FSU sports newest: #24 Noles vs Georgia Tech, Baseball, Softball

In case you missed the last ‘TN Triple-S’ coverage of Florida State Seminoles athletics, here is the recap: Sunday Seminoles Summary: How to watch FSU vs #11 Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball, Baseball Fan Day, Softball, and other sports news

FSU winter sports are in full motion across the board and Tomahawk Nation is committed to keeping you up to date on all Florida State sports information and media press releases from the FSU SID or that we source ourselves.

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Most of the summaries below are courtesy of FSU SID, Tomahawk Nation, and the Twitters.

The 24th-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team hosts Georgia Tech on Senior Day on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Tucker Center.

• TV: Sunday’s game will air on the ACC Network.
• Radio: The matchup can be heard locally on 96.5 FM and 1270 AM, and can be accessed anywhere on Seminoles Leanplayer.
• In-game updates: Fans can follow on the FSU Women’s Basketball Twitter Account (@fsuwbb).
• Promotion: In addition to Sunday being Senior Day, the first 800 fans will receive a rally towel.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The 24th-ranked Seminoles (21-7, 10-5) play host to Georgia Tech on Senior Day at the Tucker Center. Four student-athletes in Jazmine Massengill, Taylor O’Brien, Erin Howard and Valencia Myers will be honored approximately 20 minutes prior to the game at 1:41 p.m.
• A win over Georgia Tech would finalize FSU’s regular-season record to 14-1 at home. It would be FSU’s best home record since finishing 15-1 in the 2015-16 season.
• Florida State begins its critical three-game stretch to end the regular season. FSU is tied for the fourth seed with Louisville (10-5) and Miami (10-5), but would actually be the No. 6 seed if the season ended today (Louisville and Miami still play each other in Louisville on Feb. 23). The Seminoles are searching for their seventh double-bye in the ACC Tournament in the last nine years.
• FSU’s 78-65 win over Syracuse on Thursday night clinched its eighth consecutive season of winning double-digit games in ACC play. Not factored into the streak is the 2020-21 season when FSU was unable to complete a full ACC schedule due to game cancellations and postponements caused by COVID-19.
• FSU faces Georgia Tech for the second consecutive year on its Senior Day. The Seminoles defeated the Yellow Jackets on Jan. 1 this season, winning 99-58 behind 32 points from Ta’Niya Latson and 13 made 3-point field goals as a team.
• Sophomore Makayla Timpson is coming off her 12th double-double of the season, totaling 17 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks against Syracuse. Timpson’s 12 double-doubles are tied for the third-most in a season at FSU and the most since Kiah Gillespie had 12 in 2019-20.
• Florida State owns three NET Top 25 wins this season over No. 9 Duke (70-57 at home), No. 17 NC State (91-72 at home) and No. 24 North Carolina (78-71 on the road). FSU’s average margin of victory vs. NET Top 25 teams is +13.0 points.
• FSU leads the all-time series against Georgia Tech, 29-25.
• Florida State finished Thursday’s game vs. Syracuse on an 11-0 run. After calling a timeout leading just 67-65 with 4:28 left, FSU’s defense ended the game with six stops and no points allowed.
• Ta’Niya Latson is averaging 23.4 points per game at home this season.
• FSU has a shot at garnering 13 ACC wins, which would be its most in a season since going 13-3 vs. the conference in 2016-17. That was the last time the Seminoles made a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight.
• The Seminoles have clinched their ninth consecutive winning season in ACC play.
• Erin Howard’s 21 straight games with a 3-point field goal are the most by a Seminole since Imani Wright delivered a 3-ball in 28 straight games in the 2017-18 season.
• Georgia Tech freshman guard Tonie Morgan returns home to Tallahassee for Sunday’s game. She was a Top-25 prospect who excelled at Florida High.
• FSU owns a 14-7 overall record against the NET Top 100, and has a No. 19 overall NET ranking.
• Makayla Timpson ranks in the Top 25 nationally in blocks (seventh), blocks per game (12th), double-doubles (24th), field goal percentage (10th) and rebounds (22nd).
• Florida State has established a new single-season blocks record as a team, now at 170 this year. The previous record was 166 by the 2006-07 team.
• Florida State is one of three current ACC programs (Louisville, Notre Dame) that has made NCAAs in 16 of the last 17 seasons (since 2005 NCAA Tournament).
• FSU owns a 102-45 record vs. ACC opponents (.694) over the last eight seasons.

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No. 24 Florida State (21-7, 10-5 ACC) defeated Syracuse (16-11, 7-9 ACC) by a 78-65 score tonight in Tallahassee, FL.

Game Recap

Florida State jumped out to an 8-2 lead after a Ta’Niya Latson layup. Syracuse called an early timeout…..{continued *FOR FREE}

• Jarrett Wins Debut as Noles Top Dukes

Florida State (1-0) began the 2023 season with a 12-7 win over James Madison (0-1) on Friday night in Link Jarrett’s first game as the head coach of the Seminoles. Wyatt Crowell took his eighth career win as he struck out four in 2.2 innings, while freshman DeAmez Ross and junior Jordan Carrion combined for six hits, five RBI and four runs scored.

Ross, making his collegiate debut, finished 3-for-5 with three RBI, three runs and two stolen bases. Carrion had three hits – including two doubles and a three-run single – two RBI and scored a run.

Carson Montgomery took the mound to start the game and pulled through 4.0 innings of work conceding three hits and one run. Sarasota native David Barrett came in relief and sent the first two batters packing on swinging strikeouts.

Brennen Oxford checked into the game to calm the storm with two runners in scoring position and one out. He walked Mike Mancini before Crowell stepped onto the mound where he pitched a double play with Smith collecting the grounder and tagging at third before lacing the third out to James Tibbs III.

Crowell then took command of the mound shutting down the Dukes side with four punchouts in the next two innings.

Cam Smith, a highly-touted freshman, started at third base and laced a triple 406 feet of the center field wall, just inches from his first career home run. Smith had four assists at third base and FSU turned three double plays to support its pitching.

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It’s been a busy off-season for the Florida State Seminoles baseball team.

After last year’s early departure from the regionals, FSU’s leadership made the decision to go in a new direction with the hiring of Link Jarrett from Notre Dame, ending over 40 years of the Martin family leading the Seminoles on the diamond….{continued *FOR FREE}

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On Saturday, the Florida State Seminoles squared up with the No. 2 UCLA Bruins. For the Seminoles, it was Mack Leonard getting the start, against the freshman Taylor Tinsley for UCLA.

Leonard came out hot in the circle shutting down the UCLA lineup in order in the 1st and 2nd inning….{continued *FOR FREE}

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After the win yesterday against the Arizona Wildcats, the Florida State Seminoles softball team wanted the win against the 4th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks.

Ali Dubois got the start in the circle for the Seminoles, who were the home team. Arkansas quickly put runners on base with two singles, and with two outs,…{continued *FOR FREE}

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For the first game of many in Clearwater, Allison Royalty got the start against her old PAC12 foe, the Arizona Wildcats. For the team from Tucson, it was Devyn Netz toeing the rubber.

Starting it off, Mack Leonard knocked a one out single. Kalei Harding joined her on base after a walk, and they…{continued *FOR FREE}

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On Outside the Chalk, our Florida State softball preview series, we’ll be giving you inside looks at the Seminoles’ opponents ahead of major matchups this season.

For today’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks, we are joined by Sydney Fields. Fields is the co-host of the all Razorback sports podcast, Runnin’ Though the A, as well as a contributor at College Softball Central….{continued *FOR FREE}

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For the midweek double header, Ali DuBois got back out into the circle for Florida State, who looked to have a strong outing after a tough weekend….{continued *FOR FREE}

The Florida State Seminoles hosted the Boston College Eagles for a weekend matchup at the Tucker Center. Florida State was riding a three-game losing streak and desperately needed a win in ACC play….{continued *FOR FREE}

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Two and a half weeks ago Florida State was in prime position to upset the then first place in the conference Clemson Tigers in the Tucker Center, leading much of the second half before snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with an atrociously bad late-game foul execution. This time there was no cause for heartbreak, as Florida State never even bothered to show up….{continued *FOR FREE}

• No. 11 Men’s Golf Begins Spring Season at Shark’s Tooth

The 11th-ranked Florida State Men’s Golf team opens its spring season at a familiar spot, playing at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Watersound, Fla., at the Watersound Invitational on Feb. 19-21.

The Seminoles last played at the 7,246-yard course at last year’s ACC Championship, where they reached match play. The 11-team tournament includes Florida State, Oklahoma State, Clemson, Notre Dame, NC State, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Air Force, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State.

Florida State begins play on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET with freshman Jack Bigham teeing off as an individual. Sophomores Michael Mays (11:30 a.m. ET) and Patrick McCann (11:40 a.m. ET) will also play as individuals.

Juniors Gray Albright (10:10 a.m. ET), Frederik Kjettrup (10:20 a.m. ET) and Brett Roberts (10:30 a.m. ET), redshirt junior Cole Anderson (10:40 a.m. ET) and freshman Luke Clanton (10:50 a.m. ET) will be among the counting scores for the Seminoles throughout the tournament.

Anderson was recently named to the 2023 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, recording a 69.08 average score this past fall season.

Roberts was a key figure in FSU’s third-place finish in the stroke-play portion in last year’s ACC Championship. He finished ninth shooting 7-under (69-69-71), while Kettrup tied for 13th at 5-under (72-69-70).

In the fall season, Roberts recorded an average score of 69.50 while shooting -1.5 vs. par. He returns to the Seminoles as a two-time All-American in his freshman and sophomore seasons.

The tournament format includes one round each day on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Live scoring is available throughout all three days on golfstat.com.

• Jeremiah Davis Wins Fourth ACC Performer of the Week Honor in Five Weeks

Florida State Track and Field’s Jeremiah Davis was named the ACC Men’s Field Performer of the Week for the fourth time this season on Tuesday Davis won the first three conference performer of the week honors and this week’s honor means he’s taken the honor over four of the first five weeks of the season.

Davis’ indoor campaign has been nothing short of amazing including this past weekend in New Mexico where he extended his world-leading mark in the long jump to 8.28 to win the event. The mark ranks as the second-longest indoor long jump in FSU history.

Jeremiah finished second in the triple jump on Saturday with a leap of 16.25m. He currently holds the top mark in the ACC this season and the third-best mark in the country with a personal-best 16.44m trip jump at Clemson on January 24.

The Noles’ next competition begins on February 23rd at the ACC Indoor Championships in Louisville, Ky.

• No. 15 Florida State loses close contest to No. 24 Mississippi State, 4-3

The No. 15 Florida State men’s tennis team fell to No. 24 Mississippi State 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center.

Mississippi State jumped out to an early lead after winning the doubles point and getting victories on Courts No. 2 and No. 3, requiring Florida State to obtain victories on all four remaining courts to win the match.

“We did a good job battling back in doubles and getting an opportunity to win, but when we didn’t get the doubles point, Mississippi State did a good job getting up on three of the courts” head coach Dwayne Hultquist said. “We got up on three of the courts, but ended up playing from behind all day. Certainly, the match could’ve been very different, we had match point on Court 6, and if we get that it’s three all playing for the match.”

No. 71-ranked Jamie Connel earned the Noles first point of the afternoon after his 6-2, 7-5 win in straight sets on Court No. 5. Connel won three straight games after being down 5-4 in the second set.

Youcef Rihane, ranked 38th in the nation, defeated Ewen Lumsden 6-4, 7-6 (6) in straight sets. Rihane’s victory on Court No. 4 was his seventh win of the season.

No. 3-ranked Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc remains undefeated on the season at Court No. 1 after his 6-1, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (7) victory over Nemanja Malesevic earned Florida State its third point in the match. Cornut-Chauvinc is now 8-0, with five of those wins coming against ranked opponents.

After Mississippi State won the first doubles match 6-3 on Court No. 2, Florida State struck back after Alex Bulte and Loris Pourroy came back from a 3-2 deficit, securing a 6-4 win on Court 3. The doubles point came down to Court 1, but Cornut-Chauvinc and Rihane’s rally fell short as Mississippi State clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 win.

“Mississippi State is one of the better teams in the SEC” Hultquist said. “They’re a very strong team but we put ourselves behind. We were down match points in the doubles, and we staved off five match points to win that and battled back. We got a good effort from third doubles, and we just need to be a little more consistent in our doubles play. We had several guys have good matches today, we just needed to get the fourth point.”

Florida State is now 6-3 on the season. The Seminoles are back in action on February 25th when they travel to Orlando to play UCF.

• Florida State Travels To Old Dominion

The Florida State women’s tennis team travels to face Old Dominion this Sunday in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Seminoles are 5-2 on the season, including a 4-0 home record.

Florida State looks to keep up its dominance in doubles. The Seminoles have earned the doubles point in six of the seven matches this season.

Junior Anna Arkadianou and senior Vic Allen are 4-1 on the season and are coming off a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles against Florida. Arkadianou is ranked 78th in the national singles rankings.

Freshman Mille Bissett and sophomore Olympe Lancelot are also 4-1 on the season and were able to capture a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles against Florida.

Old Dominion is 4-1 on the season after a 5-2 win at Wake Forest on February 5 and hosts Iowa State on Saturday prior to Sunday’s matchup.

The Lions boast two ranked singles players. Biran Shahar is 4-0 on the season, ranked 124th nationally, and Tatsiana Sasnouskaya is 2-2 and ranked 25th.

Sunday’s match begins at 10 a.m. at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Complex. Live stats and video will be available on Seminoles.com.

• Pavlidi Sets FSU Record on Final Night of ACC Championships

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Florida State men’s swimmer Arijus Pavlidi set the school record in the 200 back on the final day of the 2023 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships and the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Saturday.

“It was a great last day for us,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “It was a big fight and fantastic effort all the way until the end. I’m really happy for AJ and his new school record. What a swim. We also had some good relays to finish strong.”

Pavlidi qualified for the consolation heat of the race in 11th place with a time of 1:42.32 in prelims, which was just off his career-best (1:42.23). At night, Pavlidi controlled the heat, touching with a time of 1:40.37 for the heat win to place ninth overall.

Pavlidi took down the oldest swimming record on the books which was set by Andy Hodgson back in 2009 at 1:41.11. His swim was also under the time that was invited to the NCAA Championships in 2022.

Prior to Pavlidi’s record, Yordan Yanchev swam in the early heats of the 1650 free. His time of 15:08.13 was fast enough for eighth place. His swim was a personal best by 19 seconds and now ranks eighth in school history.

Additionally, David Quirie finished 13th with a season-best of 15:16.07 and Zach Smith followed in 15th at 15:18.54, which was also his fastest of the season.

Peter Varjasi tied his best time of 42.32 in the 100 free, finishing in 10th place.

In the 200 breast, Tommaso Baravelli led the way for the Noles, touching with a time of 1:55.87 for 14th place ahead of Jason Martindale in 20th at 1:56.87, which was his career best. His swim still ranks eighth in FSU history.

All three divers scored points towards the team total in the men’s platform, led by Tazman Abramowicz in 11th place at 306.15. Jesco Helling followed in 14th at 295.15 and Darwin Nolasco placed 18th at 270.15.

“It was great that all three guys scored,” FSU head diving coach John Proctor said. “All three of our guys had dives today that were spot on, but they also had some mistakes and at this level, those kept us out of the final. But we saw some great things from our guys today and we’ll get recharged for Zones.”

Maddie McDonald capped off her career by finishing 12th in the 200 back with a time of 1:55.86 after she swam her season-best in prelims at 1:55.56. Sarah Evans also competed in the consolation heat, touching in 16th (1:59.00) after she swam a career best in prelims at 1:56.70. Evans now owns the eight-fastest mark in FSU history.

In the 100 free, Gloria Muzito added her best time at 49.08 for 21st place ahead of Zsofia Kurdi, who placed 24th (50.34) after posting a 49.59 in prelims. Muzito broke in to the FSU all-time top 10, where she now ranks fourth.

Maddy Huggins was the winner of the consolation heat of the 200 breast, contributing her best time of 2:10.01, just ahead of Julia Mansson in 11th at 2:10.74. Huggins’ swim still ranks fourth in school history.

Prior to the start of finals, Julia Brzozowski posted a time of 16:39.18 in the 1650 free for 17th place.

Florida State closed out the meet by placing seventh in the 400 free relay behind Muzito, Edith Jernstedt, Sophie Freeman and Tania Quaglieri with a time of 3:17.34.

The 18th-ranked men finished in sixth place with a score of 661 points and the women took seventh at 586.

• BEACH VOLLEYBALL RANKED NO. 2 IN THE COUNTRY IN PRE-SEASON POLL

Florida State’s 2023 Beach Volleyball team will open the season ranked No. 2 in the country in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll. Florida State reached the NCAA National Championship match last year coming up short against No. 1 USC for the title.

Florida State has won six straight CCSA Conference Championships and reached the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive time in 2022. FSU is the only program in the country that has made every AVCA and NCAA Tournament since the inception of collegiate beach volleyball in 2012.

In addition to the appearance in the NCAA title match last season, Florida State reached the national championship match in 2014 (AVCA), 2016 (NCAA) and 2018 (NCAA).

The Seminoles will play a Garnet and Gold scrimmage on Saturday, February 18th at 5:30 p.m. on their home courts before opening the regular season by hosting the Seminole Beach Bash February 25-26th.

Other Cool Stuff

• Will FSU Esports be able to bounce back after a rough week?

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The State of Florida has officially adjusted its Name, Image and Likeness law, remedying language that prohibited schools from being involved in NIL deals amongst other changes.

Last Friday, the Florida Senate voted 34-0 to send the bill to Governor Ron DeSantis’ desk for him to sign, just a day after the Florida House voted 113-0 in favor of the new language for how NIL is conducted in Florida….{continued *FOR FREE}

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FSU’s historic first-semester retention, in a class of more than 6,000 students, is among the highest in the nation at both public and private universities, according to FSU’s Office of Institutional Research, which monitors enrollment and tracks retention rates between years and semesters.

“The record high fall-to-spring retention rate represents the university’s excellence and upward momentum,” said President Richard McCullough. “I’m grateful to all the dedicated faculty and staff who work every day to make sure our students thrive here and have many reasons to stay.”

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The research team, led by Assistant Professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Rebekah Sweat, completed the first-ever study on how purified boron nitride nanotubes remain stable in extreme temperatures in inert environments.

Boron nitride nanotubes, or BNNTs, are stronger and more resistant to high temperatures than carbon nanotubes. Like their carbon cousins, they are structures measured by the nanometer — a length equal to one-billionth of a meter.

But manufacturing these materials is challenging. Current methods for BNNTs are newer and do not yet produce the same quantities as methods devised for carbon nanotubes. That’s why learning more about how they function is important.

The researchers found that BNNTs are fully stable at up to 1800°C in an inert environment, the chemically inactive atmosphere in which they are manufactured. They also learned that BNNTs can withstand temperatures at 2200°C for short periods without losing the mechanical properties that make them so effective.

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The Tomahawk Nation podcast channel, presented by SB Nation, features insider Seminoles recruiting, football, basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer analysis and commentary, featuring shows hosted by staff writers Tim Alumbaugh, Matt Minnick, Michael Rogner, Brian Pellerin, and Ben Meyerson, featuring contributions by Joshua Pick, David Stout, Jon Marchant, Max Escarpio and the entire Tomahawk Nation staff, produced by managing editor Perry Kostidakis….{continued *FOR FREE}

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