The USA South Athletic Conference, which includes Covenant College, announced Tuesday that it has postponed competition in the fall semester sports sponsored by the NCAA Division III league - football, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball - until the spring semester as the coronavirus pandemic continues to alter local college schedules. Covenant participates in each of those activities except football, and the Lookout Mountain program also has decided to forgo intercollegiate competition this semester in men's golf and men's and women's tennis, sports in which the Scots play some events in the first half of the academic year, although the majority of those schedules are played in the spring, when championship competitions are held. According to the conference's news release, in addition to "the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases throughout the USA South's geographical footprint," reasons for the delay include "the availability, cost and feasibility of adequate and consistent testing for student-athletes." In the Scots' release, athletic director Tim Sceggel noted the Scots do plan to have student-athletes on campus during the upcoming semester to practice, which will not affect their eligibility. The release also noted that men's and women's basketball, which starts during the fall semester, is not currently affected.
* The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Council of Presidents voted Tuesday to postpone the national championship events for most of its fall semester sports - men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball - until the spring semester. The NAIA includes Appalachian Athletic Conference members Bryan College in Dayton and Tennessee Wesleyan in Athens, as well as Georgia's Dalton State College in the Southern States Athletic Conference. The NAIA release noted that member conferences are still allowed to compete in the fall and winter if they choose. The AAC issued a release last week stating that it planned to hold fall semester sports; the SSAC has not made an announcement regarding its plans.
Tennis
* The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has revealed its 2020 scholar-athletes and all-academic team award winners for all three divisions of NCAA competition, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (D-I), Lee University (D-II) and Sewanee (D-III) received men's and women's team recognition in each case by having a combined GPA of 3.2 or better with all varsity letter winners factored in for the academic year. Additionally, for having a GPA of at least 3.5 for the academic year, individual scholar-athlete recognition went to: UTC women - Callie Billman, Grace Anne Dunavant, Lilly Holmes, Emma Van Hee, Jessie Young, Bohdana Zaporozhets; Lee men - Drew Johnston, Bruno Medeiros, Nico Ramirez; Lee women - Madeline Benson, Lauren Good, Lisa Kirr, Micaela Belen Maiz, Dana Moreno, Carley Sickinger, Lauren Trammell, Matina Ujdur, Larissa Wieser; Sewanee men - Jordan Brewer, Andres Carro, Aubrey Davis, Hugh Graham, Meade Olson; Sewanee women - Jordan Besh, Ellie Czura, Emma Smith, Taylor Sprouse, Sydney Wray.
Baseball
* Lee and Sewanee were among 427 programs from all levels of high school and college recognized as American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award winners for 2019-20. ABCA members with a GPA of at least 3.0 for the academic year are recognized annually, though spring semester grades were not required for nomination this year due to many schools implementing pass/fail policies amid the pandemic. Sewanee's release noted the Tigers, who had a 3.3 GPA, received the honor for the fourth straight year.
Compiled by Marty Kirkland. Contact him at mkirkland@timesfreepress.com.