Eagle Soccer Camp Wraps Up

The Meridian Community College soccer team hosted the 2010 Eagle Soccer Camp this past week at C.D. Smith Field.

Head coach Alex George and assistant coach Mike Smith welcomed over 50 campers to the MCC campus, teaching them the fundamentals of soccer during a fun five day camp.

The annual “Eagle Day” for MCC soccer will take place Saturday, August 14th beginning at 10 a.m. Prizes, food, schedules and much more will be available.

The Lady Eagles will host Belhaven that Saturday at 11 a.m. while the Eagles will have an Alumni match at 1 p.m.

For more information, please contact the MCC soccer office at 601-484-8697 or ageorge@meridiancc.edu

Sudduth held Eagles together during uncertainty

By Daniel Rigdon / Sports Writer The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — After the departure of Chris Rose on June 10, the Meridian Community College administration entrusted assistant coach Dillon Sudduth with the management of the Eagles baseball program until it could find a replacement. Sudduth, who has been coaching at MCC since 2007, didn't disappoint.

Along with continuing to build Meridian's recruiting class, Sudduth, who applied for the head coaching position as well, had to be sure that his returning players were committed to coming back for the 2011 season.

"The players were awesome through the whole ordeal," said Sudduth. "I basically just had to let them know that whether I got the head coaching job or not, that the administration was going to do the best thing for the program and were going to do right by them. I told them if it wasn't going to be me than it was going to be somebody that they could believe in. Those guys have just been awesome through the whole thing and have stuck with me and the administration and people in the community were a big help to me during the transition period and pulling everything together. I thank everybody who helped me during that time.”

According to returning players, Sudduth was a big reason they decided to stay after Rose left for East Mississippi Community College.

"I don't really know that much about coach (Chris) Curry," said former West Lauderdale star Dustin McWilliams. "I've read up about him on the internet when I found out. I just met him a little while ago and he seems like a really nice guy. If Dillon would not have stayed I more than likely would have left, ya know. He gives you that familiar face and I really like him. He's been a big help."

"That's something else I told the guys," added Sudduth. "If I didn't believe in coach Curry or what he is gonna do here then I wouldn't be staying with him. I said that should show yall something right there."

Sudduth's decision to stay is a combination of a love for the MCC program and a belief and common thread with Curry.

"Coach Curry and I share a lot of the same principles and philosophies as far as where we want to take the program," noted Sudduth. "He brings a lot of experience to the table. He has got to learn under some good coaches in the SEC and as far as knowing the game goes he's got that down. We communicate real well, he brings a lot of energy and he is hungry."

Sudduth was a part of MCC's 2004 and 2005 teams. The Eagles made it to the JUCO World Series in 2004 and won the MACJC State Championship in 2005.

Sudduth then went on to continue his playing career at Southeastern Louisiana University. He followed by serving as a student assistant with the Lions before returning to MCC.

‘Honored’ Curry returns to MCC as head baseball coach

By Daniel Rigdon / Sports Writer The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — Honored, privileged and lucky. These were just a few of the emotions running thru Chris Curry's head Friday afternoon as he was introduced as Meridian Community College's head baseball coach in a press conference held in Graham Gymnasium by Associate Dean for Student Services Sander Atkinson.

Curry, who has previously held assistant coaching positions at the University of Arkansas and Arkansas Tech, was overcome with excitement and anticipation when word of the job coming open reached him in early June after Chris Rose departed for the East Mississippi Community College program after five years with MCC.

"My heart jumped when I first heard about the opening," said Curry. "MCC has a special place in my life and I was at a place in my life where I just knew I was gonna go after this job. Winning is the MCC tradition and I want to be in a place where baseball is important for the community. As soon as it happened I put a call into Sander to tell him to put my name in the ring, and he was interested. Now here we are."

Atkinson, who spearheaded the committee to fill the coaching vacancy, believes the hire is what is best for MCC and the community. The committee interviewed four candidates after narrowing down the numerous candidates' resumes.

"We had dozens of people interested in the job and all of them were well-qualified," said Atkinson. "We had an outstanding pool of candidates. As we went through the process and got into interviews it became clear that Chris, with the resume he had and the way he answered questions with a passion for the game of baseball and MCC, was ready to take over leadership of the program. We are lucky to get him."

A former Eagle catcher, Curry will look to fill the shoes of the previous MCC skippers that ingrained a strong winning tradition into the Eagles baseball program. Curry played at MCC in 1997-98 before heading to Mississippi State.

"What I wanna do is continue the tradition that is the MCC baseball program," said Curry. "There have been great coaches to come thru here like Corky Palmer, Scott Berry and all the other great coaches that came after them.

"I'm going to establish discipline and make sure this team works hard on and off of the field. I believe that with the level of players we get in here and the brand of baseball we will play will give us a real chance to be successful."

Curry has been busy reaching out to his players since he was informed he would be filling the position.

"I talked to all my players on the phone," added Curry. "The first thing I did when I got the job is to put in calls to them and the first thing I asked everyone of them was are you committed to this team. Right out of the gate, everyone was on board. "

Assistant coach Dillon Sudduth will remain with the program in his current position. Curry has been impressed with Sudduth in the short time he has known him and looks for great things from him.

"Dillon Sudduth is going to be our hitting coach," noted Curry. "I think the numbers that he has had over the past few years have been outstanding. We met on Monday and I have been very impressed with him. He has done a great job keeping the team together and keeping the guys on board. He's gonna be a great coach and I'm really excited to work with him."

Meridian Community College set to announce new Head Baseball Coach Friday

MERIDIAN, Miss.- The Meridian Community College Athletic Department will hold a press conference on Friday, July 16th at 2 p.m. in the Graham Gymnasium to announce the new Head Coach of MCC Baseball.

MCC, which won the regular season Miss-Lou Conference title this past season before finishing as Region 23 tournament runners-up, finished with a 32-19 record in 2010.

Over its storied past, MCC has made seven appearances in the NJCAA World Series (‘93, ‘94, ‘96, ‘98, ‘00, ‘03, and ’04), won 14 conference titles (‘90, ‘91, ‘92, ‘94, ‘95, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, ‘00, ‘01, ‘05, ‘06, ‘08, and ’10), and captured 10 Region 23 Championships (‘92,’93, ‘94, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘00, ‘03, ‘04, and ’09).

The media and public are invited to the event on Friday.

ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship Award winners

ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship Award winners and
the ITA All-Star Team to be honored during a special awards luncheon
Hosted by the USTA during Arthur Ashe Kids' Day

SKILLMAN, N.J. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 10 National winners of the 2010 Arthur Ashe, Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award and the 27th edition of the ITA All-Star Team, which features the nation's top-ranked players and National Champions from the 2009-10 season.

These remarkable student-athletes will be treated by the ITA and United States Tennis Association (USTA) to a weekend in New York, highlighted by activities during Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Saturday, August 28th. The group will be honored at the ITA awards luncheon, hosted by the USTA in the President's Dining Room Suite. Lucy Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President of the USTA, David A Benjamin, ITA Executive Director, David Dinkins, former Mayor of New York City and a member of the USTA Board of Directors, are among those on hand to present the awards.

The ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recognizes outstanding individuals in all divisions at the regional and national level. This award which dates back to 1982, goes to NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and JuCo men's and women's players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. The 2010 recipients include:

MEN WOMEN
Division I: Jason Jung, Michigan Division I: Catherine Newman, Vanderbilt
Division II: Lorenzo Cava, Bentley Division II: Natalia Ramos, FIT
Division III: Matt de Vlieger, Calvin Division III: Julia Browne, Tufts
NAIA: Oliver Sindayigay, Lewis-Clark St. NAIA: Sheryl Bon, Azusa Pacific
JuCo: Andres Cepede, Meridian CC JuCo: Jamie Blackim, Cowley CC

This 27th edition of the ITA Collegiate All-Star Team includes the nation's top-ranked men's and women's tennis players from the season-ending Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and NJCAA levels, as well as champions from the 2009 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships and 2010 NCAA Championships. Highlighting this year's team are the Campbell/ITA National Players of the Year: Irina Falconi of Georgia Tech and Robert Farah of USC.

MEN WOMEN
Division I Singles Division I Singles
Robert Farah, Southern California
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking Irina Falconi, Georgia Tech
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking

Steve Johnson, Southern California
ITA National Indoor Champion Jana Juricova, California
ITA National Indoor Champion

Bradley Klahn, Stanford
NCAA Champion Chelsey Gullickson, Georgia
NCAA Champion

Division I Doubles Teams Division I Doubles Teams
Reid Carleton/Henrique Cunha, Duke
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Natalie Pluskota/Caitlin Whoriskey, Tennessee
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher, Stanford
ITA National Indoor Champions Hilary Barte/Lindsay Burdette, Stanford
ITA National Indoor Champions
NCAA Champions

Drew Courtney/Michael Shabaz, Virginia
NCAA Champions Kristy Frilling/Kali Krisik, Notre Dame
No. 2 Campbell/ITA Rankings

Division II Division II
Mikk Irdoja, Armstrong Atlantic
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Yuan Jia, BYU-Hawaii
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Division III Division III
John Watts, Washington-St. Louis
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Julia Browne, Tufts
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking

NAIA NAIA
Alberto Gonzalez, Auburn-Montgomery
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Gabriela Bergmanova, Vanguard
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking

NJCAA NJCAA
Damian Hume, Collin CC
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking
Olivia Howlett, Hillsborough CC
No. 1 Campbell/ITA Ranking

The USTA announced today that chart-topping pop superstars Jonas Brothers and TV and recording sensation Demi Lovato will hold court with tennis world # 1 Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic at the 15th Annual Arthur Ashe Kids' Day presented by Hess Saturday, August 28 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., from 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

"We have seen some of the biggest names in tennis and entertainment on the court during Arthur Ashe Kids' Day presented by Hess," said Harlan Stone, Chief Marketing Officer, USTA. "Our 15th year will be no different, and this day of excitement and fun for kids and families, will again honor a great humanitarian and icon of our sport."

Over the years, Arthur Ashe Kids' Day has featured many of music's biggest acts including Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Jordin Sparks, Backstreet Boys, Ne-Yo, Sean Kingston, Jesse McCartney, Bow Wow and Hanson.