Mocs’ Walker up for national honor for total excellence
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga outfielder Aly Walker is one of 30 NCAA Division I softball players announced Monday as candidates for the 2020 Senior CLASS Award that will be presented during the Women’s College World Series. “CLASS” stands for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School,” and the award honors excellence in community, classroom, character and competition. “When you talk about Aly, you talk about a young lady who totally projects what female softball is all about,” UTC coach Frank Reed said in a school release. “She not only does it on the field, but she does it in the classroom and in the community. It’s the type of kid everyone wants in their program.” Walker is a two-time Southern Conference preseason player of the year and has a 3.55 grade point average as a communications major. Among her other activities, she has worked with UTC’s and other SoCon schools’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committees in leading the “#SoConnected” program that focuses on improving student-athletes’ well-being in areas such as mental health, financial understanding, career readiness and inclusion. The 30 candidates for the award include two other SoCon players: East Tennessee State’s Nikki Grupp and Mercer’s Stella Preston.
LACROSSE
› Sewanee junior Logan Bulls on Tuesday was named the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association’s Division III national defensive player of the week, after earning the Southern Athletic Association honor Monday. Bulls totaled nine caused turnovers and 12 ground balls in two weekend SAA routs. She is the first player in program history to be a national POW.
BASKETBALL
› Chris Barnette and Will Crumly
had 18 points apiece and eight and seven rebounds, but their Covenant College team lost 66-60 in USA South basketball Tuesday night at Berea (10-14, 6-11). Daevon Platt
added 11 points with three 3-point baskets for Covenant (14-10, 11-6), which led 21-16 at halftime but shot only 37.1% for the game.
› The brackets are set for the 2020 SAA basketball tournaments, and Sewanee’s women (10-5, 5-9) are seeded seventh and play in a quarterfinal Saturday at Rhodes (159, 10-4) in Memphis at 2 p.m. EST. Sewanee’s men (12-13, 6-8) are seeded sixth and play Sunday at 3 at Berry (17-8, 8-6), with whom they split two regular-season games; each won as the visiting team.
TENNIS
› The Lee University tennis teams both won by 7-0 scores Sunday in their Gulf South Conference season openers against visiting Christian Brothers, but three of the 2-1 men’s individual victories were tight. Jesus Garcia won 7-6, 7-6 at No. 1 singles and Antonio Pons at No. 4 and Bruno Medeiros at No. 5 won 6-4, 2-6, 10-8 and 6-2, 6-7. Other Flames winning in both doubles and singles were Nico Ramirez, Cristian Pons and Drew Johnston. Winning twice for the Lady Flames (3-0) were Carley Sickinger, Lisa Kirr, Micaela Belen Maiz, Matina Ugdur and Lauren Trammell, with Sierra Donaldson helping Trammell win 6-0 in doubles and freshman Dana Moreno rolling 6-0, 6-0 in singles.
› Sewanee’s nationally ranked Division III teams each went 2-0 in spring-semester openers this past weekend at home. The No. 22 men beat Piedmont 8-1 and blanked Hanover (3-1) 9-0, and the No. 31 Sewanee women defeated both Hanover and Piedmont 9-0.
GOLF
› The Cleveland State men’s golf team finished ninth Tuesday in the Coastal Alabama Invitational at the Rock Creek club in Fairhope. The Cougars totaled 638 for two days, and their Wes Spillers and Gage Brakebill tied for 30th and 35th individually at 156 and 157.