwartz)

Twitter:  @CanesBaseball
Facebook: /TheUBaseball

Series: Miami leads, 52-11
Last Meeting: March 27, 2013 - Miami lost, 1-6 in Coral Gables, FL

Miami 27-16 (10-11 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule & Results | Stats 

FAU 26-14 (4-2 Sun Belt)
Roster | Schedule & Results | Stats

The Game
The Miami Hurricanes will wrap up their five-game homestand Wednesday with a midweek matchup against FAU. First pitch for the battle between Sunshine State foes is set for 6 p.m.

Projected Starters:
Miami JR. RHP Javi Salas (4-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. FAU FR. RHP Kyle Miller (3-0, 1.08 ERA)

The Series 
The Hurricanes hold a 52-11 all-time advantage over the Owls, including seven of the last ten head-to-head contests. Miami swept their three games with FAU in 2012, but lost last time out against the Owls in Coral Gables.

The Broadcast
WVUM 90.5 will carry Wednesday's game against FAU, while Canes All-Access will provide a live stream of the game through HurricaneSports.com. A.J. Ricketts and Alex Schwartz will be on the call beginning at 6 p.m.

The Coach
Jim Morris is in his 35th season as a head coach and 20th with the Miami Hurricanes. He has a 1,512-645-4 (.701) career record, including a 877-337-3 mark at Miami, where he has guided the team to two National Championships (1999, 2001).

STORYLINES...
• After capturing a series victory over No. 12 Clemson, the Miami Hurricanes will wrap up their five-game homestand Wednesday for the finale of a three-game season set with Florida Atlantic. First pitch for the series rubber match is set for 6 p.m.

• Boosted by their impressive series win over the Tigers, the Hurricanes are ranked No. 12 in the newest WarrenNolan.com Rating Percentage Index (RPI), while the team’s 2013 schedule is currently ranked the second-toughest in the nation.

• In addition to its own impressive RPI rank, the Hurricanes have eight wins against teams rated in the top 20 RPI and 11 wins against teams ranked in the top 50 RPI - both important factors in postseason projections and consideration.

• In their final midweek game of the 2013 season, the Hurricanes will once again look to Javi Salas to wrap up the schedule in grand fashion. Salas, 2-0 in his last two midweek starts, has allowed just one earned run in his past 16 innings (0.56 ERA).

• Miami is 10-3 (.770) in midweek games in 2013. 12 of those 13 games have been played inside the confines of The Light, with Miami's load road contest a win over FAU in Boca Raton, Fla.

• The Hurricanes own a 52-11 all-time series advantage over the Owls, including seven of the last 10 head-to-head match-ups.

• Following its midweek matchup with FAU, the Hurricanes will travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for an Atlantic Coast Conference series with Boston College. Miami will wrap up its non-conference schedule May 3-5 with a home series against St. John’s.

The Heat Is On

When New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott said: "Can't wait!", he must have been referring to the University of Miami men's 2013-14 basketball schedule.

It now seems that Scott must have known that the UM basketball team will play host to some of the nation’s top teams during the upcoming season.

After a record setting year in Coral Gables last season is it even remotely possible for Jim Larranaga and his band of merry warriors, many of whom will be completely new to the team, to manage a repeat?

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that the Hurricaneswill host Duke, Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and rival Florida State at the BankUnited Centeras part of an impressive ACC schedule. Dates have not been released at this time.

Miami beat perennial ACC power Duke at the BankUnited Center in 2012-13, dethroning No. 1 Duke, 90-63, before a sold-out crowd on Jan. 23. The Canes also beat in-state rival Florida State when the Seminoles traveled to Coral Gables in 2013. Coming off their impressive win over Duke, Miami knocked off the Noles, 71-47, on Jan. 27.

Miami will host ACC newcomers Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame in their first season in the league. The new addition of teams will help renew old rivalries from Miami’s time in the BIG EAST.

In addition to games against Duke, Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and Florida State, the Canes will also host Virginia Tech, NC State, Wake Forest and Boston College in the 2013-14 season.

The Canes will travel to Florida State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and NC State, as well as Georgia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland during the 2013-14 season.

This past season, Miami was 29-7 and reached the Sweet 16 in the 2013 NCAA tournament. The Canes secured victories over No. 1 Duke, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 19 NC State and North Carolina en route to their first ACC regular season championship. Miami also won the 2013 ACC tournament to secure the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Can U Meet Me In The Windy City?