A Pancake is increasing the visibility of Waffle House. LPGA Tour golfer Brooke Pancake, a Chattanooga native who prepped at Baylor School, has signed an endorsement contract with the restaurant chain. As part of the agreement (terms were not disclosed), she will be making appearances at Waffle House restaurants during certain tour stops, and she will have its yellow logo on her golf bag. "Growing up in Chattanooga, I've always been a Waffle House fan," Pancake said in a release. "And to be quite honest, I prefer waffles over pancakes anyway." Pancake, who sank the winning putt for Alabama in the 2012 NCAA tournament, is beginning her third season on Tour and spending much of the week at the PGA merchandise show, where she will be making an appearance on behalf of her clothing line sponsor, Chase 54. Pancake, who married former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Derek Rende a year ago, posted several pictures and short videos on social media Tuesday. There are more than 2,100 established Waffle House restaurants in America, including 15 inside the Chattanooga city limits. "This will be the first time that the Waffle Nation will be cheering for a Pancake," Waffle House president and CEO Walt Ehmer said in a release.
Basketball
* UTC sophomore Chelsey Shumpert was named Southern Conference women's basketball player of the week Tuesday. The point guard from Paducah, Ky., averaged 17 points in two wins for the Mocs, scoring 15 with a career-best nine assists against Western Carolina on Saturday and scoring 19 Monday at UNC Greensboro. Shumpert is the first UTC player to be a SoCon player of the week this season.
* Sewanee's Casey Hassett was the Southern Athletic Association women's basketball player of the week after scoring 31 points with nine rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in Saturday's win at Centre -- the program's first there in nine years. Hassett averaged 23 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in two wins and made 70 percent of her shots from the field.
* Ronald Jones had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Ugo Mmonu and Tramon Moore scored 21 points apiece to lead Chattanooga State to a 100-88 men's basketball victory over the Shorter junior varsity Tuesday in Rome, Ga. Filipe Goncalves and Chaunce Watkins added 13 and 10 points for the Tigers (11-5), and Deshaun Williams provided 12 assists.
Softball
* UTC softball season tickets are on sale now, available through GoMocs.com. Season tickets cost $50 while single-game tickets cost $5. UTC students will be admitted free with valid Mocs cards. The home schedule opens with the Frost Classic Feb. 27-March 1 at Jim Frost Stadium, with 10th-ranked Kentucky and 2014 NCAA regional winner Ohio among the guests on the Mocs' schedule that weekend. Frost Classic tickets cost $10 per day ($5 for youth) or $25 ($15) for three-day passes. UTC is hosting the Southern Conference tournament this year, May 6-9.