The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf team is back from a strong fourth-place showing in upstate New York and is ready to play in perhaps the most prestigious college tournament of the fall semester, the Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club in nearby Rocky Face, Ga. Coach Mark Guhne's Mocs won the tournament in 2008 and were ranked No. 1 in the nation soon after. "It was a very special win but it was another time, another team," Guhne said in a UTC release Thursday. "This (The Farm) is a special place, and I'm excited to see what this group can do here." Former UTC player and assistant coach Ben Rickett has his NAIA-contending Dalton State Roadrunners back as well, joining Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, South Carolina and Virginia from the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences. The tournament runs today through Sunday on the 7,012-yard course.
- Matt Baker from LaFayette in the championship flight and Kenny Sharp from Dalton in flight three are among the 144 amateur golfers playing Saturday and Sunday in the Georgia Public Links Championship at Cobblestone Golf Course in Acworth.
- Gary Rominger, Harry Ledford, Matt Crowder and Keoni Vidrine won Lee University's Stanley Butler Shootout on Wednesday at Chatata Valley Golf Club in Cleveland with a 20-under-par 51, and Jim Pemberton, Jerry McGaha, Ellis Haney and Jordon Whitmire were a stroke behind them. Whitmire won the prize for longest drive, and Kay McDaniel was the women's long-drive victor. Tom Maupin and Dennis Botts won closest-to-the-pin contests.
Wrestling
- The UTC wrestling team is tied for 31st in the initial WIN preseason tournament power index. UTC, the Southern Conference's highest-ranked team, is tied with Virginia, Drexel and Old Dominion. Oklahoma State is ranked No. 1.
Soccer
- Kaela Leskovar scored early in each half and McKenzie Bricker and Lauren Peters also scored for the Lee University women's soccer team in a 4-0 romp past visiting Lees-McRae on Thursday. Carly Smoltz assisted on the second and third goals for the Lady Flames (1-1-1), who outshot Lees-McRae (0-3) 27-6.
- Bryan College improved to 3-0 in men's soccer with a 3-1 victory Thursday at Martin Methodist. Brad Spooner and Daniel Vonthin sandwiched first-half goals around one by Dylan Nolan of MMC (0-4-1), and Charlie Clarke scored late from a Rafael Mentzingen assist. Pablo Idieder assisted on Vonthin's goal.
Volleyball
- Faulkner defeated Dalton State 3-1 for its first volleyball win in nine matches this season. The set scores were 25-22, 19-25, 25-9, 25-14 in favor of the host team in Montgomery, Ala.
- Cumberlands beat visiting Tennessee Wesleyan 3-1 (25-12, 25-19, 22-25, 25-12) in NAIA volleyball Thursday in Williamsburg, Ky., and is now 9-3.