Maddox Bandy of Signal Mountain plays this morning for the Girls' 18 singles championship in the Pride of Tennessee State Junior Qualifying tennis tournament, and Chattanooga's Mark Thel and Signal's Zan Meyer are set for the Boys' 18s doubles final against top-seeded Sean Presson and Amir Salem of Knoxville. Presson also is the top singles seed in 18s and faces Hixson's Luke Plaisted in a quarterfinal this morning. Another Hixson resident, Matt Barnett, is the No. 1 seed in Boys' 16s and plays in a singles quarterfinal this morning and in the doubles final with Chattanooga's Ryan Toomey. The doubles finals are scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Champions Club, but indoor courts are available at McCallie, Baylor and possibly even Manker Patten if expected rain arrives, according to tournament director Andrew Rogers. Bandy, a 5 seed, reached her singles final with a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) win over No. 2 seed Sneha Sinha of Germantown, who edged Chattanooga's Lauren Carelli in the quartefinals. Bandy will play top seed Julia Adams of Knoxville for the title. The Boys' 16s final will be played Monday; all the others will be decided today, Rogers said. Qualifiers advance to next week's Southern sectionals at Little Rock, Ark. (16s) and Mobile, Ala. (18s). This tournament benefits the Sean Karl Foundation that fights Ewing Sarcoma cancer, which claimed the life of the former Nashville standout and Tennessee tennis signee.
Golf
* Dalton State freshman SM Lee from Buford, Ga., shot a 2-under-par 68 and finished second to LSU's Sam Burrus in the Barbasol Shootout matchup of the five 2017 Jack Nicklaus Award winners Saturday at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Burns, the No. 1-ranked golfer in NCAA Division I this year, earned an exemption into the PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship next month in Opelika, Ala. Lee bogeyed two of his first five holes but made five birdies in a row (Nos. 6-10) for the lead at 3 under par. Burns caught him with a birdie on No. 11, and West Florida's Chandler Blanchet tied them at No. 12 but fell back with a bogey to the other two's birdies on No. 14. Burns closed the round with a birdie and two pars, while Lee bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18.
Baseball
* Travis Watson has resigned as Tennessee Wesleyan University's baseball coach after two Appalachian Athletic Conference championships and an NAIA World Series appearance in his two years in the job. The school's website announcement Friday said simply: "His resignation is effective immediately, as he leaves to pursue other interests." The Bulldogs were 50-15 in 2016 and 41-20 in the 2017 season. "TWU appreciates the contributions Travis Watson made in his two years of service to the institution," athletic director Donny Mayfield said in the announcement. "We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."