Kevin Hudson is returning to the Lee University volleyball program as the chief assistant for his wife, Andrea Hudson, while Jesse Elliott is leaving the staff to be the lead worship pastor at Shiloh Ranch Cowboy Church in Powell Butte, Ore.After one year away from the program, Kevin Hudson is returning to assist his wife, Andrea, in coaching Lee University volleyball. With Milica Krsmanovic taking a teaching and coaching job in Arkansas and fellow 2014-15 assistant Jesse Elliott leaving to become the lead worship pastor at a church in Oregon, Kevin is stepping back in at least for this year. "Kevin does a great job of teaching the game the way we want it played," Andrea Hudson said in a release as she prepares for her 25th season as head coach. His technical knowledge and teaching ability were big parts of the program's rise to the NAIA elite before Lee's move to NCAA Division II. Lee also has added Kajetan Borecki as a graduate assistant. He played for the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Golf
* Defending champion Brendon Caballero will face qualifying leader and fellow UT-Martin golfer Hunter Richardson in the semifinals this morning of the Tennessee Match Play Championship at The Grove at College Grove, and Lipscomb teammates Hunter Howell and Stoney Crouch will meet for the other spot in the afternoon final. Caballero defeated former Ooltewah resident Nick Blakely of Nashville 5 and 4 in the quarterfinals. Blakely beat Knoxville's Jack Smith 1 up in the round of 16, when Lee University's Peyton Sliger lost 2 and 1 to Crouch and Polk County's Keoni Vidrine fell to Nashville's Chris Lanning in 20 holes. In the Senior Match Play, Tim Jackson of Germantown twice won 7 and 6 on Friday and will take on 2013 champion Buzz Fly of Memphis while Mike Freels of Chuckey faces Doug Harris of Franklin. Freels edged Signal Mountain's Tom Baird 2 and 1 in the seniors' round of 16.
* Recent East Hamilton graduate Tucker Venable has decided to continue his golf career at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, which finished third in the NJCAA Division III national tournament this year. Venable will strengthen a lineup that returns two first-team All-Americans (Chase Cole and Jordan Estes) and one (Lanier Guest) who missed All-America honorable mention by a stroke. "It's a cool feeling to know that I'm going to get to play college-level golf and compete against college players," Venable said in a GNTC release. "Tucker is a great kid who had a great career at East Hamilton," Bobcats coach Jared Willerson said. "He won two District 5-AAA titles in a row, finished second in the Tennessee state tournament as a sophomore and was named by the Times Free Press to the Best of Preps (third team) this past year. He's just a great ball-striker who works hard on his game." Grant Allen, another returning GNTC golfer, is a good friend of Venable and talked him in to checking out the two-year school's program. "I came down here and talked to Coach Willerson, whom I really like, and I really liked the school," the new recruit said.
Soccer
* The Top Drawer girls' high school soccer fall all-state team for Tennessee included no area players but two University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signees: defender Caroline Heavey from Houston High School in Germantown and goalkeeper Molli Miller from Maryville High. There were 18 players listed. Heavey was the most valuable player on a team that finished second in the Class AAA state tournament after winning the title in 2013. Miller was injured during her junior season but returned to the Maryville lineup in 2014 and had 14 shutouts while allowing less than a goal per game. UTC will open its 2015 season on Aug. 23 against Austin Peay at Finley Stadium.
Support Staff
* Bryan College recently hired Brian Nelson as head athletic trainer and TJ Zinke as an assistant athletic trainer, and 2015 Bryan graduate Wesley Sanders is the Dayton school's new sports information director. Nelson has a bachelor's degree in athletic training from Indiana Wesleyan and a master's in exercise science from Toledo, and he has spent the past three years as an assistant trainer at Houghton College in New York. Zinke will start work on Aug. 3. He is coming from Covenant College after completing a graduate degree in athletic training at UTC in 2014; his bachelor's is from Wheaton. Sanders grew up in Dayton and graduated in 2011 from Rhea County High School, where he took part in basketball, tennis and cross country. He also played in USTA tournaments. His Bryan degree is in exercise health science, with minors in business and Biblical studies, and he was a student leader in several capacities and did a senior internship with Bryan athletic director Taylor Hasty. "It was a natural transition," Hasty said in a school release. "Wes is a wonderful young man who is full of ideas and passion. He will do a great job for us because he cares deeply about Bryan College, Lion athletics and the local community."