Tech Topics - Spring 2008 - (Page 48)

YellowJackets STANLEY LEARY Hockey Club Ices Georgia in Sweep T he Georgia Tech hockey club depoint during a tough year that has been feated Georgia 3-2 at the Bulldogs’ made more difficult due to injuries. home rink in Duluth, Ga., to complete a Five-year veteran Christian Gatthree-game tung broke his sweep of the wrist during series for the first practice. That was time since the followed by a 2001-02 season. rash of injuries Junior Whitthat depleted the ney Yiu scored inexperienced the Jan. 26 game squad throughout winner late in the the first semester third period. and continued Freshman goalie into the second. Maxx “Ice” Lucas At the end of held Georgia to a January, five 1.36 goals against players were out average over the for the season, three-game including backup Forward Tom Porter maneuvers the puck series, including goalie Natalie around a Bulldog defenseman Jan. 26. a 5-0 shutout of Sanders, the only the then-undefemale on the team. feated Bulldogs in mid-November. “I haven’t been able to start the same lineup two games in a row,” said Tech was ranked No. 3 last season coach Greg Stathis, in his 17th year. and played in the District III national When he came to Tech in 1991, championship in Indiana, but began this Stathis “told the boys that we had two year with eight freshmen as starters. choices: Either we build up this The sweep of Georgia was a high Through persistence, Greg Stathis has built a program “a lot of people want to imitate.” program or I’m leaving. I don’t want to waste my time building up a program that nobody cares about. “They really worked hard,” he said. “It started slow. People said, ‘Hockey? Are you kidding me? This is football country.’ But we were persistent and we’ve built a program where, honestly, a lot of people want to imitate it.” Stathis founded the first Southern regional conference and got Tech into the American Collegiate Hockey Association in 1999. The team has made it to the nationals seven times, finishing third twice and No. 2 in 2001. The season starts at the end of September and concludes at the end of February — unless the team makes it to the nationals. “In the club’s 35-year history, they have brought nothing but honor to the Georgia Tech athletic tradition, playing with class and sportsmanship and always promoting the sport in a positive light,” said Paul Gattung, assistant coach and business manager. The team also works to honor Tyler Brown, a former student body president and an Army lieutenant killed in Iraq. “The club hosted the third annual Veterans Day game to benefit the Lieutenant Tyler Brown Scholarship Fund and raised $450 in donations,” Gattung said. Mound Power: Yellow Jackets Rely on Strong Pitching G eorgia Tech returns its top two starting pitchers for 2008 and baseball coach Danny Hall says he will depend on the mound to carry a young team. Hall, in his 15th year as Tech’s head baseball coach, also has new staff in key positions. Former associate head coach Bobby Moranda was named head coach at Western Carolina. Tom Kinkelaar has been named pitching coach and former Tech player Bryan Prince has been hired as the Jackets’ assistant coach. “Coach Kinkelaar relates extremely well with our pitchers,” Hall said. “He is very knowledgeable. Bryan Prince is great for our program because he played here, he graduated from here. There isn’t a better guy to sell the value of getting an education at Georgia Tech than Bryan.” Tech opened its season at home Feb. 22 with a three-game series against Youngstown State. Pitching will be the team’s strength, Hall said. “Getting David Duncan and Eddie Burns back, our number one and number two starting pitchers, will have a major impact,” Hall said. “David Duncan threw number one for us last year and he was really competitive. You are looking at a guy who just gets better. “Eddie Burns is one of the best stories that we’ve had here,” Hall added. “He had shoulder surgery and really didn’t pitch at all for two years, but as our season went along last year, he just kept getting better. You are talking about a veteran guy and a very competitive pitcher. To have those two guys throwing in that weekend rotation in the league gives me a lot of comfort. They are good examples for every other pitcher on our team. They are a great one-two punch.” Zach Von Tersch is likely to pitch in the third position in the weekend starting rotation, he said. “Zack can be about as good as anybody in this league. He is a very talented guy, a great student, and I expect for him to have a big year.” Returning players Chris Hicks, Brad Rulon and Andrew Robinson put “our pitching where it needs to be,” Hall said. Hicks, a junior, will be the closer, Hall said. “He relishes having the ball in his hands late in the game.” Rulon, a senior, ranks as one of Tech’s allHALL time leaders in games played. “Initially we want him to set Chris Hicks up. We’ll expect him to start out in that role, but I could see him closing some games. I’d love to be able to hand him the ball in the seventh or eighth inning and then get it to Hicks in the ninth.” Robinson will start in the bullpen but could become a starter, Hall said. Returning left-handers Elliott Ogawa and Michael Hutts bring experience to the bullpen. Freshmen southpaws Taylor Wood and Zach Brewster and three right-handed newcomers, Brandon Cumpton, Kevin Jacob and Deck McGuire, will join them. “Charlie Blackman is a returning lefty who didn’t pitch a lot for us last year,” Hall said. “We kind of converted him to an outfielder, but he will be a middle inning left-hander for us this year, maybe a guy who can come in and get left-handed hitters out. I think that he’ll give us some added depth in the bullpen.” Cumpton and McGuire also will be starting pitchers and Jacob will be a setup guy in the bullpen and a longrelief guy or midweek starter, he said. Hall, who likes to have at least two catchers who can rotate interchangeably throughout the season, said it would be critical “to get a good handle on our catching early.” Tech’s All-American catcher Matt Wieters was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles. Hall said the catching rotation now goes to Jason Haniger and Cole Leonida. “Jason Haniger is one of the hardest workers that we have on our team. His work ethic has caught the attention of our coaching staff and caught the attention of our players,” Hall said. “We recruited Cole Leonida out of Colorado last year. I think he’s going to be a very good player.” GT 48 TECHTOPICS | SPRING 2008

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Tech Topics - Spring 2008 Contents Mail Call Gold & White Honors Alumni House Sweet Spring Centennial Buzz Supreme Court Victory The Hill ‘Treasure Trove’ of Stories Living History Forget-me-not Fashion Student Life Investing in Graduates Giving Back Training the Next Generation Burdell & Friends Ingredients for Success Yellow Jackets Hockey Club Ices Georgia Tech Job Hunters Fare Well Real World

Tech Topics - Spring 2008

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