Dalton State basketball player Deshawn Ruffin will go through his senior season as the vice-chair of the NAIA Association of Student Athletes. He's currently the president of the Southern States Athletic Conference Leadership Council, and he's played in a school-record 85 games. "Being nominated to be vice-chair of the NAIA ASA is an honor," Ruffin said in a school release. "I take pride in being the best student-athlete I can be, and to work with so many other student-athletes that feel the same way is a once-in-a-lifetime experience." The ASA gives athletes a voice in NAIA decisions and serves as an advocacy group. "Deshawn Ruffin is a coach's dream," Roadrunners coach Tony Ingle said. "He is an excellent student, tough competitor and probably one of the best people you'll ever meet in your life."
Tennis
* The Covenant College women's tennis team will play Methodist for the USA South tournament championship today at LaGrange, Ga., after edging North Carolina Wesleyan 5-4 on Friday, but the Covenant men lost their semifinal to Averett, 6-3. The Scots (12-10) won the top three singles matches: 6-0, 6-4 for Matthew Harvie, 7-6 (7), 5-7, 12-10 for Chris Cox and 6-0, 6-2 for Logan Hull. The women's final will be a matchup of the No. 1 seeds from the West and East. Friday, the Lady Scots won two doubles matches - 8-4 for Claire Luger and Gracie Smith and 8-3 for Annie DeLuca and Jennie Spielman - and got singles wins from No. 1 Aly Hall (6-1, 6-2), Luger (6-3, 6-1) and Spielman (7-6, 6-2).
Baseball
* Rob Gustitus pitched a nine-inning five-hitter with 10 strikeouts Friday as Lee University won 6-0 at Christian Brothers in the first game of their Gulf South baseball series. Drew Johnson and Spencer Mossburg each doubled and singled, Johnson with two RBIs and two runs scored and Mossburg with one of each and two stolen bases, and Peyton Meeker hit a two-run double for Lee (22-18, 10-15). Nathan Wierzgac was 2-for-2 with three walks and scored twice.
* Bryan College scored 10 runs in its first three at-bats and won 11-1 in AAC baseball at Milligan. Fernando Garcia was 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs, Kila Zuttermeister was 4-for-4, Justin Morhardt was 3-for-3 with three doubles and two RBIs and Trevor Behrent was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Lions (28-13, 12-7), while Brandon Marklund pitched an eight-hitter. Reinhardt (31-15, 11-8) won 1-0 over sixth-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan (30-13, 15-4). Pedro Barrios was 3-for-3 in defeat.
* After losing 9-4 to Southwest Tennessee on Thursday, the Cleveland State baseball team won 9-0 and lost 9-6 Friday in their TCCAA series in Cleveland. Thursday, the host Cougars led 4-0 before the Saluqis' seven-run seventh inning. Billy Brand was 3-for-4 and Trey Vanderpool was 2-for-4 in defeat, each with a double, and Devon Gardner homered. Cleveland State's Jake Rogers pitched a two-hitter with 15 strikeouts in Friday's first game, when John Hennen was 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and Sean McDermott was 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, two RBIs and three runs. Brand was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs and John Sharpe also homered for the Cougars (28-13, 11-10). Brand had three RBIs and Gardner was 3-for-3 and scored twice in Friday's loss.
* Sewanee scored four runs in the fourth inning and Drew Mancuso and two ninth-inning relievers made that stand up for a 4-1 SAA win Friday at Centre. Mancuso struck out eight in his eight innings for the Tigers (17-17, 7-8), and Lucas DeSantis got the last two outs for a bases-loaded save. Derek Hullings was 1-for-2 with a two-run single, and Jackson Cooper and Beau Allen each had two hits and scored a run.
Golf
* Covenant is in ninth place at 681 with a round to go in the USA South men's golf tournament at LaGrange, but the Scots' Nathan Hawkins is tied for 25th individually at 153 after a second-round 74. Chattanoogan Wil Manuel of eighth-place Maryville (621) is 31st at 155.