Sewanee's Ereli top SAA field hockey rookie and more Chattanooga region sports news

Around the Region
Around the Region

Sewanee freshman defender Nikki Ereli was voted the Southern Athletic Assocation field hockey newcomer of the year and made the All-SAA first team along with Tigers teammates Janie Spilman and Katie Wilson. Virginia Barry and Catherine Estes were second-team selections. Ereli was the focal figure of Sewanee's new defensive system, which gave up only 1.45 goals per game. Spilman, a senior captain, was another key defender as well as a team leader for the Tigers, and Wilson had five goals and five assists as a sophomore midfielder. Barry, a second-year forward, led the team and was fourth in the SAA with 10 goals, and Estes was a sophomore midfielder who had two goals and an assist and helped the defense as a disruptive force.

Wrestling

* The field of teams for the 2016 Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was announced Tuesday. Joining the Mocs in the Jan. 1-2 event at Mc Kenzie Arena are 10 teams who were ranked in a Top 25 preseason poll - No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Michigan, Lehigh, Cornell, North Carolina, Minnesota, West Virginia, Stanford and Edinboro - plus Appalachian State, Army, Boise State, Cal Poly, Campbell, Central Michigan, The Citadel, Cleveland State (Univ.), Drexel, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Michigan State, Navy, Northern Colorado, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Utah Valley, Virginia and Wyoming. The wrestlers include two national champions and 30 All-Americans. "I am really very proud of what the Southern Scuffle has become during its short time in Chattanooga," UTC coach Heath Eslinger said in a school release. "The competition is second only to the NCAAs." Tickets are on sale at GoMocs.com or 266-MOCS. Daily admission costs $30 for reserved seats, $20 for general admission or $10 for youth general admission; all-session passes are $55, $35 and $15.

Volleyball

* Shorter University edged Lee University 3-2 in a Gulf South Conference volleyball match Tuesday night in Cleveland. Madeline Munroe had 12 kills and Elizabeth Dowd, Alicia McClellan and BreAnna Thompson also had double-digit kills for Shorter (15-10, 13-6) in the 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10 victory, while Cheyenne Frady and Dena Pierce had 25 and 19 assists and Cheyenne McLemore and Dowd had 19 and 16 digs. Lee (12-17, 7-12) got 51 assists and 10 digs from Hillary Hoffpauir and 22 kills, 10 digs and three aces from Catherine Conley, while Silvia Sartori added 13 kills and 11 digs, Brooke Wilsman contributed 12 kills and Stephanie Hernandez and Makayla Beebe had 25 and 17 digs.

Basketball

* Chattanooga State has scheduled a tailgating party for its basketball conference home openers Friday against Jackson State. The doubleheader begins at 5:30 p.m. The Chattanooga State men are 2-2 overall after a 102-87 win over the Tennessee Wesleyan junior varsity on Monday, but they are 0-2 in TCCAA play after losing 108-104 in overtime at Dyersburg State and 73-65 at Southwest Tennessee this past weekend. The Lady Tigers are 2-1. They won 87-69 at Dyersburg, lost 91-90 in overtime at Southwest Tennessee and beat Milligan's junior varsity 82-64 Monday at home. The Tiger Tailgate Party will begin at 4 p.m. in the Omniplex parking lot on campus, and the event is free to the public. However, there are some prohibited items: couches/upholstered furniture, open fires, glass containers and alcoholic beverages. Tickets to the games cost $5.

Golf

* The Georgia Senior Four-Ball Championship golf tournament runs today through Friday at Savannah Quarters Country Club and Wilmington Island Club. It is the last championship event on the 2015 GSGA calendar, and it includes three senior flights for golfers at least 55 years old and two flights for "super seniors" who are 65 or older. Among the entrants are the Dalton-area duos of Dwight Hefner with Tony Patterson and Duane McMullen with Chris Tallent Sr. in the seniors' championship flight.

Upcoming Events