Bryan College has had a strong connection with the Chattanooga Football Club, and that continues with the hiring of new Chattanooga FC women's goalkeeper Kerri Butler as an assistant coach for the Dayton school's women's soccer team. Butler was a star keeper at the NCAA Division I level for West Virginia and was an assistant for the first Akron team that reached the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Before working at Akron she was a graduate assistant at Division II member Slippery Rock in 2013 and 2014. Butler holds WVU records of 44 career shutouts, 14 in a season and a 0.67 career goals-against average, and she was All-Big East and that conference's defensive player of the year before the Mountaineers switched to the Big 12 and won their third league title in her four seasons and reached the NCAA final eight. She has played professionally with the Atlanta Beat and D.C. United Women. She also will serve as a CFC Academy coach and goalkeeper trainer.
* Lee University has announced its 2017 women's soccer schedule, and it officially will begin Sept. 1 and 3 at home in the Quiznos Classic against two other teams that joined the Lady Flames in the 2016 NCAA Division II national tournament. The Friday game against North Georgia (15-3-3 last year) is set for 7 p.m.; the Sunday match against Rollins (11-4-3) starts at 1:30. Lee was 14-3-2 last season. "We continually strive to play the best teams early on, as it helps us evaluate where we are at heading into conference play," third-year head coach Chris Hennessey said in a Lee release. Home exhibitions against Tusculum (Aug. 19) and Bryan (Aug. 23) and a road exhibition at Emory (Aug. 26) will precede the tough opening tournament, which will be followed by the Gulf South Conference opener Sept. 8 at Spring Hill and a Sept. 10 neutral-site contest against Embry-Riddle at Foley, Ala. The Lady Flames will be home Sept. 15 and 17 for GSC visits from Delta State and Mississippi College and continue their 14-game conference slate through a home series Oct. 20, 22 and 26 against Alabama-Huntsville, West Alabama and Shorter. The GSC tournament begins Oct. 31.
Baseball
* Lee's baseball team had another productive Military Appreciation Day this spring, and from that came a check this week for $10,000 to Disabled American Veterans Chapter 25. "It will all go toward veterans assistance in Bradley County," chapter commander Bill Gray said in a Lee release. "If you're a veteran in Bradley County and you need help, you contact us and we'll take care of you." The chapter recently completed a new pavilion at Fort Hill Cemetery and has built a wheelchair ramp, given two electric wheelchairs and paid some grocery bills for local veterans. "The thing I like most is that you'll see it directly impact our community," Lee coach Mark Brew said. Sponsors supporting the Flames' fundraising were Navy Federal Credit Union, Zaxby's, Sports Clips, Chick-fil-A, the Cleveland Daily Banner, Jenkins Restaurant and Deli, Bank of Cleveland, Larry Hill Ford, Dick's Graphics and T.G. (Travis Godfrey) Sales.
Volleyball
* Anna-Meredith Schorle from Berean Academy has signed enrollment papers to join the Georgia Northwestern volleyball program. Berean won three Tennessee Association of Christian Schools state championships in the last four years and was second the other time, and coach Beth Ware said Schorle is "a strong player in the middle and she's excellent at blocking with a killer serve" and praised also her team mindset and her "great spirit and great attitude." Schorle in turn was impressed with GNTC coach Amber Weaver's "really positive attitude." Weaver is a former middle school coach at Berean and said, "I'm super excited about Anna-Meredith. She could be a middle hitter and she's a great passer, but she also has great hands. She's such a good player that I could probably put her anywhere on the court." Schorle also has been part of the Choo Choo City club program.
Fishing
* Saturday is Free Fishing Day in Tennessee, the annual time when anyone may fish in the state's public waters without a license. Ages 15 and under can do so for a week, in fact, through next Friday. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's hope is that the free sample will increase interest in fishing.