CRIMSON TIDE NOTEBOOK: Volleyball team ends season on the road

The University of Alabama volleyball team heads on the road for its final conference matches of the season, taking on No. 7 Florida at 6 tonight before heading to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Tide’s match with South Carolina is featured as the SEC Match of the Week and will air on FSN South.

“This weekend is going to be really fun and I am so excited to see how our team closes out the regular season,” Alabama coach Judy Green said. “It is the best time for our team to be playing is best volleyball of the season.”

Alabama, 12-6 in the SEC and 15-12 overall, is tied for second place in the SEC West with Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide is second in digs behind Tennessee with 18.46 per game.

The Tide heads into the match with Florida on a two-match losing streak after falling to Ole Miss and LSU. Florida comes into the match on a seven-match winning streak after defeating Tennessee and Kentucky on the road last week. Alabama trails 27-5 all-time against Florida.

The Tide leads the all-time series with South Carolina 18-12 after a 3-1 victory earlier this season.

Women’s tennis sets sights on 2008

The A women’s tennis team wrapped up its fall campaign last week at the SEC Coach’s Classic hosted by Auburn. The tournament was the last of four the young squad competed in to get ready for the rigorous SEC season.

“I am pleased with the advancement of this team through the course of our fall season,” coach Jenny Mainz said. “The growth and development has been considerable. The team did a nice job of making adjustments from August to November. We moved our program forward by getting a day better each day this fall.”

The Tide kicked off the fall season at the 2007 Milwaukee Tennis Classic hosted by Marquette on Sept. 21-23. Over three days Alabama squared off against members of Marquette, Wisconsin and Texas A&M, who finished the 2007 season ranked No. 25 nationally. The event marked the debut of the Tide’s four freshmen, Meritt Emery, Alli Nolen, Elise Wettermark and Tiffany Welcher. The freshmen combined for four singles victories and two doubles victories.

“I feel confident that our fall season provided invaluable experiences to help prime us for the much anticipated spring season,” Mainz said. “We have had four freshmen and three sophomores dive into the competitive fires of the South Region and SEC this fall. These conditions will prove to be very beneficial down the road.”

Next for the Tide was its only home tournament on the schedule, the Roberta Alison Fall Classic. The Tide, along with 10 schools from around the nation, played over three days. Freshmen Welcher and Emery made it to the final match in their respective singles brackets before falling.

Sophomore Paulina Bigos was the only member of the Tide to earn a title at the Roberta Alison, defeating Khady Berthe of Auburn-Montgomery in straight sets. In doubles, Bigos and partner sophomore Alice Tunaru won a consolation title.

Following almost a month of intense training, Alabama headed to Athens, Ga., to participate in the ITA South Regional hosted by the University of Georgia. Four Tide players picked up victories in their first-round matches, including senior Andrea Brenes who went on to the semifinals before falling to Florida State’s Federica Suess. In doubles, the Tide’s Bigos and Tunaru won first- and second-round matches before falling in the quarterfinals to Jannete Bejkova and Lauren Shumate of South Florida.

“This is an ambitious group with something to prove this year.,” Mainz said. “We certainly have the capabilities and fortitude to make an impact this season. We need to work on changing our inconsistencies, our shot selection at pivotal times and increased match play in order to storm forward.”

The Tide wrapped up the fall at the first SEC Fall Coach’s Classic hosted by Auburn. The Tide ended on a high note as almost every member of the squad contributed a win.

“We need to focus on more proficiency on our serves and returns in the off season,” Mainz said. “I am optimistic about this steadfast squad and I am confident they will be sharp in January.”

Alabama kicks off its spring season with a much-anticipated trip to Hawaii to take part in the Hawaii Classic on Jan. 15-20. The Tide returns home the next week to host Southern Mississippi Jan. 27 in its home opener at 1 p.m.

Swim teams visit Auburn

The Alabama swimming and diving teams face their first conference road meet of the season today at Auburn. The meet begins at 4 p.m.

Alabama is coming off a tri-meet for the men and a quad-meet for the women at Delta State. Both the Auburn men, the five-time defending NCAA champions, and the women, two-time defending NCAA champions, are coming off meets against Tennessee.

The highlight for the women’s meet should be in the 200 breaststroke where sophomore Agustina de Giovanni and senior Erin Sparks are ranked third and eighth, respectively, in the SEC. Auburn’s Melanie Roberts and Josefin Wede are fourth and fifth. The 200 IM could also be a hot race where the two schools have four swimmers in the league’s top 8.

On the men’s side, the fireworks will come off the diving boards where Alabama sophomore Aaron Fleshner is ranked second in the league off both the 1- and 3-meter boards while Auburn’s Kelly Marx is fourth off the 3-meter. The breaststroke events will also be ones to keep an eye on with five Alabama and Auburn swimmers ranked in the top 12.

Gottfried catches first bass

Mark Gottfried has made a success of reeling in huge catches in basketball recruiting. But recently the Tide coach caught his first bass.

This weekend, television viewers will get a chance to share in the experience. Gottfried is the featured guest of former Tide football All-American Tommy Wilcox on the “Tommy Wilcox Outdoors Show.”

The 30-minute show was filmed at Sweet Apple Farms in Livingston. Three of Gottfried’s five children — sons Cameron, Aaron and Dillon — joined him on the lake.

“It was a great time,” said Gottfried, whose fishing trip also included WVUA TV sports director Gary Harris and sports reporter Todd Hoyer. “It was a great time with my children, and Tommy Wilcox was a fabulous host. Having Gary and Todd there made it a great day, too.”

The show will air Saturday at 9 a.m. on Fox Sports Net and at 10 a.m. Saturday on Tuscaloosa’s WVUA.

“My fish was probably big enough to put in my shirt pocket, but, the older I get, it will definitely grow in size and weight,” Gottfried said, laughing. “But my kids caught a lot of fish, and I did as well. It was a lot of fun.”

A photo gallery of Gottfried’s day on the lake can be found on the show’s Web site, www.tommywilcox.com.

David Wasson’s Crimson Tide Notebook appears Fridays. Reach him at david.wasson@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0229.