Welcome to 2020! A new year is always a great time to reflect and celebrate all we accomplished together in the previous year, setting new goals and resolutions. Likewise, when we fell short, we owe it to each other and to the student-athletes we serve to apply those lessons learned and set a higher level of expectation for ourselves, individually and as a team. Looking forward, we must stay focused on the future to insure we are moving in the same direction. There is a reason the windshield is so big and the rearview mirror so small. I'm proud to serve with you as we continue making Texas A&M University the home of the country's top Athletics Department.
Our year ended with a strong push of momentum when we knocked off nationally-ranked Oklahoma State in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl. The 12th Man was out in full force and responded to our call to turn NRG Stadium in Houston into "Kyle Field South." The team played with that Fightin' Texas Aggie spirit. Falling behind early, they never quit. This is a tough, young team, and their grit and determination secured another bowl win for Texas A&M. Congratulations to Coach Fisher and his staff.
Hall of Fame Coach Gary Blair hit a landmark when women's basketball knocked off the Houston Cougars last month. This was career win No. 800 for Coach Blair! We are one of the best teams in the country with a 14-2 record. I hope to see you at Reed Arena to support both basketball teams as often as possible. Women's basketball is a Top-10 team, and that takes a lot of work. Very few universities ever achieve this honor.
Men's basketball continued to reflect what Coach Williams encourages his players to do every day: "Get Better". This team is coming off their most impressive win this season, knocking off Vanderbilt 69-50, and riding a two-game win streak in SEC play, and will host LSU Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. Now is a great time to be part of these programs, supporting both teams during these exciting times. Let's pack Reed.
Aggie softball is less than a month away with a season-opening doubleheader at 3 p.m. on Friday, February 7th at the beautiful Davis Diamond, while Aggie baseball opens with a three-game home stand hosting Miami of Ohio February 14th at 6:30 p.m. at Blue Bell Park.
Track & field will continue its run toward another national title, hosting two more events this month at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium. The two-day Ted Nelson Invitational gets underway this coming weekend, Friday and Saturday, January 17th and 18th, followed by the Texas Aggie Invitational Saturday, January 25th. The swimming and diving and tennis seasons are underway, while men's and women's golf and equestrian will start very soon. Hope to see you at any number of these events as we join together in supporting our student-athletes.
Special thanks to our donors and friends at the 12th Man Foundation for making possible the brand new Barbara C. Barnett Women's Basketball Student-Athlete Center. This new facility will officially be revealed in less than a week, and sets a new standard in women's college basketball.
As we see a continued rise in graduation rates and overall GPAs, and improving performances in competition, we know our best days are in front of us. There is truly no place like Texas A&M and I am fired up about 2020!
Gig'Em!
Ross
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Williams Named SEC Legend
Former volleyball and women's basketball letterwinner Andrea Williams was recently named the 2020 SEC Women's Legends Class. Williams, who is the Chief Operating Officer for the College Football Playoff, earned a starting spot as a senior on the volleyball team, and tallied 343 kills, hitting at a .301 clip, while also adding 281 digs. The San Antonio, Texas native played two seasons on the hardwood, making her first start as a freshman in the Southwest Conference. She played in 19 games as a sophomore, scoring 38 points on the year and grabbing 20 rebounds.
Working with the College Football Playoff, Williams is primarily responsible for managing the national championship game and all affiliated events. She also serves as the primary liaison to the six bowl games that participate in the CFP arrangement, while managing the process for selecting sites for the championship games.
The class will be honored at the 2020 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, March 4-8 in Greenville, South Carolina.
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TEAM Impact
The men's swimming & diving program had the honor of adding Drake Medinger to the program through Team IMPACT last weekend, hosting his official Signing Day after practice on January 4.
Drake was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012 and fought for almost three years, going through chemotherapy and other cancer treatments to eventually beat the disease. In 2016 it was discovered that the cancer returned, but he was determined to continue his fight. Despite additional health setbacks, Drake never stopped fighting and was able to beat cancer for a second time in 2018.
As a member of the team, Drake will attend practices, meets, team dinners, and more—serving not only as their teammate, but as an inspiration.
We are proud to call you an Aggie, Drake!
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Bowerman Watch List
Track & field's Devin Dixon was one of 10 student-athletes named to The Bowerman Preseason Watch List on Tuesday. Dixon is no stranger to The Bowerman watch list after earning inclusion on four occasions last season. Tuesday's appearance marked the 59th all-time for an Aggie to a watch list, the second most of any school in the country.
The A&M senior became the third-fastest American man ever indoors in the 800-meter run and the fastest American collegian ever with his 1:45.27 at the Texas Tech Classic in January of 2019. Last year, Dixon was named South Central Region Track Athlete of the Year after he set a career best of 1:44.76 to complete a sweep of SEC 800m titles for the second consecutive year.
His outdoor 800m time ranks second on A&M's all-time list, 12th on collegiate all-time list and eighth among U.S. collegians. In winning the SEC 800m title by over two seconds, he bettered the conference meet record of 1:45.27 set by South Carolina's Otukile Lekote in 2002.
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Tennis Season Begins
The Aggies lead the SEC with seven ranked singles players as we start the spring season this week at The Sherwood Cup in Sherwood, California against USC, UCLA and Stanford. Senior Valentin Vacherot is starting the spring at No. 3 in the country after possibly the best fall season by an Aggie ever. He advanced to the semifinals at both the ITA All-American (the fall national championship for singles/doubles) and ITA Texas Regional (runner-up), becoming the first Aggie to accomplish that feat in the same fall season. Val is the first Aggie to open spring in the top-5 since Arthur Rinderknech in 2016.
The women's team, which was the country's youngest team a season ago, advanced to the Round of 16 for the fifth time in the last seven years and welcomes back all eight student-athletes from last season. The Aggies opened the season with a sweep of Arizona in Newport Beach, Calif. over the weekend.
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More Good Bull
- Dual-sport standout Toya Jones was inducted in to the Texas Track Hall of Fame.
- Women's basketball's Chennedy Carter was spotlighted as one of the nation's top players by NCAA.com and was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list.
- Baseball's Asa Lacy has been named to multiple preseason All-American teams.
- Texas A&M legend Von Miller received the Walter Camp "Alumni Award".
- Soccer's Jimena Lopez was tabbed a Scholar All-American by the United Soccer Coaches.
- Soccer is hosting their annual awards banquet on January 25.
- Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Famer Richmond Webb, a seven-time NFL Pro Bowl offensive lineman during his time with the Miami Dolphins, was honored as part of the 2019 Class of Gridiron Legends at the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl.
- 2014 All-SEC placekicker Josh Lambo, now in his third season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was named to the Associated Press' 2019 All-Pro team as a second-team kicker.
- Former Texas A&M All-America punter Shane Lechler, a nine-time NFL Pro Bowler, was recently named to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2020, as well as being selected as one of two punters on the NFL's All-Time Top 100 Team.
Thanks & Gig 'em!
Ross
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