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From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hey, what’s up, hello!
And congrats to all the new grads, from Angel Reese to the Nebraska volleyball team to our GISTer community. So proud. *wipes tear*
- Still searching for the perfect graduation gift? How ’bout this newsletter? Your fave grad can keep up with their alma mater, and best of all, it’s free. Gift smarter, not harder, eh?
— Stanford women’s basketball alum, LA Sparks rookie, and North West’s bestie Cameron Brink on the hardest lesson she’s learned since turning pro this spring. Yet another reason to stay in school.
Softball
🥎 Regional round-up
The GIST: College softball is on the verge of busting into mainstream sports culture, and it’s no surprise why: This weekend’s 100-game Regional round was packed with SportsCenter-worthy highlights. Time to break the internet scoreboard.
The walk-off rallies: No. 7–seed Missouri and No. 11 Georgia both fought through elimination brackets to advance to next weekend’s Super Regionals. Yesterday’s extra-innings RBI saved Mizzou’s season, while Georgia advanced thanks to the final touch on a come-from-behind masterpiece. On these diamonds, it’s not over ’til it’s over.
The underdog dubs: Just two unseeded teams survived the weekend: Arizona, who sailed through No. 12 Arkansas’ Fayetteville regional undefeated, and Baylor, who traded high-scoring shutouts with No. 13 Louisiana before ultimately squeaking into Supers with yesterday’s 4–3 elimination-game dub.
No. 1 Texas pitchers shine: Junior Mac Morgan threw a complete-game no-hitter in Friday’s 5–0 win over Siena, then freshman phenom Teagan Kavan tossed a one-hit complete game shutout to advance 7–0 past Northwestern yesterday. In their three Regional games, Texas outscored their opponents 26-2. Big bats plus a formidable bullpen? That’s one hell of a combo.
Baseball
⚾ Southern smackdown
The GIST: Baseball’s regular season slid home yesterday, setting up this week’s 29 thrilling Division I (DI) conference tourneys. But in this crowded postseason party, the must-watch action is in the SEC.
The competitive edge: This conference is scary good, with four of the nation’s Top 5 teams and seven of the Top 25. SEC squads lead the nation in win-loss percentage, shutouts, strikeouts per inning, and several other NCAA stats. DI’s best hitter and best pitcher? Both SEC athletes.
- Given that five of the last six national titles went to different SEC squads, this conference is essentially the Beyoncé of the NCAA diamond.
- And Saturday’s finale previewed the chaos to come: Florida bagged a series-sealing 19–11 dub over No. 9 Georgia, and the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats choked 12–4 against unranked Vanderbilt — blowing the ’Cats’ sole ownership of the regular-season title in the process.
The conference tourney: Snagging a share of that regular-season title? Tennessee, who stole the tourney’s top seed thanks to their late-April head-to-head victories over Kentucky. Both have byes through tomorrow’s opening round, but this weekend proved that every single game in this conference is worth watching.
- No. 6–seed Georgia has the most to prove — they need to sweeten their resume ahead of next week’s selection show with a deep run in the toughest conference ’ship. Catch the Bulldogs tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. ET against reigning natty champ No. 11 LSU.
🥍 Women’s lacrosse
Thursday’s national quarter-finals were all chalk with one major exception: Unseeded Florida crowned themselves the tourney’s Cinderella with a 15–9 upset over No. 4–seed Maryland, clinching their first Final Four since 2012. Attacker Maggi Hall will need to repeat her six-goal performance (!!!) to give Florida a shot against No. 1 Northwestern’s offensive machine in Friday’s semis.
🥍 Men’s lacrosse
The men’s tourney was much less predictable: Three of the weekend’s four quarter-finals ended in upsets, including No. 6–seed Virginia’s double-overtime walk-off win over No. 3 Johns Hopkins yesterday. No. 1–seed Notre Dame was the only favored team to survive, thanks in part to the enduring Kavanagh brothers dynasty. Luck of the Irish, indeed.
🎾 Tennis
The women’s national tourney was also upset-happy: No. 13–seed Texas A&M emerged victorious from a chaotic championship weekend to hoist their program’s first trophy last night. Meanwhile, the men’s final featured a Challengers-level rivalry between No. 2 Texas and No. 4 TCU, with the latter winning the grudge match to bag their first-ever natty.
- Trophy time continues this week with first rounds of the women’s and men’s singles brackets starting today at 10 a.m. ET, followed by tomorrow’s doubles brackets. Zendaya made tennis the sport of the summer, but these college stars will make it your new obsession.
⛳ Women’s golf
The team championship won’t be awarded until Wednesday, but one woman will be crowned the individual champ after today’s rounds. The nation’s No. 12 golfer, Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek, starts the day with a commanding lead in a crowded field — if she can hold it down, she’ll join the ranks of Stanford’s two-time reigning champ Rose Zhang. Good company.
Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🏀 Who shaped modern women’s basketball
The trailblazers featured in Rare Gems, a deep dive into four generations of women that shaped the WNBA including Elvera “Peps” Neuman, Cheryl Reeve, Maya Moore, and the four-time champion Minnesota Lynx. Swish swish.
🎶 Who to listen to
Kehlani. The Bay Area artist has new music on the way and is a staunch supporter of the WNBA, performing at a block party for the league’s newcomers, the Golden State Valkyries last weekend. Love to see it.
🤳 Who to follow
Mariah Rose on TikTok. NBA legend Jalen Rose’s daughter is spilling the tea on today’s hottest basketball fashion trends.
Today's email was brought to you by Katie Kehoe Foster and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Lisa Minutillo and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster and Alessandra Puccio. Managing edits by Dee Lab. Head of Content Ellen Hyslop.