Cash wins opener in grass court nationals

photo Wesley Cash

Chattanooga's Wesley Cash opened singles play Monday in the USTA National Men's 50 Grass Court Championships at the Philadelphia Racket Club with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Barry Balthrop of North Potomac, Md. That was in the round of 64. Cash is unseeded in singles, but he and Michael Tammen of Portland, Ore., are seeded fourth in doubles and had a bye into the round of 16. They won the national 55 indoor championship together in May. Cash will go directly from this tournament to New York City, where he and Mark Vines of Virginia will be honored for the 55s "golden slam" of four USTA national titles in 2012.

Soccer

• Bryan College opened its men's soccer season with a 4-0 win Tuesday night against visiting Toccoa Falls. Jorge Gonzalez Giron and Daniel Branley scored in the first 7:19 with assists from Miles Christian and Gustavo Angel Tamayo, and Christoph Krekeler and Branley scored in the final 12 minutes on assists from Zach McCown. Bryan outshot Toccoa 36-3, and Elijah Smith had 13 saves in defeat.

Auto Racing

• Rain ended the competition early Saturday night at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip, leaving five drivers still in the running in both the Super Pro and the Foot Brake classes. Those remaining drivers voted to divide the prize money evenly. Those in Super Pro were Robert Jordan of Chattanooga in a 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier, Bruce Day of LaFayette in a 1965 Chevy Nova, Joey Carr of Chickamauga in a 1973 Chevy Vega, Johnny Lewis of Ringgold in a 1987 Mazda RX7 and Cliff Radtke of Dayton in a 1986 Ford Thunderbird. The Foot Brake five were Scott Roberts of Chattanooga, Darrel Goodner of Ringgold, Jeffrey Montgomery of Powder Springs, Ga., Stephan Ingram of Adairsville and Roger Locke of Tunnel Hill. Kaleb Waters of Soddy-Daisy and Chloe Keener of Dunlap were the top two Junior Dragster finishers.

• Randy Weaver from Crossville won the second annual Biddle Ridley Memorial race and $3,000 Saturday night at North Georgia Speedway at Chatsworth. Jeff Smith of nearby Villanow, Ga., finished second and early race leader David Payne of Murphy, N.C., wound up third, with Chatsworth's Aaron Ridley and Derek Ellis completing the top five. Justin Litchford of Tullahoma won the Limited Late Model race, Smith prevailed in Crate Late Model, Matt Leonard won in Pony, David Ghorley was the Modified Lites victor, Jordan Rodabaugh took the Sportsman title, Tony Walston won in Econo Hobby and Greg Tinker was the Modified Hobby winner. The track has no racing planned for this weekend but will hold a Steelhead LLM Back-to-School Championship race on Sept. 7 with $2,000 going to the winner.

Golf

• Former Lookout Mountain resident and GPS student and coach Charlotte Grant of Greensboro, Ga., is tied for third overall at 5-over-par 77 after the first round Monday of the 2013 GSGA Senior Women's Championship at King and Prince Golf Course in St. Simons Island, Ga. Mary Riley of Perry leads at 75. There were 77 entrants.

Basketball

• Georgia Northwestern Technical College has completed its women's basketball tryouts for the 2013-14 season, and coach Jim Williams has announced the roster for the program's fourth year of junior college play and an attempt at a fourth Region XVII title. All-region selections Alyssa Nichelson and Kiarra Parks headline the returners from a Lady Bobcats team that went 15-10, each having averaged 11 points a game. Another top sophomore is Diamond Hardin, a 5-foot-2 point guard who transferred from Reinhardt University, and inside player Mariah Price will be available again in January. Two other returners are Sierra Smith and Megan Flaherty. Caroline Long and Charron Woodley from Model High, Alisha Bridges from Sonoraville and Tiana Jones from Chattooga are key freshmen. Others making the roster are Mallory Bramblett from Adairsville, Jackie Davis from Sonoraville and Brecia Hall from Coosa High.

Upcoming Events