Guemmer volunteer coach
Rounding out the completion of his coaching staff, Virginia Tech’s head softball coach Pete D’Amour on Thursday announced the hiring of Matt Guemmer, who will serve as a volunteer assistant coach.
Guemmer will work with the outfielders that have five returners in Jada Crittendon, Darby Trull, Cana Davis, Emma Strouth and Kinsey Johnson, and adds two newcomers in Al Velazquez and Mason Ochs.
He comes most recently from De Soto High School in Missouri, where he was the head coach of the girls’ softball team for four years, starting in 2014. His first year on the job, Guemmer led the Dragons to a MSHS 5-A state championship with a 25-4 record. The team owned a .351 batting average and 1.41 ERA, respectively.
VT baseball welcomes two staffers
The Virginia Tech baseball program will officially start the fall season next week, but before announcing the newest student-athletes joining the team, head baseball coach John Szefc wanted to introduce the two newest members to the Hokies support staff – Brian Neal, the senior director of strength and condition, and Kyle Staggers, a director of sports medicine.
Neal, who is originally from Forest, Virginia, played football at Bridgewater College and played for the DIII national championship in 2001 before starting his professional career.
He was a graduate assistant at Southern Miss (2005-07), was an intern for the US Olympic Training Center in 2007 – training Olympic and Paralympic athletes for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and worked as an assistant strength coach at Sam Houston for three seasons, helping the track and field programs win a handful of championships.
Neal comes to Blacksburg from his latest stop in Starkville, Mississippi where he worked for the Bulldogs baseball program the past eight seasons. In his time there, Mississippi State earned seven NCAA tournament bids, played in five Super Regionals and made two trips to the College World Series. They also won the SEC title in 2012 as well as had four first round MLB draft selections.
Hokies win volleyball invitational
Getting the first start of her career, Talyn Jackson’s double-double led Virginia Tech’s volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Robert Morris on Saturday to claim the Hokie Invitational sponsored by the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Christiansburg at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
The freshman dished out a career-high 45 assists while scooping up a career-best 13 digs to lead the Hokies (6-0) to a perfect start through two weekends of action.
Tech was also led by sophomore Marisa Cerchio on the weekend, as the middle blocker hit over .400 in all three matches to win MVP honors. Cerchio made the all-tournament team, as well as sophomore Kaity Smith and junior Carol Raffety.
XC teams picked in top five
The Virginia Tech women’s cross-country team was picked to finish fourth in the ACC, while the men’s team was picked to finish fifth in a preseason vote conducted among the league’s head coaches and released Thursday afternoon.
The coaches picked two-time defending champion NC State to win again on the women’s side for the third straight preseason. Notre Dame finished second in the voting, followed by Louisville, the Hokies, and Syracuse.
The Tech men, who enter this season also receiving votes in the USTFCCCA poll, came in second at the ACC Championships last fall and second at the NCAA regional, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships – its third appearance in the past six years.
Fuente announces captains
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente announced the Hokies’ team captains for 2018 as voted upon by team’s leadership council. Seniors Ricky Walker and Kyle Chung headline that list, along with junior Reggie Floyd.
QB Josh Jackson was also selected by his teammates, making him one of only seven FBS sophomores to earn that distinction.
“Any time you’re named a captain it’s an honor, especially when it’s voted upon by your peers,” Fuente said. “We have a number of leaders on our team, but these four student-athletes definitely are representative of the type of players we have in our program who work hard and hold their teammates accountable.”