Mississippi State University women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer will be the special speaker for the MSU area alumni dinner June 19 at Christ United Methodist Church on East Brainerd Road. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the meal and program starting at 6:30. Admission costs $35 in advance or $40 at the door. To pay by check, mail it to Greater Chattanooga Chapter c/o Kit Parker, 854 Reunion Dr., Chattanooga, TN 37421. Schaefer's Bulldogs finished second in the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, going 34-5 and 37-2.
Soccer
' The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer schedule for 2018 includes reigning Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun and Ohio Valley conference champions South Alabama, Lipscomb and Murray State as well as third-place Troy plus former Southern Conference rival Georgia Southern from the Sun Belt. Coach Gavin McKinney's Mocs will play preseason exhibitions against top-four OVC finishers Belmont - at home in Finley Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 9 - and Tennessee Tech in Cookeville on Aug. 11. UTC's regular season begins Aug. 17 in Finley against Alabama A&M, followed by games at GSU, USA and Troy. Home games against Georgia State on Aug. 31 and Murray State on Sept. 7 will be followed two days later in each case by visits to Lipscomb and Austin Peay, and then the Mocs will host North Alabama on Sept. 14 and Southern Conference opponents Mercer and The Citadel on Sept. 21 and 23. Other SoCon home games are set for Oct. 5 against Western Carolina, Oct. 7 against East Tennessee State and Oct. 12 against Samford. First-round matches in the conference tournament will be on Oct. 24. The Mocs have seven newcomers plus 15 returners, including second-team all-conference player Jordan Mueller and SoCon freshman of the year Chloe Arnold. "We are very excited for the fall to get here," McKinney said in a release. "Our returning players worked extremely hard this past spring, and we are confident they will continue to train with purpose leading into August."
Fishing
' Wesley Strader finished day two Friday of the Bassmaster Elite tournament on the Sabine River in Texas in 34th place with 16 pounds, 11 ounces for his 10 keepers, and fellow Spring City resident John Murray was 63rd at 14-12 after a 9-7 day. Greg Hackney of Gonzalez, Louisiana, led at 28-2, while Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Alabama, soared to second at 23-10 with a 16-5 collection Friday.
' The 25th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga bass tournament was held last weekend at Harrison Bay State Park, and nine pairs of Bigs and Littles had the pleasure of fishing with experienced anglers in great weather. Hosted by Warren and Traci Behlau "and their gracious friends," the event also had appreciated support from Chick-fil-A, Ed Ricklefs, JL Marine Systems (Power Pole), Awardcountry.com, Bass Pro Shops, Academy Sports and Outdoors and Sportsman's Warehouse, according to a BBBS release. Janaquel and his Big Brother, Tyrell, placed first and caught the biggest fish.
Basketball
' Georgia Northwestern Technical College coach David Stephenson has been busy lately adding players to his men's basketball team, but he also recently signed Cass High School's Lyric Curtis for the Lady Bobcats. She helped the Lady Colonels win 36 games the last two seasons and averaged 8.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a senior. "Lyric was our team captain and perhaps our best and most valuable all-around player," Cass coach Burt Jackson said in a GNTC release. "She's hard-nosed, can handle the basketball and can play any position on the floor. When we asked her to guard the other team's best post player, she was physical and tough enough to do it. She can hit the 3, can drive to the basket and loves to pass the ball. She's also a great defender. She is just a great teammate and a great leader." Stephenson projects her at the 3 or 4 position and said, "She's very athletic, she can shoot and she's smart with a 3.4 GPA."