BATON ROUGE — LSU officials on Friday expressed their appreciation to United States Senator Mary Landrieu for her hospitality in facilitating a visit to Washington, D.C., by LSU’s national championship baseball team this week.
“The visit to our nation’s capital by the LSU baseball team was the perfect cross-roads of academic and athletic accomplishment because our student-athletes engaged in a tremendous learning experience as a result of their success in competition,” said LSU Chancellor Michael Martin. “Senator Landrieu recognized the significance of their achievement and made it possible for our team to experience Washington, D.C., in a way that is not normally accessible to the average U.S. citizen.”
“This was a tremendous opportunity that was presented to us by Senator Landrieu and her staff and we are most appreciative of their efforts to make this a special day for the LSU baseball team,” said Joe Alleva, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics. “This was a day that the members of our national championship team will not soon forget.”
The Tiger baseball team traveled to Washington on Wednesday and began the day with a luncheon at the senator’s home where they were joined by other members of the Louisiana delegation. From there the Tigers walked four blocks from to the U.S. Capitol where they were given guided tours, made a stop at several monuments and memorials, and then proceeded to the White House for an exclusive tour and a West Wing meeting with Vice President Joe Biden.
The Tigers concluded the day with a trip to Arlington Cemetery where they visited the gravesites of the three Kennedy brothers and witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The team was addressed at The Tomb by Sgt. Benton Thames, a native of Denham Springs, who is one of the sentinels at The Tomb and a fan of LSU Athletics.
“It was a tremendous trip for our players, something that was well-deserved after we won the national championship,” head baseball coach Paul Mainieri said. “We’re very grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Washington. We are so appreciative of what Senator Landrieu did to make this trip happen. She was an extremely gracious host.”