Tornado win two national titles and other sports news

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

The McCallie School crew team won two championships last weekend at the National Schools Regatta at Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Blue Tornado's under-17 four and second varsity four won gold medals in the event that includes the nation's top scholastic teams. Brendan Lynch, Andrew Cummings, James Hale, Michael Kalinowski and coxswain Duncan Moore in the under-17 shell covered the 1,500-meter course in 5 minutes, 18.45 seconds. The same group won the second varsity four title the next day by 1.3 second. McCallie's varsity four of Nathan Adie, John Scott, Court Weitzel, Nick Morris and coxswain Moore finished second in their division's petite finals and 10th overall. "This was a tremendous finish to the rowing season," Tornado coach Sean McCourt said in a school release. "We have a very young group with some terrific older leaders."

Volleyball

• Former Baylor School and Lee University standout Nicole Sumida and Kristy Wieser as sophomore transfers and Eden Murray and Maddie Marshall as recent high school graduates are new signees announced Wednesday by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball coach Travis Filar. The 6-foot-3 Sumida redshirted this past year at Butler after being the conference freshman of the year in her one season at Lee. "She presents a major problem for opponents because of her height," Filar said in the UTC release. "She is going to really help us with her presence in the middle and right side. She has great experience." Wieser also is a middle blocker and right side hitter; a former teammate of the Mocs' Anne Bachmann, she comes from Nebraska-Omaha, where she started in 20 matches as a freshman and had as many as 10 kills in a match and 18 digs in another. "Kristy is a dynamic attacker that brings a lot of physicality to the team," Filar said, praising her blocking skills. Murray was a four-year starter for Hebron Christian Academy in Dacula, Ga., which was the Class A sate runner-up last fall, and she was a first-team all-stater in 2012 and 2013 and Georgia's Class A player of the year in 2012. Marshall was a three-sport standout at Kickapoo High in Springfield, Mo., with four years as an all-state swimmer. "Maddie is a well-rounded athlete. She will compete for a spot in the backcourt as a libero and defensive specialist," Filar said. "Eden brings a winning tradition to our team. She adds a ton of depth at middle blocker and right side and is a very versatile hitter."

Basketball

• Former Lee University and Austin Peay point guard Tyrone Caldwell has signed to play the 2014-15 season for the Seattle Mountaineers of the American Basketball Association. After being a TSSAA Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalist and McDonald's All-American nominee as a Clarksville High School senior, he played three years in NCAA Division I for Peay and then averaged 10.9 points with 41 percent 3-point shooting and 82 percent free-throw shooting in his senior season at Lee. "He brings an unselfish demeanor to the court and possesses terrific court vision with with great decision-making capabilities," Mountaineers coach Donald Sims said in a release.

General

• UTC's athletic department earned a gold award Tuesday at the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators convention in Orlando, Fla., for the wrestling team's candlelight-dinner match on Dec. 16 against Gardner-Webb. There were 74 seats at $50 each sold for the match with valet parking and a mat-side catered meal, bringing in "a significant revenue increase from a normal match," according to the announcement release. The NACMA "Best of" Awards include 13 categories, and UTC has won five golds among 13 awards overall in the past five years.

Upcoming Events