March 2014 went by in a flash but once again there were plenty of ‘Canes making some headlines! Here are the Top 5 Miami Hurricanes new stories for March!
No. 1:
Javi Salas pitches a perfect game!
This will probably be in the top 10 news of 2014 at the end of the year. Salas pitched a perfect game against the Villanova Wildcats at The Light on March 3. It was only the 23rd perfect game in the history of NCAA Division I baseball and the second perfect game by a Hurricane since Kevin Sheary in April, 1987. The game was a complete beat down, with the ‘Canes getting 12 hits and 17 runs to back up Salas’ 117-pitch masterpiece.
No. 2
Canes football gets a big tight end commit.
‘Canes football continue to move forward, signing TE Bowman Archibald and OL Hayden Mahoney among others. Coach Al Golden heads into his first real non-NCAA-sanction-threatening season and it should be very interesting to see what kind of class he gets this year. No more Penn State rumoros hanging around either so it’s full steam ahead on ‘Canes football recruiting.
No. 3
Spring practice heats up with quarterback race.
Lots of news from spring practice coming in but the main question on everyone’s mind is about next year’s quarterback. With Morris graduated, Ryan Williams is in line to take the position next year but despite what Coach Golden says, there is a possible superstar quarterback, make that quarterbacks breathing down Williams neck. Kevin Olsen seems to have gone through his growing pains and by the reports from SOTU, Olsen has improved greatly not only in ability but also in determination and attitude. Throw in Brad Kaaya into the mix and this is going to be a very interesting race to watch as we head towards the 2014 season.
No. 4
‘Canes Men’s tennis suddenly comes back to life.
There had to be some tennis news in here right? At the beginning of the season, with losses to Central Florida and South Florida, the men’s team looked like they were going no where fast. They actually did fall out of the Top 75 national rankings for a couple of weeks and despite my homerism, things were not looking too good. But Coach Rincon and staff have done a great job in figuring out which line up to put out each week. When Rincon chose Aly over Flores or Soto for the number one singles position, I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical. But Aly has competed amazingly and done very well in maybe the toughest position in college tennis. With upsets over ranked ACC opponents, the Canes suddenly find themselves ranked No. 39 and with a chance to make it to their 44th-NCAA tournament appearance. The April 19th match with Florida State will be huge.
No. 5 The ‘Canes basketball season comes to an end.
No, the ‘Canes didn’t make the NCAA this year. They didn’t even make the NIT. They finished with a 17-16 record overall, 7-11 and 10th place in the 15-team ACC, and a quarterfinal finish in the ACC tournament. We knew this season was going to be rough, but this year’s team pulled us in despite the losses. Coach Larranaga’s brilliant leadership and adaptabilty, the seniors’ efforts despite the numerous close losses, Rion Brown becoming the 35th member of the ‘Canes 1,000-point club, and walk-on Justin Heller getting a scholarship were all inspiring stories during the season. And now that the season is over, we turn our eyes to next year and it looks really, really good. With the recruits and transfers that Coach Larranaga is bringing in, the Canes will be shooting for their 8th NCAA appearance. Next season is going to be fun!