BRADENTON, Fla. – Before Georgia departed for the NCAA Championships, head coach Chris Haack slipped on his 1999 championship ring. It was meant both as a subtle reminder of what is at stake this week and also a tribute to former Bulldog Ryuji Imada, a member of that 1999 title team, with whom the team visited for two days prior to the title chase.
“Ryuji gave them a pep talk and told them, ‘Boys, I got one of these. You need to go get one, too’ ” Haack said. “It fired them up.”
The Bulldogs moved a step closer Tuesday to the school’s first national title since 2005 by knocking off the University of South Florida, 4-1, to advance to a semifinal showdown with conference rival LSU.