BARRINGTON, R.I. - She needed three extra holes to do it, but Chattanooga golfer Brooke Pancake is in the final four of the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship and plays defending champion Danielle Kang of Westlake Village, Calif., in the semifinals today at the Rhode Island Country Club. The 36-hole championship match is Sunday. The other semifinal includes reigning NCAA champion and 2007 Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic winner Austin Ernst of Seneca, S.C., against 17-year-old Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who was the top amateur in this year's U.S. Women's Open. Pancake, 21 and a three-time Alabama All-American, was two holes down after four holes against Erynne Lee, 18, of Silverdale, Wash., and never led until the 21st hole, when Lee double-bogeyed. "I never felt like I could get ahead, but I knew I could hang in there," the former Baylor School star said in a USGA release. "It definitely was a grind out there today."
Fishing
• HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., zoomed up 31 spots to fourth place in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup with a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 15 ounces Friday in the FLW championship tournament on Lake Ouachita. The day's top haul put him at 28-11 after two days, behind Jason Christie's 31-7, Scott Martin's 30-11 and Randall Tharp's 29-1. The top 20 hit the lake again in the quest for a $500,000 first-place payoff. Wesley Strader of Spring City earned $12,500 for his 22nd-place finish of 22-8. He had 9-12 Friday. Dalton's Van Foster Jr. finished 34th in the co-angler division with 8-3 and received $2,000.
Volleyball
• Baylor School senior Nicole Sumida has accepted a scholarship offer to play volleyball at Lee University, which has become a fixture in the NAIA national tournament. The 6-foot-3 Sumida has 804 kills with the Lady Red Raiders to go with 194 blocks and 172 aces. Sumida noted getting to play for head coach Andrea Hudson and her husband and assistant head coach Kevin as key reasons she chose the university in Cleveland out of the 75 or so schools that contacted her. "I just loved it," Sumida said. "I've always wanted to go to a Christian school. I love the coaches. Kevin Hudson was my club coach when I was 14, so it will be great playing for him again. I was ready to make my decision. I looked at a lot of schools and felt this was the right school for me." Sumida said she'll be making the transition to right-side hitter at Lee and plans to work on her back-row game in the next year. She has 235 digs in her Baylor career. Baylor coach Sarah Lail said Sumida increased the speed of her game and grew into her body between her sophomore and junior years, and she blossomed into a Tennessee Sports Writers Association all-state selection last season. "They're getting a great all-around student-athlete," Lail said. "It's going to be a great fit her attending there." Sumida plans to study to become a physical therapist.
Softball
• Recent Silverdale Baptist Academy graduate Abbie Bateman has signed scholarship papers to continue her softball career at Lee University. Chip Liner, who was Bateman's coach with the Seahawks, said she was the team's "best outfielder and fastest player" and could be expected to keep getting better. "I look forward to seeing how much more she will develop as a softball player at Lee," Liner said. "We are very excited for Abbie to join our program," Lady Flames coach Emily Russell said. "She is an excellent athlete and I am looking forward to watching her develop and grow. She has a lot of potential and speed. She earned an academic scholarship at Lee, and I know she will contribute to our freshman class both on the field and in the classroom."
Soccer
• The University of Tennessee of Chattanooga opens its women's soccer season next Friday at Tennessee Tech, but the Mocs play another Ohio Valley Conference school, Murray State, in a scrimmage today at 1 p.m. at Baylor. As with all UTC home games, there will be no charge for admission today.