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GOOOO JAGS!.............already on pins and needles and it's only 8:50am...............Salud from the class of 2001!
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --- In front of a packed hospitality room gathering of Augusta State fans Friday afternoon, coach Dip Metress delivered a few brief words to fire up the Blue Crew.
Mr. Metress and his 10th-ranked Jaguars are bidding for the school's first national championship.
The Jaguars (27-6) will face No. 3 Winona State (37-1) at 2:30 p.m. today in the NCAA Division II Championship at the MassMutual Center. The game will be televised live on CBS.
"We're excited," Mr. Metress said. "We're going to give it our best shot."
Excitement is reaching a fever pitch in the Augusta area as well. Paula Toole, the development and alumni specialist at Augusta State, said the enthusiasm on campus is beyond comparison.
"The students are pumped; the faculty and staff are stoked," she said in an e-mail. "Everyone has the fever."
Richard Parker, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a 1969 Augusta State alumnus, said in an e-mail, "This current ASU team has achieved things we could only dream of when I was a student at AC."
Danielle Mackie of Grovetown, a nurse, is a next-door neighbor of the Metresses. An Augusta State alumna, she left her husband and two sons at home to come watch the Jaguars live. If you see her on TV, she'll be the one wearing the blue wig.
"I have to keep pinching myself," she said. "This is so awesome. Last year, I was thinking this is as good as it gets. But this is just phenomenal."
Ed Holmes of Augusta, a season-ticket holder who has followed the Jaguars since the 1960s, said Augusta State has always had a good basketball team but never like this.
"This is the pinnacle," he said.
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com
DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP
WHO: No. 10 Augusta State (27-6) vs. No. 4 Winona State (37-1)
WHEN: 2:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Springfield, Mass.
TV: CBS (WRDW-Ch.12)
MEET THE JAGS
A celebration picnic for ASU will be held Sunday at Forest Hills Golf Club. The picnic will begin at noon after the team lands at Augusta's Bush Field. The cost is $7.50 per person.
ONLINE
- READ Chris Gay's live blog from today's championship game.
- LIVE STATISTICS and a video stream of the entire tournament is available at www.aug.edu/athletics.
WHEN & WHERE: 2:30 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
HOW TO WATCH: Game to be televised nationally on CBS (WRDW-Ch.12)
Comments
GOOOO JAGS!.............already on pins and needles and it's only 8:50am...............Salud from the class of 2001!
Can anyone tell me if there is a sports bar type of place in Augusta where a nice crowd of people will be watching? thanks
This is amazing....
Indigo Joe's has a good set-upfor watching games. Perhaps a crowd could show there.
bonqui - Indigo Joe's had it on the other day during the final four.
Even tho I work for USCA and we played recently at the Peach Belt Conference, I could not be happier for the Jags....and I think I speak for my colleagues as well! I remember when ASU was A/C and have many friends/colleagues who work there....WAY TO GO.....I could not be happier.....Billie Murphy
I graduated in 1986. Boy how things have changed since then. Thanks for your efforts. You have added the word proud to any discussion about Augusta College. Sorry, make that Augusta State University.
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