State sports briefs

TENNIS ATP Challenger Tour event coming to LR

The Baptist Health Foundation announced Wednesday that the ATP Challenger Tour will make a stop in Little Rock from June 3-9 at Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock.

The tournament will be called the Little Rock Open, which will feature men’s professional tennis players ranked between No. 100-300 in the world. The tournament’s purse will be $75,000.

The tournament will feature meet-and-greet opportunities with tennis players, a variety of social events, a live concert and kids’ activities.

Tickets will go on sale in the spring. For more information, visit littlerockopen.com or the Baptist Health Foundation at (501) 202-1839.

BASKETBALL UCA’s Rushing adds three assistants

University of Central Arkansas women’s Coach Sandra Rushing announced three new assistant coaches for her coaching staff Wednesday.

The three assistant coaches are Jason Conner, Heather Karner and Kenisha Henry.

Conner, who will serve as UCA’s recruiting coordinator, has served 15 seasons as women’s head coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast and Southern-New Orleans, and men’s head coach at Delta State and Belhaven.

Karner joins the UCA staff after two seasons as a graduate assistant at Tulane.

Henry was recently the girls head coach at J.Z. George High School in North Carrollton, Miss.

CROSS COUNTRY UALR’s Watson honored

University of Arkansas at Little Rock senior Shanieke Watson was named the Sun Belt Conference women’s cross country runner of the week Wednesday.

Watson captured the individual title at the University of Central Arkansas Cross Country Challenge on Saturday in Conway, posting a time of 18:28.94 in the 5K race, besting her closest competitor by 37 seconds. Watson’s effort led UALR to a second-place finish among the 11-team field.