Local tennis team wins 8.0 sectional
The Little Rock reign continued this past weekend for a Chattanooga 55-over 8.0 mixed doubles tennis team. Captain Debbie Rogers and her crew won the nine-state USTA Southern Sectional in the Arkansas capital for the third year in a row, after two other trips. The Tennessee champions lost their opening match to Georgia but bounced back in the round-robin format to defeat Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana and win the sectional title by tiebreaker criteria. Most of her team has been together throughout the championship run, Rogers said, “and they are not only awesome tennis players but great people.” The others are Laura Vaughn, Mary Polcari, David Hilley, Teresa Kelly, Kirk Kelly, Boo Mullinax, Dave Dameron, Brigetta Nethery, Felice Hadden, Andy Miller and Robert Fisher.
SOCCER
› The Lee University women’s soccer team not only earned a Sweet 16 spot in the NCAA Division II tournament with Sunday’s 1-0 overtime win at previously 20-0 West Florida, but the Lady Flames (156-1) have been picked to host third- and fourth-round matches. Friday on Lee’s field in Cleveland, Columbus State will face Lincoln Memorial at 4 p.m. and Mississippi College will challenge Lee at 7. The winners will meet Sunday at 2 for a berth in the national semifinals Nov. 29 in Pittsburgh. Lee is in the round of 16 for the second year in a row.
BASKETBALL
› Sewanee senior Hunter Buescher is the first Southern Athletic Association men’s basketball player of the week for the 2018-19 season. He received that honor Monday after scoring 25 points with the winning 3-point shot in the Tigers’ 65-63 season opener Friday against Huntingdon. Buescher averaged 12.2 points a game last season.
GOLF
› Dalton State College’s women’s golfers are ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA coaches’ poll of the fall semester, and the school rose four spots to No. 8 in the men’s poll. Both programs have been Top 25 regulars since becoming eligible in November 2014, and the Lady Roadrunners are in the top five for the 15th poll in a row and 22nd overall. The DSC men have been in the top 10 17 times, 15 of those in the top five. The Tennessee Wesleyan men and women were second and fifth, respectively, among “others receiving votes.”