From the Desk of Ross Bjork
Feb 14, 2022 | General
Howdy!
With February being Black History Month, I want to start this letter out by acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments and trailblazing paths of our former and current black student-athletes. As part of the journey together, many of our student-athletes have taken on leadership roles throughout our community. A great example is our women's basketball team. Please watch this video where they discuss what Black Excellence means to them.
Bush School Senior Associate Dean Dr. Frank Ashley, who was appointed by Dr. Banks to Director of Diversity Initiatives, recently spoke to our entire athletics staff about the University's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission report. Dr. Ashley highlighted the opportunities for Athletics to engage in our campus and local community to accomplish some of the initiatives outlined in the report. We are eager to do our part and help the University achieve these goals!
Congratulations to the 83 student-athletes on the 2021 Fall Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll! This group broke the previous record of 78 set in the Fall of 2019. I am impressed by these student-athletes' focus to be excellent in the classroom, while also committing to their programs physically and emotionally. I also want to highlight the incredible staff at our Center for Student-Athlete Services who play a tremendous factor in the academic success of our student-athletes!
It's never too early to start looking ahead to Aggie Football and we hope you're making plans to join us at Kyle Field this fall. Returning season ticket holders have until March 3 to renew their seats and if you don't have season tickets, they are on sale now. With an unrivaled atmosphere in Kyle Field and seven home games, you will not want to miss out on this opportunity! Season tickets truly are the lifeblood that fuels Texas A&M Athletics and we cannot say thank you enough to all of those who continue their loyal support of the 12th Man.
With our basketball teams closing out on conference play, purchase your tickets and show up at Reed Arena to yell for our student-athletes! I also want to encourage everyone to come out on Thursday, February 24th for Coach Gary Blair's final regular season home game against South Carolina at 7 p.m. Our Hall of Fame head coach has had an incredible career and we hope you will join us as we celebrate him on this date.
This is a busy, yet exciting time of the year! Indoor Track and Field will host the SEC Indoor Championships next weekend, spring sports are starting out their seasons, and before we know it will be into conference play. Softball opened this past weekend undefeated and we are looking forward to Coach Schlossnagle's debut this weekend as baseball takes on Fordham at Blue Bell Park. Baseball season tickets are sold out, but you can purchase single game tickets here.
Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks and Gig 'Em,
Ross
Sport Updates
Men's Basketball has six games remaining in the regular season and hosts Florida inside Reed Arena on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Quenton Jackson tops the team with 13.0 points per game, while Henry Coleman III adds 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. In SEC play, Coleman is averaging 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, and has registered back-to-back double-doubles.
Women's Basketball has won three of its last four games. The Aggies are the third-best 3-point shooting team in the country, hitting 39% of their shots from deep. Kayla Wells is leading the team with 16.9 points per game, and leads the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage (50%).
The offseason is quickly coming to an end for baseball and the Aggies are closing it out in grand style. The squad hosted a pair of events that were enthusiastically received by Aggieland. The inaugural Texas A&M Baseball Women's Clinic was attended by nearly 250 ladies who got the first look at the new Adidas uniforms, heard from members of the team and tested their skills on the mound and in the batting cages. The Jim Schlossnagle era begins Friday, February 18 as the Aggies host the Fordham Rams in a three-game series. All of Aggieland is encouraged to check out the revamped game experience at Blue Bell Park. Welcome to Whoop City.
No. 2 equestrian extended its winning streak to seven after rallying past No. 5 Georgia on Saturday at the UGA Equestrian Complex. After finishing the meet deadlocked at 9-9, the Aggies earned the victory with a cumulative point advantage, 1532.00-1523.00. Texas A&M improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in SEC action. The victory completed the season sweep of the defending national champions. Caroline Dance (Flat), Emmy-Lu Marsh (Reining) and Hanna Olaussen (Horsemanship) highlighted the victory earning Most Outstanding Performer honors in their respective events. The Aggies are off to their best start to the season since beginning 9-0 in 2010-11. Texas A&M returns to Aggieland to face off against South Carolina on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m.
Men's golf heads to the Aloha State to compete in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Lihue, Hawai'i. The team opened the spring at the Sea Best Invitational two weeks ago, and were led by Walker Lee, who tied for 15th. Sam Bennett, the nation's No. 1 golfer, leads the team with a 69.44 stroke average, while Lee is averaging 70.25, and William Paysse is averaging 70.88.
Women's golf won its matchup with No. 18 Baylor and No. 20 USC at Desert Match Play in Scottsdale, Arizona to begin the spring. The Aggies are poised to hit the course at the ICON on Feb. 21 to build on their momentum from the fall and the match-play victory.
Softball opened its season this weekend at Davis Diamond, and battled through all sorts of weather, including a surprise snow storm, while coming out with five wins. The last time the Aggies started with five-straight wins was in 2018. A&M saw power at the plate, outscoring its opponents 40-5, while the pitching staff combined for 37 strikeouts. The Aggies travel to face Sam Houston State on Wednesday, before returning home for the Texas A&M Invitational this weekend.
Men's and women's swimming & diving will begin competition at SEC Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., Tuesday and the meet will run through Saturday. Chloe Stepanek is in the midst of a successful sophomore season and is the top returner for the women heading into the postseason. She earned silver in the 200 free at the meet a season ago, bringing home two individual All-America honors and a school record at NCAA Championships later in her debut season. On the men's side, Kaloyan Bratanov was one of the top point-earners for the Aggies at the 2021 SEC Championships, earning a spot in three A finals. Ethan Gogulski and Anze Fers Erzen boast top-30 times in the nation this season in three events each and will look to make an impact during championship season. Divers Kurtis Mathews and Aimee Wilson have been recognized by the league multiple times this season for their outstanding performances and will have their eyes on returning to the podium again this year. Wilson claimed a pair of silver medals at the 2021 SEC Championships, while Mathews defended his 3-meter and brought home silver in the 1-meter.
Mark Weaver and No. 8 women's tennis are off to their best start in program history. The ladies have built an impressive 11-1 record so far this season, and have a top-10 win in the books against the USC Trojans during last weekend's ITA National Team Indoor Championships. In that match with the Trojans, Carson Branstine defeated the No. 1-ranked singles player, Eryn Cayetano, 6-4, 6-3. Branstine's win is the highest ranked victory by an Aggie in program history. In doubles, Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith made history of their own, setting a school record for highest ranking after earning the No. 2 spot last week. The Maroon & White return home against TCU and Abilene Christian on Saturday.
Men's tennis made a quick trip to Tampa last week and defeated USF 4-3 to improve to 5-0 on the year. This week Coach Denton's squad remains on the road as they take on Texas Tech in Dallas on Tuesday before traveling to Seattle for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Aggies are one of 16 schools that will be competing at the premier indoor tournament of the season at the University of Washington beginning on Friday.
Men's and women's track and field split locations sending athletes to Albuquerque, N.M., and Nashville, Tenn. The Aggies completed the weekend with 18 Texas A&M all-time top-12 marks. In addition, the Aggies won nine event titles. In total, 27 personal bests were set. Lamara Distin highlighted the weekend in field events setting an NCAA-leading high jump clearance of 6-3.5/1.92m. The clearance also set a Jamaican indoor national record. Charokee Young led the Aggies on the track winning the 400m dash with a time of 51.24. After altitude conversion, the time ranks No. 2 in the NCAA and SEC. Texas A&M next hosts the SEC Indoor Championships on Feb. 25-26 inside the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
Gary Blair's Last Home Game
Be sure to join us on Feb. 24 as the Aggies take on South Carolina in their home regular season finale. Prior to tip, there will be a pregame ceremony that will honor Coach Blair for his tremendous accomplishments throughout his 19-year tenure at Texas A&M. Fans make sure to join us early as we honor one of the game's greatest coaches of all time. A special edition poster will be given out as you enter Reed Arena that evening. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
First Pitch Banquet
This past weekend, despite freezing temperatures, the Lettermen's Association hosted a reunion, welcoming back former baseball student-athletes spanning five decades! Friday, the group enjoyed an afternoon of golf followed by one-on-one time with Coach Schlossnagle. On Saturday, former players brought their families to Blue Bell Park for batting practice, lunch with baseball staff and then the Maroon and White scrimmage. The baseball program also debuted the First Pitch Banquet to kickoff February which drew over 600 Aggies to the Ford Hall of Champions. Former players A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley highlighted the event, talking about their time in Aggieland as well as their road to the 2021 World Series. (First Pitch Banquet Photo Gallery)
Black History Month
As a part of Black History Month, Texas A&M Athletics proudly honors the incredible accomplishments and trailblazing paths of our student-athletes. Make sure to check out our website to celebrate some of the remarkable student-athletes that have represented Aggieland. We'll share even more stories throughout the month of February.
Sustainability
The 12th Man Green Team is back in action this spring with some exciting events! They hosted another successful movie night in January and watched "Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve our Water Crisis". Narrated by Liam Neeson, Matt Damon, and Jaden Smith, this optimistic documentary depicts an alternative water future by showing us all of the amazing existing technologies and innovations that have the potential to solve the world's water crisis. Check it out on Netflix! Coming up next, they are hosting a DIY night, co-hosting a nutrition and food waste event, holding a women in sport sustainability panel, and organizing an outreach effort at some of our spring Athletics events. Check out them out on Instagram @12thmangreenteam to stay up-to-date on the action!
#AskRoss
Submit your question here and listen to his monthly appearances on the Texas A&M Athletics Podcast to see if yours got answered!
