The Tour Begins - Downtown Rotary Club in Savannah

One of the absolutely best things about the National Championship is that you get to take the instantly recognizable trophies on tour. Just 24 hours after the Armstrong tennis teams stepped off the plane in returning to Savannah, several members of both teams were invited to join the Downtown Rotary Club of Savannah for lunch as guests of University President Dr. Linda Bleicken.

The Pirates were recognized by the Rotary Club during the lunch and got to hear Jason Freier, Chief Executive Officer of Hardball Capital LLC - owner of the Savannah Sand Gnats - talk about the proposed new multi-purpose park in Downtown Savannah that they want to build to not only be the new home of the club but home to several other yearly events as well, including possibly collegiate sporting events. Trust me, not your typical speaker on the occasions that we get called to be recognized. It was very informative and paints a pretty good picture of what the future of sporting events - and entertainment - in Savannah could look like.

Unfortunately, today also is the first day that our players start to disperse and head back home for the summer. But some will still be here, taking classes or working in Savannah so we hope to have future recognition for the Pirates soon. In fact, tomorrow night, Connect Savannah will be having its yearly Best of Savannah celebration. Remember, last year the Pirates were named the Best Local Collegiate Team by the voters of the magazine. This year, that honor goes to the Armstrong women's soccer team, who earned the program's first NCAA Southeast Region championship and NCAA Final Four appearance. Congratulations Pirates !