The fifth-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan College baseball team not surprisingly is the top seed for the NAIA opening-round series Tuesday through Friday in Kingsport, Tenn., where the Bulldogs came out of the losers bracket to win the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament last week. The playoffs include 46 teams, counting annual host Lewis-Clark State, which will be joined in the NAIA World Series - set for May 27 through June 3 in Lewiston, Idaho - by winners of the nine opening series. Bracketed at Kingsport with TWC (45-12) are Middle Georgia State (39-16), St. Thomas (35-20), Indiana Tech (39-18) and Rio Grande (37-23). Indiana Tech will face Rio Grande at 11 a.m. Tuesday, and that winner is scheduled to challenge TWC at 6 p.m. St. Thomas will meet Middle Georgia State at 2:30 p.m.
Sailing
- With a pair of top-two finishes in Sunday's races, Richard Blake came back to win the Scowabunga regatta hosted by Privateer Yacht Club on Chickamauga Lake. It's the third Scowabunga title for Blake, who's from Columbus, Ohio. He was second overall to Chattanooga's Chris Cyrul after Saturday's three races, but they swapped places by the end of Sunday's sailing, which benefited from good wind for the second straight day. Third and fourth places in the event for MC Scows remained the same, with David Henick of Eustis, Fla., and former Chattanooga resident Jonathan Few - who now lives in Charlotte, N.C., but is still a PYC member - in those spots and ahead of Ivan Lopatin of Chapin, S.C. Chattanooga's David Varnell was the 21-boat regatta's top sailor in the Megamaster (70 and older) classification.
Golf
- The 12th-ranked Dalton State College men's golfers will be one of the first three teams teeing off on the No. 1 hole in the NAIA tournament May 24 at TPC Deere Run in Silva, Ill. The Roadrunners play the first two days with No. 1-ranked William Woods of Fulton, Mo., last year's runner-up, and No. 6 Keiser from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The first tee time is 7:30 a.m. CDT. Dalton State features the 2015 national medalist, Sean Elliott. "It will be good to get the national championship started," Roadrunners coach Ben Rickett said in a school release. Also competing as an individual qualifier is Tennessee Wesleyan's Evan Ball, of Benton, Tenn. The Appalachian Athletic Conference player of the year, Ball was the medalist at the AAC tournament while helping the Bulldogs finish second in the 11-team field. Dalton State's third-ranked women, coached by Jim McGrew, will tee off this Tuesday at 8 a.m. with British Columbia and Rocky Mountain in their NAIA tournament in Pooler, Ga. They tied for second last year and also have a reigning NAIA medalist, Julia McQuilken.
Soccer
- The deadline is noon Friday, if spots are available until then, for signing up boys and girls ages 9-17 for a soccer clinic from 4 to 7 p.m. that day at Chattanooga Christian School featuring former U.S. national team members and Major League Soccer standouts Landon Donovan, Brian Ching and Stuart Holden. Founders of HELM Elite Soccer Clinic, they are part of the CFC Foundation Celebrity Weekend in conjunction with the Chattanooga Football Club's 2016 home opener Saturday night against Nashville FC. The clinic price is $175 with a 15-percent discount for siblings, and registration is available at chattanoogafc.com. Any questions should be directed to Hannah Griggs at 503-5175. Autograph and photo opportunities with the three stars are set for 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Stadium Club at Finley Stadium; photos with individuals cost $55, with families $85, and spots should be secured by registering online. The weekend also includes a 5k, Kiddie K and family fun run.