Manager James Langston puts some bowling shoes back in their place behind the counter at AMF Tri-State Lanes on Ringgold Road in this file photo.AMF Tri-State Lanes closed its doors Monday in a sudden move that caught employees and bowlers off guard. The reason given for the closure of the bowling center in East Ridge was purely financial, according to Chattanooga Bowling Association manager Scott Vandiver. "They called an employees meeting at 4 today and told them the center was being closed immediately," Vandiver said. "This is strictly an AMF decision." Tri-State, which opened in 1983, is the second AMF Bowling Centers, Inc., business to close in the Chattanooga area in recent years. Fort Lanes was shut down in May 2008 after 48 years of operation. Calls to AMF headquarters in Virginia were not returned Monday night.
Soccer
• The Chattanooga Football Club and Georgia Revolution will play Friday night in the National Premier Soccer League Southeast Conference championship game, with the winner advancing to the NPSL Final Four in San Diego. The game will played at the RYSA Soccer Complex in Conyers, Ga., with the start time pushed back to 8:30 p.m. so CFC has time to wade through Atlanta-area traffic. In the teams' first meeting this season, in Conyers on June 30, the game was a 1-1 draw. The Revolution earned the right to host by finishing the regular season with a league-high 22 points. CFC was second with 21.
Golf
• MIDWAY, Utah -- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior golfer Steven Fox from Hendersonville shot an even-par 71 Monday and is tied for 18th place midway through stroke-play qualifying in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Soldier Hollow Golf Club. Middle Tennessee State's Brett Patterson from McMinnville also is in the group at 71. UTC freshman Kory Webb from Knoxville is tied for 48th at 73. The low 64 after today's round will go on to match play Wednesday.
Auto Racing
• Taylor Sweeton of Chattanooga won the Super Pro class Saturday night at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip in a dragster borrowed from Ron Lane, owner of Lane's Classic Car Sales. In a car with a modified 632-cubic-inch Chevrolet engine with injected alcohol and nitrous, Sweeton won with a 5.11-second run on a 5.11 dial-in. Matt Grayson from Whitwell was second with a 5.09 run on a 5.08 dial. Tyler Caheely from Rock Spring won the Heads-Up 5.70 class on the way back from the NRHA nationals in Ohio with a 5.70 run on a 5.70 dial, and Jerry Bryant won the 6.50 class in a 1966 Nova with Doug Benton of Hixson second. Chad Brewer of Calhoun, Ga., won the Foot Brake class in a 1969 Camaro SS; David Bigham was second in a '69 Dodge Dart. Mattie Keener and Chloe Keener were first and second in Junior Dragster. Cynthia Farrow had the low elapsed time (4.78 seconds) and top speed (139.55 mph) of the meet in her dragster owned by her father, Ronnie Warnock.
Track & Field
• From ages 8-under to 18, the Chattanooga Jets qualified 30 athletes for the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in 26 individual events and five relays with top-five finishes this past weekend at the Region 6 track meet in Murfreesboro. The nationals are July 23-29 in Baltimore. The Jets' "midget girls" (ages 11-12) 4x400 relay team of Zafiyah Carter, Kimbra Dunning, Laneisha Toney and Rykiedra Brummitt were first-place finishers. Also, the Jets' Jada Cooper at 5 years old won the 8-under girls' 800-meter race at the AAU Area 6 meet in Knoxville and qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics in two other events as well.
Swimming
• The Dalton Dolphins won the regular-season championship in the Chattanooga Area Swim League's top Blue Division with a victory Monday over the Fairyland Flash. The CASL city meet is Friday and Saturday at the Fort Oglethorpe pool. The Dolphins wound up 6-2 with Stuart Heights and Signal Mountain each at 5-3. The Ooltewah Tidalwaves completed an 8-0 season in the B Division by downing the Red Bank Gators.