The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is in second place at 13-over-par 301 – just three shots behind leader Furman – after Sunday’s first round of the Southern Conference women’s golf tournament at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Pooler, Ga.
The Mocs were led by a 2-over 74 from freshman Monica San Juan, whose strong back nine has her tied for third and three shots behind leader Alice Chen of Furman. UTC’s Megan Woods is one shot behind San Juan and tied for fifth, with teammates Emily McLennan and Cris Perez tied for seventh at 76. The Mocs are four shots ahead of East Tennessee State, with Samford a distant fourth at 319. The tournament, originally slated for three days, will end today with 36 holes because of the threat of inclement weather Tuesday.
– The Dalton State College women’s golf team tees off today in defense of its Southern States Athletic Conference tournament title at Montgomery (Ala.) Country Club. Coach Jim McGrew’s Roadrunners, ranked third in the NAIA, won the 2015 SSAC event by 21 strokes with a 36-hole 599 on the same course, and first- and second-place individual finishers Caroline Griffin (144) and Julia McQuilken (145) are among his returning players. Other nationally ranked teams taking part are No. 10 Coastal Georgia, No. 18 William Carey and No. 25 Mobile.
Tennis
– Sewanee men’s tennis coach John Shackelford registered his 500th victory with the Tigers’ 7-2 win Saturday over Birmingham-Southern. After Sunday’s 5-0 defeat of Millsaps, Shackelford is 501-280 for his 31-year career.
Softball
– UTC swept a SoCon doubleheader at Western Carolina on Sunday, winning 4-3 and 12-2 to take the weekend series after falling 3-0 Saturday. Alyssa Coppinger’s RBI single in the sixth broke a 3-3 tie in the opener and the Mocs (22-20, 4-5) held on as Kailey Palazzolo (7-5) finished off a complete-game win in which she struck out five. Coppinger finished 3-for-3, Sam Taylor had a two-run home run and Amanda Beltran was 1-for-1 with two walks, one of which brought home a run. The Mocs outhit their hosts 15-5 in the second game, with Sam Taylor 4-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Criket Blanco was 3-for-4 with a double, Ashley Conner was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, Alyssa Taylor was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Katie Corum was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Amanda Ross had a two-run homer and Anyssa Robles added an RBI single to support winning pitcher Cori Jennings (10-7), who worked all five innings and allowed one earned run while striking out two.
– Lee University won 13-10 Sunday to finish a Gulf South Conference series sweep at Union University, with Leigh Beatenbough (8-8) the winning pitcher in all three games. Lexie Dean, Amanda Lynn and Annabeth Pruett each had three hits, and Dean and Pruett each added three RBIs for the Lady Flames (21-22-1, 7-18-1).
– Sewanee was swept Sunday in a doubleheader at Centre, losing 12-0 and 8-0 to fall to 5-17 overall, 0-15 in the Southern Athletic Association.
Baseball
– Lee completed a GSC series sweep at Union University with an 11-1 victory in eight innings Sunday. Luke Toms was 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Tyler Payne was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Ben Holland had a two-run homer for the Flames (23-14, 13-9). Trenton Hill (5-2) allowed two hits in seven innings.
– Tennessee Wesleyan, No. 8 in the NAIA, finished an Appalachian Athletic Conference sweep of visiting Bluefield with Sunday’s 12-3 win. Paulo Montezuma was 2-for-3 with a walk and four RBIs to lead the Bulldogs (29-9, 16-2).
– Sewanee lost 9-8 Sunday in its SAA series finale at Oglethorpe. Jackson Cooper, Drew Mancuso and Ryan Poole each went 3-for-5, with Mancuso and Poole each driving in two runs for the Tigers (3-32, 2-16).