The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golfers were eighth out of 15 teams but only five strokes from first place with a 4-over-par 292 in the first round Friday of the Mason Rudolph Championships in Franklin, Tennessee. The Mocs were at par and one shot out of first going into their final hole, No. 9, at the Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course but took four bogeys there. Esme Hamilton and Dorota Zalewska led UTC with even 72s, and Maddy McDanel and Rheagan Hall each shot 74. Kirsty Beckwith carded a 76 playing as an individual. Vanderbilt and Houston shared the team lead with 287s, one ahead of Central Florida and North Carolina, and Charlotte was fifth at 289 with Clemson and Mississippi State at 291. Mercer was one behind UTC and one ahead of 10th-place Auburn.
Volleyball
* UTC dropped to 5-7 in volleyball with two losses Friday in the Virginia Tech Invitational, but the Mocs battled the host Hokies before falling 3-2 by the set scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-7. UTC's Gylian Finch had 15 kills, 19 digs and three aces, Maddie Halsey had 45 assists and 10 digs, Megan Kaufman had 18 digs and Maia Rackel, Dani Szczepanski and Brianna Anderson added 12, 11 and nine kills. Brenna Everingham had 10 digs. In a later 3-0 loss (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) to Charlotte (8-6), Szczepanski floored 13 kills and Sarah Root was next with eight, while Halsey contributed 33 assists and 10 digs and Kaufman and Bailey Bennett had 14 and 10 digs.
* Lee won both of its matches Friday in its Lee Invitational - 3-1 (25-9, 25-15, 15-25, 25-15) over Concord from West Virginia and 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) over Emmanuel from Georgia. Setter Hanna Matthews totaled 75 assists in the two wins for the Lady Flames (6-3), who face Shepherd (10-0) from West Virginia today at 3 p.m. Matthews had 42 assists and 12 digs against Concord, when Bailey Kress collected 12 kills, Abby Stroh had 10 kills, 15 digs and four aces, Quinne Daoust added eight kills and Micaela McMichen had 16 digs. Against Emmanuel (3-5), McMichen had 22 digs and Stroh had 19 plus 11 kills, while Mary Katherine Givhan also had 11 kills, Kress and Daoust downed nine and eight and Hannah Longley contributed 17 digs.
* Chattanooga State ended its four-match volleyball winning streak with a 3-0 loss (25-11, 25-11, 25-17) Friday in its TCCAA opener at Walters State, the reigning league champion. Kayla Ford had 29 digs in defeat for the Lady Tigers (4-2), while Dakota Rawiszer had 13 assists and Brieana Hemphill took part in five blocks.
* Tennessee Wesleyan lost 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 15-10) at Bluefield in an Appalachian Athletic Conference match Thursday but got 15 kills on a .684 attack percentage plus four block solos and six block assists from Avery Hilliard. Also for TWU (1-10, 1-5), Marjorie Smith had nine kills and 12 digs, Kalyse Garrett 36 assists and 13 digs and Tia Madden 23 digs. Bluefield is 1-14, 1-5.
* Despite 22 kills, 25 digs and three aces by Gigi Ford, Bryan College fell 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 15-11) at Martin Methodist on Thursday. Anna Owens added 14 kills and Rheagan Kean had 31 digs for Bryan (9-6), while Jaleigh Rogan had 27 assists and 13 digs and Jennifer Keck had 20 assists.
Soccer
* Covenant College improved to 5-0-1 in men's soccer, 2-0 in the USA South, with a 2-0 home win Friday over Piedmont. Josh Brower scored unassisted in the 31st minute and Jake Major converted an Aaron Riggs assist in the 88th, and Paul Lemay made three saves in the shutout. The Scots outshot Piedmont (2-2-1, 1-1-1) by a margin of 20-5, 8-3 on goal.
Cross Country
* Division III member Covenant finished fifth out of 15 men's teams and ninth out of 14 women's Friday in the Wingfoot Cross Country Classic in Cartersville, Georgia. Division I university South Alabama won both races. Covenant's Brendan Yeager was 19th in the men's 8-kilometer event.
Compiled by Ron Bush. Contact him at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.