Lee, Sewanee women get NCAA soccer bids and more Chattanooga region sports news

Rachel Hargrove from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Julianna Spradlin from Gordon Lee and Sonoraville players Savannah Wilbanks and Emalie Hicks, from left, were honored as Georgia Volleyball Coaches' Association all-state players for 2015.
Rachel Hargrove from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Julianna Spradlin from Gordon Lee and Sonoraville players Savannah Wilbanks and Emalie Hicks, from left, were honored as Georgia Volleyball Coaches' Association all-state players for 2015.
photo Rachel Hargrove from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Julianna Spradlin from Gordon Lee and Sonoraville players Savannah Wilbanks and Emalie Hicks, from left, were honored as Georgia Volleyball Coaches' Association all-state players for 2015.

After falling 4-3 in penalty-kick shootouts in their conference tournaments this past weekend, the Lee University and Sewanee women's soccer teams received invitations Monday to their NCAA national tournaments. Lee (11-4-4) will be returning to Florence, Ala., for a Division II South Region match Friday at 9 p.m. EST against Tampa (10-4-5), with the winner playing host North Alabama (15-2-2) on Sunday. "The girls are ecstatic," first-year Lee coach Chris Hennessey said in a school release. "We are just happy we get to play and compete with the best teams in the nation." Also in the South Region are Barry, Nova Southeastern and West Florida. Sewanee (11-3-3) will be playing 19th-ranked Chicago (12-6) at Thomas More College in Crestview, Ky., in a Division III national opener at 1:30 p.m. EST Saturday. The eighth-ranked host Saints (17-0-2) will face USA South champion Piedmont (20-1-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Division III nationals include 64 teams; the Division II field is 48.

* As the regular-season champion, Bryan College is hosting the Appalachian Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament semifinals Wednesday and the championship match Friday. The Lions (12-4-2) will face fifth seed St. Andrews (9-7-1) at 4 p.m. Wednesday, followed at 7 by No. 2 seed Union College (14-1-4) against sixth-seeded Truett-McConnell (10-5-3). Friday's final is set for 7 p.m. Tickets cost $5.

* The third annual Neighborhood Cup soccer tournament for teams of boys and girls ages 8-14 is set for Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Highland Park Commons. The park has three turf futsal fields. More than 150 players are expected.

Volleyball

' After winning the USA South championship, the Covenant College volleyball team will make the program's first-ever appearance in an NCAA tournament Thursday, and the Lady Scots (19-12) don't have to go far to do it. They will play at Berry College in a 5:30 p.m. match against Southern Athletic Association champion Hendrix (25-8), and the winner will play Berry or Thomas More on Friday in a Division III regional. Hendrix is seeded second behind Emory in the region, with Berry third and Covenant seventh.

* Bryan College is the top seed for the AAC volleyball tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn., and the Lady Lions (24-13, 18-2) will open Thursday at noon against eighth-seeded Bluefield (13-17, 8-12). Sixth seed Tennessee Wesleyan (11-17, 9-11) faces third seed St. Andrews (20-9, 14-6) at 4:30.

* Rachel Hargrove of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Julianna Spradlin of Gordon Lee and Savannah Wilbanks and Emalie Hicks of Sonoraville were area players who made the Georgia Volleyball Coaches' Association high school all-state teams for 2015. They were honored after the GVCA all-star match Saturday at Holy Innocents'.

Basketball

* Reigning NAIA Division I champion Dalton State finally got in the win column in its men's basketball season with a 72-63 victory Monday night at Voorhees College in Denmark, S.C. Jordan Bowling and Marcel Hawkins each had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jamaine Burrey had 16 and nine for the Roadrunners (1-2), who outrebounded their hosts 45-27 and made 23 of 34 free throws. And in stressing the team victory, coach Tony Ingle praised the late-game ball-handling and key 3-point shot by freshman walk-on Zach Dean from Ringgold as well as Burrey's defense on Voorhees star Jeffrey Mack.

Cross Country

* Tyler Boone and Griffith Rutherford from Bryan and Jacob Simmons from Tennessee Wesleyan officially are going along with the Dalton State team to the 60th NAIA men's national cross country meet Nov. 21 at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C. The men's 8-kilometer race will begin at 10:30 a.m. with 36 teams and 84 other individuals. Dalton State qualified automatically as champion of the Southern States Athletic Conference.

Upcoming Events