Chattanooga’s Wes Cash finally lost in a national final. The Manker Patten tennis pro and Mike Tammen from Portland, Ore., fell 6-4, 7-5 to Californians Ross Hessler and Jon Tyrell in the USTA Men’s 55 National Grass Courts doubles final Monday at Pontiac, Mich. Cash had won back-to-back golden slams of the four national titles with Virginian Mark Vines and Tammen in the age group, including two grass championships with Vines, but had not played nationally in a couple of years. Cash said in a text that they were “outplayed by one of the best teams I’ve ever played against.”
Auto Racing
* Steve Dowdy of Ringgold won the $2,500 top prize Saturday night at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip with a final clocking of 4.96 seconds on a 4.95 dial in his new dragster powered by a 577-cubic-inch Scott Shafiroff engine. The strip veteran of more than 20 years also won the rainout race. In the headline race decided by mere inches, Dereck Pickle of Red Bank was second with a 4.98-second run on a 4.97 dial in his Steven Farrow-built Chevy dragster. Strip Hall of Famer L.C. Bigham added to his 500-plus win total there with the Foot Brake victory on an 8.36-second run on an 8.34 dial in his 1978 Dodge Swinger. Marty Goldsmith of Ringgold was second with a 7.95 run on a 7.95 dial in his 1976 Dodge Charger. Jake Clayton of Ooltewah was the Junior Dragster victor with a 7.92 run on a 7.20 dial, and Kaleb Winters from Soddy-Daisy was second. Kevin Rodden from Cleveland had the low elapsed time (4.54 seconds) and fastest speed (143.25 mph) of the meet.
Golf
* Freshman Meghan Symonds and senior Emily Javadi led the Sewanee women’s golf team to 18- and 36-hole program records of 307 and 298 for a 605 that beat Southern Athletic Association opponents Oglethorpe and Berry by 68 and 71 strokes Saturday and Sunday on The Course at Sewanee. Symonds shot a 3-under-par 144 with a second-day 70 in her first collegiate event, and Javadi, who’s from Chattanooga and Baylor School, was second among all individuals with a 150. The Tigers had eight of the best nine finishers, with freshman Sophie Morill at 156, sophomore Brook Vann and senior Alison Eleey at 161, Sarah Battye at 162 and Natalie Javadi and Mary Elizabeth Benton at 164.