Beyond the Hedges 11/29/2012

As big a game as the football team has in front of us Saturday in Atlanta, we here at Dawg Sports would be remiss if we did not make available to you a little bit of info on the University's other sports.

Andy Landers's charges continue to roll through the early season. The women's basketball team improved to 8-0 over the past week. Last weekend, the Lady Dogs were in Albuquerque for New Mexico's Thanksgiving Tournament and started play Friday night by slicing through St. Bonaventure 84-48. Without skipping a beat, UGA then went on to trounce New Mexico 72-42 on Saturday. Back home last night, the most recent victims were the Furman Paladins, who fell to UGA 83-47. Your 8-0 Lady Bulldogs are No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the Coaches and will visit the North Avenue Trade School Sunday in a game televised on CSS to take on others-receiving-votes Georgia Tech.

The volleyball season came to a close last Friday night against 15th-ranked and conference leader Florida when the visiting Gators swept the Bulldogs 3-0 (21-25, 22-25, 19-25). Georgia closes with a 14-16 record, 8-12 in the SEC, a bit of an improvement over last year's 11-19 (7-13). The loss was not unexpected against the best team in the conference, but the Dawgs put up a good fight in competitive sets. UGA will return most of this improving team next season and honored seniors after recognizing seniors Briana Bahr and Nicole Choi at the season finale. Choi was honored by the league office by being tapped for the SEC Volleyball Community Service Team, and Jasmine Eaton was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. It was another tough season for Georgia volleyball, but we definitely are heading in the right direction under second-year head coach Lizzy Stemke.

Fall competition will be ending this weekend for the men's and women's swimming and diving teams as they host the UGA Fall Invitational at the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the Ramsey Center. Joining the No. 11 men's team in competition are No. 3 Cal, No. 4 Texas, No. 9 Virginia, and No. 16 Auburn. The No. 3 ladies are hosting No. 2 Cal, No. 9 Auburn, and No. 10 UVA. Unranked Penn State will join in, as will the VPI diving team. Prelims start tomorrow morning at 9:00 with competition continuing through the weekend to the finals on Sunday afternoon.

Thank you for your kind attention. Now that you're a bit caught up and, perhaps, a more completely informed Georgia fan, please carry on with the spirited discussion of the SEC Football Championship Game, in progress at a blog very near you. And for the love of Maya Angelou, please do not overlook the fine poetic stylings of our own Cherokee's Grip.

GO DAWGS!