University of Tennessee Athletics
Baseball Vols to Play Exhibition Games in Cuba
September 17, 2002 | Baseball
Sept. 17, 2002
UT'S JAVI HERRERA'S INTERVIEW WITH BOB KESLING
KNOXVILLE -- University of Tennessee Athletics Director Doug Dickey announced that the Volunteers baseball team will travel to Havana, Cuba, Dec. 13-18, following final exams.
The trip, in conjunction with USA Baseball, will see the Vols play three games against teams comprised of members of Cuba's National Team, Dec. 15-17.
The Tennessee baseball team sought and was given approval to make the trip by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in Washington, D.C. With the support of Congressman John R. Duncan, Jr., and his staff, the University of Tennessee was able to make the necessary arrangements to play in Cuba. Also, Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball, has acted as a contact for securing opponents and practice facilities.
Duncan released a statement in which he stated, "I was happy to help the University with some of the bureaucratic red tape that required when planning a trip to Cuba. I contacted the United States Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control to lend my strong support for the UT baseball team's proposal to play a series of exhibition games in Cuba. We were able to speed up the process so that UT was able to plan ahead for the trip. It was a pleasure to do that, as it is always a pleasure to help the university and the Athletic Department in anyway possible."
The USA National Team (23-7) split two games with Cuba this past summer. It posted a 4-1 victory at the Haarlem Honkbal Tournament at Haarlem, The Netherlands. The team then took the Silver medal at the inaugural International University Sports Federation World University Baseball Championships at Messina, Italy, after losing to Cuba in the title game, 6-0.
The University of Tennessee baseball team will be the first from the Southeastern Conference to play a game in Havana, Cuba, and research has shown that no team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 10, Big East or Big 12 has ever played there.
"We are very excited about the opportunity for our baseball team to play games in Cuba, and feel this is a wonderful educational opportunity for our student-athletes," said head coach Rod Delmonico. "Hopefully, we will gain experience from playing teams in a country where baseball is so very important, but our players will definitely have an educational experience that will last a lifetime. Many of the non-student-athletes at the University of Tennessee travel abroad with various university programs, and we feel this is one very unique opportunity for our team."
The Vols will send 28 players, four coaches and four support staff members on the six-day excursion. The team will be headquartered at the Hotel Tropicoco in Santa Maria del Mar Beach, just 20 minutes away from the historical city of Havana.
"I'm looking at this trip more from an educational standpoint," said junior catcher Javi Herrera, a Miami native with family ties in Cuba. "My parents are Cuban. It will be nice to go back to where my family is from. I'm going to support my team and the University of Tennessee.
"As a team, we get to be together with an extra 10 days of practice. That will help out our team with all the new players we have."
