Former Tennessee Wesleyan University men's soccer assistant coach Bryan Walker is the new women's head coach at the NAIA school in Athens after a season as a women's and men's assistant at Carson-Newman. He also has served on the staffs of the Knoxville Force and Lady Force. Walker succeeds Naomi Kolarova, who was hired by NCAA Division I member Austin Peay after directing the Lady Bulldogs to a second consecutive conference tournament championship and the program's first national-tournament victory. CNU's Lady Eagles went 21-1-1 and played in the Division II national final. Walker was a star goalkeeper and then a five-year men's and women's assistant coach at Maryville College under TWU hall of famer Pepe Fernandez, and the Wesleyan men's team he helped went 11-4-4 in 2016. The following spring he was the interim coach for the women's lacrosse team that went 13-5 and won the AAC title. "Through his experience at Carson-Newman and his combined time at Maryville College as a player and coach along with his previous stint here at Tennessee Wesleyan," athletic director Donny Mayfield said in a web post, "particularly stepping into a tough situation as interim head women's lacrosse coach and achieving the success he had with the team, showed me he was the right fit to continue to build upon the foundation Coach Kolarova set in her time here."
Basketball
» Dalton State ended its two-game men's basketball losing streak with a 95-70 Southern States Athletic Conference home win Thursday against Loyola of New Orleans. The Roadrunners (20-6, 12-3), ranked 15th in NAIA Division I, had a 43-28 lead at halftime and got 20 points and 11 rebounds for the game from Carnillious Simmons. Benat Hevia had 17 points and nine assists and Isaiah Box scored 16 with four 3-point baskets.
» Roger Davis had 28 points and 16 rebounds as Chattanooga State won 83-82 in TCCAA men's basketball Wednesday at Roane State. The Tigers (16-8, 11-4), who led 41-29 at halftime, are in third place with seven wins in their last eight games, but the loss in that stretch was by 30 points to Roane (16-9, 9-5) on Feb. 6. A.J. Morris scored 17 points in the rematch win, and Kalin Johnson had 12 with Raekwon Long adding 10 plus 11 rebounds. The Tigers made 20 of 22 free throws, including six late ones by Morris to seal the win. For the fourth-place Raiders, Blake Ervin and William Johnson scored 19 and 16 points with four and three 3-pointers.
» Covenant junior Kaley Hallmark made the All-West Division second team in the USA South women's basketball awards announced Thursday, and classmate Morgan Douglass represented the Lady Scots on the all-sportsmanship team. Hallmark is averaging 11.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game for Covenant, which is 14-11 with eight straight wins and plays in a conference tournament quarterfinal Saturday.
Baseball
» The Lee University baseball team dropped to 3-5 with an 8-4 loss Thursday at Albany (Ga.) State. Miguel Pimentel homered and singled and Peyton Meeker and Ryan Beamish each was 2-for-4 for Lee, while Spencer Mossburg scored two runs. Pimentel is batting .468 with a slugging percentage of .826.
» Bryan College defeated Midway Univesity 20-4 and 6-5 in late-scheduled games Thursday, stretching the Lions' season-opening win streak to 11 games, all at home. Bryan has canceled its weekend series against Indiana Wesleyan but has scheduled a game tonight at 6 in Emerson, Ga., against Covenant, which called off its home games with Emory & Henry.
» Tennessee Wesleyan is 4-4 in baseball after winning 1-0 and losing 6-2 Wednesday at Talladega College. Chris Baetzel homered for TWU's only hit in the win, when Carson Bach and Dailey Carnes combined to pitch a five-hit shutout, and Alexis Torres homered and scored both runs in the loss. Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-3.
Softball
» Jenna Edwards and Kaleigh Wynne pitched three-hitters, Edwards with 12 strikeouts and Wynne with seven, as the Chattanooga State softball team won 1-0 and 2-1 Thursday at Pensacola State. Aimie Davidson was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly in the first game, and Madison Tidmore had a double before going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases in the rematch. The Lady Tigers (6-1), whose scheduled home games Tuesday against Wallace State-Hanceville were canceled, will play five today and Saturday at Gulf Shores, Ala.
» Tennessee Wesleyan's home softball doubleheader Thursday with Asbury was rained out.
Lacrosse
» Lee University began its second women's lacrosse season Wednesday with the program's first victory, 14-6 at Point University (2-2), as Becca Broadwick and Kaylyn Dillon each scored three goals and Abbie Mercuri and Madeline Perrigo had two apiece. Brianne Schapira, Mason Cobb, Emma Hill and Rachel Duda also scored for the Lady Flames, who netted eight goals in a row spanning halftime for an 11-2 lead. Broadwick, Mercuri, Cobb and Emily Osborne had assists. Lee outshot Point 53-17 with a 38-10 margin in on-goal attempts.