Wasps now 12-1
The Emory & Henry College Men’s Basketball Team is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, D3hoops.com officials announced Tuesday. It is the first time in the 19 years of the poll that the Wasps have been considered for one of the Top 25 spots in Division III men’s basketball.
E&H is currently 12-1 on the year with a 4-0 record against Old Dominion Athletic Conference opponents. The Wasps began the season 10-0, their best start since 1992-93 when they made the NCAA Division III Sweet 16. The four wins to start the conference schedule marks the best league start since that same 1992-93 year when Emory & Henry won its first 10 ODAC contests.
Whitman College is the consensus No. 1 at 13-0 while Augustana (Ill.) College is second in the nation. Whitworth University, Williams College and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater round out the top five.
Hoke to Dash
The Winston-Salem Dash (High A; Carolina League) have announced several promotions within their front office, as well as new staff members for 2018. Among the additions is Blair Hoke, the former general manager of the Pulaski Yankees (Rookie; Appalachian League). Hoke has been hired as the Director of Corporate Partnerships.
Rein new pitching coach
Radford University baseball head coach Joe Raccuia announced the addition of Matt Rein to the Highlanders’ coaching staff, Wednesday, as Rein will take over as pitching coach.
Rein takes over for Justin Willard, who resigned in December to accept a coaching positon in the Minnesota Twins organization.
Rein comes to Radford after serving as the pitching coach at Coker (S.C.) for the past two seasons. In his second season with the Cobras, Rein’s staff turned in a 5.54 ERA with two pitchers earning all-conference honors.
Hokies preseason ranked
Following arguably the greatest year in Virginia Tech track and field history, the Hokies find themselves ranked at No. 8 on the men’s side in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Indoor National Team Computer Rankings, as released Wednesday afternoon by the organization.
Tech is coming off three ACC titles during the 2017 season and in the process earned recognition from the USTFCCCA multiple times.
Director of track and field and cross country Dave Cianelli was tabbed Southeast Region Coach of the Year, Ben Thomas racked up Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year as well as National Assistant Coach of the Year, while mid-distance runner Patrick Joseph picked up Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year and pole vaulter Deakin Volz garnered Southeast Region Field Athlete of the Year all during the indoor season.
Last season, the Hokies were ranked No. 16 in the indoor preseason USTFCCCA Top 25 before rising as high as No. 7 going into the ACC Indoor Championships, and then finishing the indoor rankings at No. 21.
Of the 25 schools in the rankings, three hail from the ACC, including Syracuse (25), Virginia (16) and Virginia Tech (8).
McGlynn on USA roster
U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team head coach Jitka Klimkova has named the 20-player roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship to be held Jan. 18-28 in Trinidad & Tobago, and Virginia Tech sophomore Mandy McGlynn has earned one of the two spots as a goalkeeper.
The Jacksonville, Florida, native had been training with the national team on three separate occasions over the past year, which included the most recent event in Sarasota, Florida that ended on Jan. 6. Klimkova used that New Year’s training camp to help her solidify the final roster spots for the World Cup qualifier.
The 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship features eight nations divided into two groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group will qualify for the semifinals, with the winners of those games along with the winner of the third-place match earning berths to the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France.
Tech baseball tickets on sale
Season ticket and package options for the upcoming 2018 Virginia Tech baseball season are now on sale to the public through the Tech Athletics Ticket Office, while all of the premium seating options for English Field at Union Park are sold out.
A season ticket, which includes 15 home dates against ACC opponents Pittsburgh, NC State, Louisville, Duke and Miami, will cost $90 for an adult and $45 for a youth between the ages of 3 and 17.
As a reference, for all ACC contests, the cost of an individual game ticket for adults will be $10, while a youth ticket costs $5. Virginia Tech students with a valid ID and children 2 and under are free. All nonconference home games will be free of charge for the 2018 season.
An 8-Game Flex Plan is also offered for fans wanting to watch the Hokies this year. These tickets can be used at any time – whether, for example, it’s one ticket for eight separate games, two tickets for four games, or all eight tickets for one game – and will cost $64.
Individual game tickets will be available for purchase in mid-February.
Hokies to MLS combine
The 2018 MLS Combine is set to take place from Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida beginning Thursday, Jan. 11. Two former Hokies will be in attendance, showing their skills against other top prospects.
First Team All-ACC performers Marcelo Acuna and Ben Lundgaard will travel to the Sunshine State for the week-long Combine where they will work to improve their draft stock in front of the league’s coaches and executives.
The pair were announced as a part of the initial 60 players invited to the Combine. A committee of MLS coaches and NCAA D1 coaches from every conference selected the invitees, all of whom completed their college eligibility this season.
In 2017, Acuna and Lundgaard led the Hokies to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament as captains during their senior season in Blacksburg.
