Henley chosen for golf’s Palmer Cup

Georgia’s Russell Henley has been chosen for the United States team that will compete in the 2010 Palmer Cup at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, according to an announcement by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

The annual Ryder Cup-style competition between collegians from the United States and Europe will be played June 24-26. The all-time Palmer Cup series is tied 6-6-1.

Henley is the nation’s top-ranked golfer and he won the Southeastern Conference Championship earlier this week. He has three victories this season and a scoring average of 71.69.

Henley becomes the latest in a long line of Bulldogs chosen for the Palmer Cup. Michael Morrison, Nick Cassini, Erik Compton, Ryan Hybl, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk and Adam Mitchell have played for Team USA, while Coach Chris Haack twice has served as the captain.

Joining Henley on Team USA will be Florida’s Tyson Alexander, John Chin of UCI, Stanford’s David Chung, Dustin Garza of Wichita State, Daniel Miernicki of Oregon, Charlotte’s Corey Nagy and Jonathan Randolph of Mississippi. The U.S. squad will be lead by head coach Chris Zambri of Southern California and assistant coach Brian Sharp of Virginia Tech.

The European team will consist of James Byrne and Jesper Kennegard of Arizona State, East Tennessee State’s Rhys Enoch, David Lingmerth of Arkansas, Augusta State’s Henrik Norlander, Andrea Pavan of Texas A&M, Stirling’s Patrick Spraggs and Pontus Widegren of UCLA. Dean Robertson of Scotland and Sweden’s Walle Danewid will coach the European team for the second straight year.

Jamie Hunt Named To SEC Men’s Tennis Community Service Team

Georgia senior Jamie Hunt has been named to the SEC Men’s Tennis Community Service Team, it was announced by the league office Wednesday.

The SEC sponsors Service Community Teams in all 20 sports.  The Community Service Team looks to highlight athletes from the SEC who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Hunt has served as an instructor for tennis block parties for children at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. He has also made visits to patients at St.Mary’s Hospital in Athens and holds weekly Bible studies for students each Tuesday. In addition, Hunt is an active member of Team United, Athletes in Action and the UGA Academic Roundtable.

Hunt leads Georgia with a .789 (15-4) singles winning percentage in dual matches this season and has 20 doubles wins. Fourteen of his 15 dual match wins have come at No. 3 with one victory at No. 2. His seven wins in conference matches is tied for the team lead. In doubles, Hunt has won six SEC matches including three at No. 1.

Hunt and the 11th-ranked Bulldogs (17-6) will open play in the SEC Tournament Friday at 9 a.m. ET in Lexington, Ky., against either Auburn or Arkansas.

Georgia Volleyball Adds Three Student-Athletes

Georgia head volleyball coach Joel McCartney announced on Wednesday the addition of three student-athletes to the Bulldog program.

Alisha Laing, Stacey Smith and Allison Summers join Brittany Northcutt to give the Bulldogs four players in the 2010 class.

“We are really pleased to bring these three into our program family for the fall season,” McCartney said. “Stacey, Allison and Alisha are all great student-athletes on the court, but more importantly in the classroom. Add Brittany into the mix with this group and we have a great class coming in 2010.”

Laing, a 5-foot-6 defensive specialist and native of Schoolcraft, Mich., is a two-time All-State First Team selection from Schoolcraft High School.  Serving as the team captain as a senior in 2009, Laing also earned academic All-State honors for the third-straight season. As a junior in 2008, Laing was named the Kalamazoo Gazette Player of the Year helping her team to a state championship and earned a National Women in Sports Day Leadership Award. In 2007, Laing earned All-State Honorable Mention. Additionally, she is a member of the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Laing played club ball for the Michigan Volleyball Academy.

“I am excited about Alisha joining the Bulldog family and I believe she will be a tremendous asset in helping us maintain our ball control from the defensive specialist position,” McCartney said. “She will also aid our depth in the setting role and allow us to have more options with our offensive systems. “

Smith, a 6-foot-4 middle hitter and native of Eden, N.Y., joins the Bulldogs from Eden High School, where she helped her team earn state championships in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Smith was named the New York State Championship Most Valuable Player in 2009, a year in which she also garnered All-State First Team honors and was named a Gatorade Player of the Year Finalist for New York for the second-consecutive season. She was also tabbed ESPN RISE Fab50 selection as a senior, and in 2008 as a junior, she also helped lead her team to the Empire State Game Tournament title. Smith played club ball for Niagara Frontier Volleyball Club.

“I feel very fortunate to have Stacey joining us this fall,” McCartney said. “She brings great size to our middle position and has so much potential to develop into a real dominant force in this league.  Her block reach and the ability to run a one foot take-off behind the setter will be great tools for her to fit well into the system we run.”

Summers, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter/defensive specialist and native of Stevenson Ranch, Calif., joins the Bulldogs from West Ranch High School, where she was a four-year letterwinner, a two-time California Interscholastic Federation All-League First Team selection and a three-time CIF Athletic Scholar. Summers served as team captain in 2009 and co-captain in 2008. She played club ball for the Santa Monica Beach Club.

“I am very excited to get Allison in our gym this fall and allow her to compete for a role in our program,” McCartney said. “Originally we committed her with the idea of improving our athleticism defensively, but she has really become an aggressive player at the net and she will have every opportunity to compete for us wherever she can earn a spot on the floor.”

Israel Machovec Named SEC Athlete Of The Week

Georgia senior Israel Machovec has been named the Southeastern Conference Male Field Athlete of the Week following his performance at the Bulldog Limited in Athens over the weekend, according to a league announcement.

This marks the second time the Bulldogs have received this honor in as many weeks.  Junior decathlete Cory Holman was named the SEC Male Field Athlete of the Week on April 13.

Machovec, a 6-6 native of Dacula, Ga., had the top collegiate finish in both the discus and the shot put to highlight the Bulldog Limited.  Machovec posted a season-best effort in the discus on his fourth attempt of 188 feet, 1 inch, which is the second-best throw of his life, to win the competition by more than 25 feet.  He is No. 11 on the current national performance list with the longest throw in the SEC this year.

Machovec also launched the second-longest shot put toss of his career (58-8.50) to be the top collegiate finisher.  He has the 15th-best throw in the country in 2010 and is third on the SEC performance list.  Machovec finished fifth overall at the meet behind a world-class field featuring two-time Olympian and former Bulldog All-American Reese Hoffa, who won the event with the second-longest throw in the world this year (69-4.25).

This is Machovec’s first SEC weekly award of his career.  The conference has now awarded Georgia with five weekly league honors during the outdoor season.

Ironically, Machovec’s younger sister, Eve, had season-best marks in both the discus and shot put for the Georgia women at the same meet, including a career-best effort of 158-6 to win the discus and move to fifth on the school’s all-time top-10 list.