Alabama
A Historic Day for Alabama Sports: Roll Call, May 26, 2024
Alabama men’s tennis’ No. 29-ranked Filip Planinsek took down Columbia’s No. 23-ranked Michael Zheng in three sets of the NCAA Singles Championship to claim the first title in Crimson Tide history.
“I mean, just all that thanks to the coaches, the staff, Katie (Wheeler – athletic trainer), just amazing,” Planinsek said after the match. “I mean, I can’t thank them enough. My family, I’m just thrilled.”
Nevertheless, this was a hard-fought victory, as Planinsek started on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Planinsek opened the first set with a 5-3 lead, but Zheng came back to win 7-6 after a 7-4 tiebreaker.
“I just felt that I can win the next two sets,” Planinsek said when asked about dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker. “I was confident of that, and I broke quite early in the second set and then momentum started building. I started building my game. I started being more aggressive.”
Alabama head coach George Husack couldn’t have been more proud of Planinsek as he took a moment before answering a question about the national champion during the post-match press conference.
“So incredibly proud of and happy for Filip,” Husack said. “What a week and one that he took ownership of the minute we returned from Duke. He created his own plan for the coaches and support staff to follow and kept moving forward. Filip became such a better competitor during this month because of how he pushed himself in practice, how he executed under pressure, how he took advantage of opportunities, how he kept his cool in both challenging and frustrating moments, and ultimately how he never stopped leading himself. He played for himself, his family and the University of Alabama. We are so proud of him and this historic first for our program. There ain’t no mountain high enough and Filip will continue climbing.”
While one historic moment is more than enough for a school in one day, the Crimson Tide had two more sports reach the record books on Saturday in softball and track and field.
97 days
May 26, 1964: Peter Finney reports in the New Orleans paper from the SEC spring meeting in Mobile that Alabama coach Paul Bryant is looking much healthier than a year ago when the Bama coach was in the midst of his battle with The Saturday Evening Post Finney reports Bryant has settled out of court for $300,000 tax free. The publication is still in appeals trying to reduce the money it owes to Wally Butts who was awarded $10 million.
May 26, 1965: Future Crimson Tide baseball coach Mitch Gaspard was born in Port Arthur, Texas.
May 26, 1983: Former Alabama defensive lineman Mark Anderson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
May 26, 1988: William Vlachos was born.
May 26, 2019: Legendary quarterback Bart Starr died in Birmingham. He was 85.
“Show class, have pride and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.” — Paul W. “Bear” Bryant
Alabama
Coca-Cola United celebrates start of $330 million Alabama growth project – Alabama News Center
Alabama
Alabama Law Enforcement provides update on Alabama 158 wreck
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has released details on a deadly multi-vehicle crash on Alabama 158 in Mobile County.
The crash occurred at approximately 6:12 a.m. on Sunday, June 16 when a 2017 Kia Sportage being driven by Yancy David Baker, 44, of Daphne collided head on with a 2023 Freightliner Cascadia being driven by Darrell Charles Bassett Jr., 33, of Mobile, according to officials.
After the initial collision, law enforcement said the Freightliner struck a 2020 Ford Edge being driven by Nolan Ryan Terry, 26, of Crawfordville, Fla.
Baker was not wearing a seatbelt at the time and was pronounced deceased on the scene after being ejected, according to ALEA.
The crash occurred near mile marker four on Alabama 158, approximately 10 miles west of the Semmes city limits.
Investigators with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said they are continuing to investigate the crash.
Copyright 2024 WALA. All rights reserved.
Alabama
Alabama football lands London Simmons, a defensive lineman in 2025 recruiting class
Alabama football has landed a commitment in the class of 2025 from defensive lineman London Simmons, Simmons told On3 on Sunday.
Simmons is the 15th commitment in Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide’s 2025 recruiting class but just the second defensive lineman in the group alongside Antonio Coleman. He is the third commitment Alabama has picked up in the last week, following the commitments of Mal Waldrep and Michael Carroll.
Simmons is listed as 6-foot-3, 295-pounds and plays for Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Mississippi. 247Sports has Simmons listed as a three-star prospect ranked the No. 67 defensive lineman in the 2025 class and the No. 15 prospect in Mississippi.
Before Simmons pledge, Alabama ranked No. 3 among all teams in the 2025 recruiting cycle per 247Sports Composite.
Simmons chose Alabama over a total of 13 offers, including those from Florida State, LSU and Ole Miss. Simmons recently took a visit to the Capstone on June 14.
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