Led by a 3-under-par 69 from A.J. Lintunen, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golfers climbed four spots into a tie for seventh with their collective 288 Monday in the East Bay Deli Classic at Turtle Bay on Kiawah Island. The Mocs go into the final round at 586, two shots out of fifth and 13 out of second in the 21-team event. Auburn leads by 17 at 556. Litunen is tied for 19th at 144 in the players' scores, with UTC's Oliver Simonsen tied for 29th at 146 and Leon Bader and Connor Nolan (playing as an individual) sharing 39th at 147. Will Porter is at 149, Matt Smith at 152. Nolan carded a 70 and Simonsen a 71 on Monday.
Football
* For the fifth time this season, UTC running back Ailym Ford received honorable mention Monday for the STATS FCS national freshman of the week. He also won the national award once. This time he was recognized for his 179 rushing yards on 21 carries in the Mocs' 35-20 loss to 13th-ranked Furman. Ford leads all NCAA Division I freshmen with 119.1 rushing yards per game, which is the sixth best average for all FCS players. He is 18 yards short of Mike Smith's UTC freshman record of 1,090 from 1977.
Basketball
* Tennessee Wesleyan began Appalachian Athletic Conference basketball play Monday with a home doubleheader against Allen University from South Carolina. The Wesleyan men lost 78-67 and the Lady Bulldogs fell 76-64 after losing 64-59 to Ave Maria on Saturday. In the Bulldogs' loss, Ty Patterson had 23 points and seven rebounds and Bryant Bernard and Lorenzo Gatling scored 13 points each, while Jamesio Rhine collected nine rebounds and three steals. The TWU women got 13 points from Hannah Cherry and seven rebounds from Hannah Troutt against Allen, but the team shot 30.4% from the field and 59.3% on free throws, compared to 46% and 92.3% for the visitors. Chloe Yearwood scored 17 points Saturday, when Jordan Wright added 10.
* Bryan's Lady Lions won the highest-scoring game in program history 113-102 on Saturday against the fast-paced Bethel Pilots from Indiana. They met in the Union College Classic in Barbourville, Kentucky, and Bryan, which went 31-2 last season and is ranked No. 20 in NAIA Division II, rose to 3-0 for 2019-20. Shayla Ludy had 23 points and seven rebounds in the win, while freshman Kaitlynn Hennessee had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Destiny Kassner also scored 21 and Sarah Cain contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.
Soccer
* The Dalton State men's soccer team scored three first-half goals, the last two by Tom Bentham, and beat Martin Methodist 3-1 in a Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday. Zachary Perry scored first, and Kevin Villatoro, Taeylor Fisch and Santiago Moore had assists for the Roadrunners (12-4-1, 4-3). Martin Methodist won the women's game 5-0.
* Bryan freshman goalkeeper Igor Espleter was chosen the AAC men's soccer defensive player of the week for his part in the Lions' 2-1 victory over Milligan in an AAC tournament quarterfinal. The Brazil native totaled four saves in the game.
Volleyball
*' Bryan junior Rheagan Kean from Chattanooga was selected the AAC volleyball defender of the week for the fifth time this season for her42 digs in six sets. She had 26 digs in a 3-0 defeat of Tennessee Wesleyan.
* Covenant College freshman Jess Chesrown is the USA South volleyball rookie of the week for her 15 kills and four blocks in an important 3-1 win over Piedmont on Saturday. The Lady Scots are seeded third from the West Division in the league tournament and face Piedmont again in their opener at 6 EST tonight at Montgomery, Alabama. The winner will meet host Huntingdon at 8:30.
Softball
* Moe's Southwest Grill in Fort Oglethorpe is hosting a UTC Softball Spirit Night this Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. Mocs players and staff members will be there to interact with the public.