Adams promoted in UTC basketball and other sports news

Friday, January 1, 1904

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Former Baylor School standout Jonathan Adams has been promoted to director of basketball operations on coach John Shulman's staff at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Adams takes over for Brian Benator, who has accepted a job at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va., which is noted for its post-graduate basketball program. Adams, the son of former Ringgold High School and Howard star players who went on to college success, played for Old Dominion and was the 2007 Colonial Athletic Association scholar athlete of the year. He left the Monarchs as their all-time leader in games played with 135. He played a season for the Bochum Astrostars professional team in Germany and joined Shulman's staff in August 2010 as graduate manager. "Jonathan's been with us two seasons and is ready to expand his experience," Shulman said in a UTC release. "It's hard to lose good people like Brian, but I am confident in Jonathan's abilities and where he is headed in this business. It was time for both to make this step."

• Georgia Northwestern Technical College has its first All-American athlete, basketball point guard Matt Woods from Dade County. The basketball program has been in existence for five years. Woods earned the NJCAA Division III honor for off-the-court as well as his on-court contributions of six points and four assists a game in his sophomore season. The team captain had a 3.94 grade point average as a pre-nursing student and now will continue his schooling in UTC's nursing program. "Matt is an amazing young man who has represented this college, his family and himself extremely well," said Dr. Craig McDaniel, GNTC's president. Three years ago Woods received a Combat Action Badge for heroism in a grenade attack during his military duty in Iraq.

Baseball

• Lori Webb's appointment effective Aug. 1 as president of the Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs makes her the first female league president for any affiliated minor league. Webb has served in Chattanooga Lookouts' league since 1994, beginning as executive assistant to the president. She later was vice president of operations and corporate secretary and treasurer. "Lori Webb has earned the trust and confidence of Southern League members over the years, particularly by her professionalism and performance since [predecessor] Don Mincher's retirement last October," said Tennessee Smokies president and SL advisory committee chairman Doug Kirchhofer.

Golf

• LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Former Baylor School golf teammates Keith Mitchell of Chattanooga and Jay Vandeventer of Bristol fell back Friday into a tie for 16th place in the 106th Southern Amateur tournament at Chenal Country Club, and UTC senior Steven Fox is tied for 58th at 222 after a third-round 73. Mitchell was the second-day leader at 8 under par but shot an 80 on Friday, when Vandeventer shot 76 for his even-par total of 216. Peter Williamson of Hanover, N.H., and Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala., lead at 209.

• CROSSVILLE, Tenn. -- Haley Ann Wilson of Fort Mitchell, Ala., shot a 67 to take the lead Friday in the Golf Capital of Tennessee Women's Open at Stonehenge. Wilson is at 138, one stroke ahead of first-round leader Lauren Stratton from Spring Hill. Mary Alice Murphy of Lookout Mountain is tied for 23rd place at 152 after a 74, and Rachel Ingram of Benton is at 153. Tullahoma's Morgan Hale is at 156, Cleveland's Avery George at 157, Soddy-Daisy's Haley Cothran at 163, Benton's Lydia Triplett at 172, Crossville's Jean Roise at 173 and Harrison's Kim Spangler Klein at 177.

• Georgia Northwestern Technical College announced this week that it is adding men's golf and cheerleading as NJCAA-recognized sports to go with its two established basketball programs and volleyball. The school officially has opened applications for golf and cheerleading coaches. "The addition of [these sports] are two logical next steps in building the program," athletic director David Stephenson said in a GNTC release. "If we continue to do this right and keep these programs growing, we hope to announce the addition of more intercollegiate offerings in the near future." There will be two cheer squads starting this fall, since Stephenson's men's basketball team plays most of its home games in Rossville while the women's team is based in Rome. Varsity men's golf will begin next spring. Volleyball tryouts are set for Aug. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16 at the Rossville Athletic Complex.