ATHENS, Ga. – Former Baylor School golfer Brooke Pancake shot a 4-under-par 68 in the first round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on Friday, which helped her Alabama team shoot a 10-under 278 and take a six-shot lead over Georgia with South Carolina another shot behind in third. Pancake, a senior, trails Crimson Tide teammate Jennifer Kirby by two strokes for the individual lead.
Wrestling
• Heavyweight Kevin Malone, a redshirt freshman who led the team with 25 wins, was named “most improved” at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling banquet Friday. Nick Soto, who had a 4.0 grade point average along with John Lampe, was named freshman of the year; Dean Pavlou and Kelly Felix were co-winners of the Ethan Reeve Workhorse Award; Pavlou (3.609) received the Pat Murphy Academic Award; and senior Dan Waddell received the Jim Morgan MVP plaque. Waddell, Brandon Wright, Felix, Manny Ramirez, Joe Burns and Demetrius “Bucky” Johnson were senior honorees although Johnson has applied for an NCAA hardship and may return next year. Southern Conference champions Soto, Pavlou, Waddell and Wright plus Levi Clemmons represented UTC at the NCAA tournament.
Football
• The funeral service for former Brainerd High School star quarterback Bill Romans, the backup at Auburn to Pat Sullivan, is set for 11 a.m. today at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, followed by burial in Hamilton Memorial Gardens. Romans died Monday at age 62. Over the years he shifted his athletic abilities to outdoors pursuits and enjoyed an annual hunting trip to Wisconsin, among other activities. The family suggests memorial contributions to charities of the donors’ choices.