sports

Sports Nuggets
By Joey Warren

Peach Belt to stream ASU games
The Peach Belt Conference recently announced an agreement with Penn Atlantic to stream all PBC men’s and women’s basketball games with live audio and video webcasts. Augusta State has already come online with the partnership. Fans who wish to view games may go to the Penn Atlantic website (www.PennAtlantic.com) and set up an account. Once that is done, then access to all scheduled games will be available at www.peachbeltsports.tv as well as www.aug.edu/athletics, the official website of ASU Athletics.

Basketball
Coach receives honor
Dip Metress, head men’s basketball coach, has now surpassed his record 200-win career milestone. He was presented a plaque recognizing this significant milestone at the Jags-USC-Aiken game. Coach Metress is in his fourth year of coaching at ASU.

Jags play well in January
The men’s basketball team posted a 7-1 record last month, all of which were conference wins. On Jan. 21, the Jags defeated seventh-ranked USC Aiken 75-59 in front of a near sellout crowd and a “Black-Out” in Christenberry Field House.

Jaguars ranked 10th NABC/Coaches Poll
The Jaguars have moved up to No. 10 in the latest NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, which was released on Jan. 29 from the NABC national headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. The ranking marks the ninth consecutive week this season in which the Jags have appeared in the national poll. They are one of two Peach Belt Conference teams to appear in the poll, with USC Aiken just ahead of the Jaguars at No. 9. With the ranking, ASU has appeared in the national rankings for an entire calendar year. The Jags are one of only seven teams in the current national rankings able to stake that claim. The Jags are also ranked first in the South Atlantic Region Poll.

Women’s Basketball
Lady Jags go 6-3 in January
The women’s basketball team had posted an 12-5 overall record, going 6-4 in the Peach Belt Conference. Key conference wins last month came against Clayton State, Armstrong Atlantic, USC Aiken, Georgia Southwestern, and North Georgia.

Diamond Jags tabbed seventh
Augusta State was picked to finish seventh in the first-ever Peach Belt Conference preseason poll. The Diamond Jags, who return two position players and must replace their top five pitchers, received 30 points and are picked to finish ahead of UNC. The Jags kick off their 2008 season in February.

Virguez earns league honor
The Peach Belt Conference announced its first-ever preseason All-Conference baseball team. Augusta State junior Jorge Virguez was tabbed to the all-league squad as the DH. Virguez is the team’s leading returning hitter after tallying a .346 batting average with one home run and 25 RBI in 2007. He made 35 starts in four different positions as a sophomore. The 2008 baseball season begins on Feb. 1.

Former Lady Jaguar to coach golf team
Former Augusta State standout Lauren Smith has been named the women’s golf interim head coach. Smith replaces Laura Coble, who resigned on Nov. 27, 2007, after 16 months on the job. Smith, a four-year letterwinner, enjoyed a celebrated collegiate career that culminated with her selection to the 2006 NCAA Championships as an individual. She began her duties as interim head coach on, Jan. 7.

The women’s golf program, now in its seventh season, ended the fall season ranked No. 41 in the nation by Golfweek and No. 46 in the nation by Golfstat. The Lady Jaguars begin their spring 2008 schedule Feb. 17 at the Papa John’s Collegiate Championship in Miami Lakes, Fla.

Softball team picked fourth
Augusta State’s softball team was picked to finish fourth in the first-ever Peach Belt Conference preseason softball poll. Under 10th-year head coach Melissa Mullins, the Jaguars welcome back a very talented, experienced, and deep squad that returns five of eight position players and its top four pitchers. They finished last season as the No. 18 team in the nation, earning the first national ranking in the 22-year history of the program. ASU opens its 2008 season on Saturday, Feb. 9 in the Aiken Early Bird Classic in Aiken, S.C. The Jaguars make their home debut on Wednesday, Feb. 20 when they begin conference play vs. Lander at 1p.m. at Jaguar Field.

February 2008
A unit of the University System of Georgia.
Produced by the ASU Office of Public Relations and Publications.
Contact webmaster for more information.