It was an eventful Thursday for Georgia athletics, filled with mostly positive results for the university.
Both of the tennis programs earned victories, with the men’s team defeating Tennessee on the road and the women’s team staying undefeated at home with a win over Kentucky.
The gymnastics program also advanced to its regional final in Tempe, Arizona, with a top-two finish in the second round.
Finally, the baseball team edged out a 10-9 victory at Mississippi State, its first series-opening win in Starkville, Mississippi, since 2004. The Bulldogs currently sit atop the SEC and are in good standing to earn their fourth consecutive series win to begin conference play.
So have a great weekend, and check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many SEC championships has Kirby Smart led Georgia to as its head coach?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Kirby Smart says SEC championship game ‘probably has to go’ if CFP expands
Smart is the only active coach in the SEC to know what it is like to win the SEC championship.
And if his comments on Thursday come to fruition, he might well be the last coach to win the SEC championship game.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne made headlines on Thursday when he shared he’d be in favor of eliminating the SEC championship game.
As it turns out, Byrne is not alone in the matter. Smart spoke with Chris Low of On3 and shared a similar opinion on the matter.
Especially if the College Football Playoff were to expand.
“Where we are right now with 12 teams (in the playoff), I don’t necessarily agree that it needs to quit being played,” Smart told Low. “But if it gets to 16 or 24 and we’ve got to move the end of the season up and we’ve got to get everything done by the second week of January, then I’d say it probably has to go.
The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for this upcoming season after the conferences could not agree on an expanded College Football Playoff format.
UGA athletics daily recap
Thursday, April 2:
- Gymnastics advanced to next round of regional in Tempe, Arizona.
- Men’s tennis beat Tennessee, 4-1, on road.
- Women’s tennis beat Kentucky, 4-1, to remain undefeated at home.
- Baseball won first series opener at Mississippi State since 2004 with 10-9 victory.
- Softball dropped series opener to Texas A&M, 3-2, on road.
Georgia baseball leans on its power
When Georgia gave up eight runs to Georgia State in the top of the eighth inning, it looked like the No. 5 Bulldogs might be headed for a disappointing midweek loss.
Instead, they exploded for six runs in the bottom of the eighth, capped by third baseman Tre Phelps’ second home run of the day, to win 14-9 Tuesday at Foley Field.
With a Division I-leading 87 home runs so far this season, it’s no secret hitting for power is part of this Georgia team’s identity.
“One hundred percent, especially in a hitter’s ballpark,” Phelps said. “You saw that (Tuesday) the wind was blowing out. It’s not very many days wind blows into here. So definitely take it to our advantage. I mean, we’re strong. We have a great strength coach, puts us through great lengths to get us big. So being able to use that power in the box definitely has helped us.”
Foley Field is certainly hitter-friendly, particularly with right field measuring a short 314 feet (left field measures 350 feet and center field measures 404 feet). The Bulldogs have taken their power hitting on the road, too, tallying 11 home runs when they won two of three games over Texas A&M in College Station March 20-22.
And it’s not just one player sending baseballs out of the park.
Photo of the day
Quote of the day
Head baseball coach Wes Johnson on hitting home runs:
“It’s not our total identity. I joke with ‘em: ‘Wow, guys, we won a game on Sunday, we had 14 or 15 hits. We didn’t hit a homer.’ And we can do that. You know, you look, Daniel Jackson is now up to (14 stolen bases), (infielder) Rylan Lujo is really, really fast. So we got some guys who can steal some bases and do some, you know, some things that don’t just speak to power … We’ve got some of that. So think it was big this weekend to be able to do that.”
Priority LB target to see Georgia football again this weekend
Joakim Gouda was in Athens for a “Junior Day” in January. He returned in March. He’s got an official visit planned for May 29, but he will be back in Athens this weekend.
Again.
That’s nothing but good news for the Dawgs with the best inside linebacker in the state this year.
“I’m just trying to get down there to see if I can really see myself being there for three to four years,” Gouda said. “Just getting to know everybody.”
Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann has built a strong relationship.
“That’s my Dawg,” Gouda said of Schumann. “I’m really close to the staff with ‘Coach Schu’ and [defensive analyst] Coach Bryson Allen-Williams. That’s ‘BAW’ and he’s been checking in on me. Coach [David] Coop. Kirby [Smart] and all of them. They’re always just checking on my family. Not just me. It’s a great relationship with Georgia and especially ‘Coach Schu’ as well.”
Gouda has also been to Auburn, Florida, Notre Dame and Texas over the last few weeks.
“I’ve been going to where my top five is at,” he said.
He’ll see UGA this weekend. Gouda will then visit Florida on April 11 and will make another trip to see Texas on April 18.
Trivia answer
Eight
