Friday, January 1, 1904
Florian Loutre from Le Mans, France, has joined Taylor Davis of Franklin, Tenn., as newly announced freshman recruits for the Lee University men's golf team, and Bernadette Little from Nova Scotia in Canada arrived and signed her golf scholarship papers with the Cleveland school Monday.
Little played in the last two Canadian nationals and won provincial titles in 2011 and 2012, and she also is the Canadian Junior Atlantics champion. She picked the Lady Flames over South Carolina-Beaufort and Arkansas Tech. "Bernardette is a great pickup for our program," Lee coach John Maupin said in a school release. "The things that stick out ... are her athleticism and competitive drive. She is a multisport athlete who will now be solely focused on golf." Maupin said Davis "has been committed to us for a while and ... will be an asset in the classroom and on the course. His commitment and passion for the game is evident. He also has a lot of natural ability."
The Brentwood Academy graduate was a state-tournament runner-up and first-team all-state, and he had a top-five finish in an AJGA event in Franklin. Maupin said Loutre had offers from the likes of Tennessee, Kentucky and Memphis and was headed elsewhere, "but a few things happened and we are very happy he is joining us at Lee. ... He has one of the strongest resumes of anyone we have ever signed." That includes several amateur victories, time on the French national team, match play in the British Amateur and a runner-up finish in the European Boys Championship.
• New Tennessee Temple University basketball coach Brac Brady has pulled in an NCAA Division I transfer just in time for classes to start today, and the 6-foot-6 forward, Rashaud Bell, still has four years of eligibility. He attended Louisiana-Monroe last year, redshirting as a wide receiver in football, but had basketball interest from Tennessee Tech, North Florida and Jacksonville -- among others -- during a senior season in which he averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists a game as an all-state player for South Atlanta High School. His girlfriend and another friend already had signed for the Temple women's soccer team, and Bell said he found Brady and assistant coach Ezell Dodd "very friendly and straightforward, and I heard great things about them from people I asked." Bell did not play football as a junior or senior in high school; he got his scholarship offers in that sport based on sophomore highlights. "He's very athletic and a very good rebounder," Brady said.
• Midfielder Melissa Guerrero has arrived from Cancun, Mexico, to join the Tennessee Temple women's soccer program as the Lady Crusaders continue their season with an exhibition Friday at Sewanee and a game Saturday at Georgia Gwinnett. They lost their opener to UTC last Friday. Guerrero came to Temple through a multisport "International Doorway" showcase held at Embry-Riddle University in Florida. Lady Crusaders coach Emmanuel Awotula said he thought she was the best of the eight players he watched there, although he also made scholarship offers to another two from Germany and England. "Melissa passed up a better offer in Alabama to come here," he said. "She distributes the ball very well. She will help us a lot." Guerrero, a Roman Catholic, said she liked the Christian emphasis of the Baptist school, "and Chattanooga is a pretty town and not too big, and not too far from Mexico. One of my other choices was in Maine." Mainly, though, she said was attracted by Awotula's strong interest and sincere approach.
• The Sewanee women's cross country team will begin its 2012 season ranked eighth in the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association of America announced Tuesday. Rhodes and Centre join Sewanee from the new Southern Athletic Association in the top 10 at No. 2 and No. 4. Emory is No. 1.