020818

SPRING SEASON PREVIEW

Photos by Adrien Terricabras / The Daily Beacon

Volume 135 Issue 8

utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon

Thursday, February 8, 2018

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The Daily Beacon • Thursday, February 8, 2018

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

SOFTBALL THE DAILY BEACON STAFF

EDITORIAL

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Lady Vols utilizing motivation, facing tough 2018 schedule Noah Taylor

Contributor

The Tennessee women’s softball team is set to begin its 2018 campaign in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday in the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State University.

Tennessee suffered an untimely exit in its 14th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season at the hands of conference foe Texas A&M in the Knoxville Regional to cap off a 48-12 season and a 16-7 mark in league play.

While the 2017 season was certainly touted as a success, the No. 12-ranked Lady Vols hope to use their season-ending loss as motivation for a run to Oklahoma City this season.

“It was tough to get over it,” co-head coach Karen Weekly said. “When you get that close in a super regional, and you win the first game and you have one more game to win, it’s just within your grasp. It’s not easy to get to the (Women’s College) World Series. I hope it fuels the fire for them this year.”

While co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly hope that last season’s abrupt ending will motivate their team going forward, the schedule will not get any easier.

In addition to playing in the SEC — a conference that sent all 13 teams to the postseason in 2017 — the Lady Vols will face 33 teams on their 56-game schedule that made the NCAA tournament last season.

They’ll face some top, out-of-conference softball programs right out of the gates, competing in the heart of Pac-12 country for the first several weeks of the season.

“I think I made the schedule really tough this year,” co-head coach Ralph Weekly said.

“We’re opening with ASU (Arizona State) and Utah this week, two very strong teams … and a lot of really good teams out of conference.

It’s going to be very challenging for the early part of the season.”

Although expectations of making deep runs into the postseason are nothing new for the Lady Vols program, there is an expectation, even beyond Knoxville, for the team to make a legitimate run at not only an SEC crown but at a Women’s College World Series title as well.

Tennessee is returning one of the most experienced rosters in the SEC, and co-head coach Ralph Weekly says that is what excites him about his team ahead of the season.

“We’re really excited about the upcoming season,” Ralph Weekly said. “Looking at our team on paper, we’ve got a lot of experience back. We’ve got 12 letter winners, eight players who have started a lot of games.

“We’ve got the SEC Freshman of the Year coming back with Caylan Arnold, and we’ve got Matty Moss, who has been a very successful pitcher for us.”

FILE - The Tennessee Volunteers softball team during the NCAA super regionals at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on May 28, 2017.

Adrien Terricabras, File / The Daily Beacon From an offensive standpoint, Tennessee and sophomore Caylan Arnold. returns senior shortstop Meghan Gregg, who Moss recorded 26 wins to just three losses led the team in offensive production in 2017 in 2017, striking out 193 batters for a .176 with 15 home runs, 79 RBIs (a program ERA on the year. record) and a batting average of .437.

“We always have pretty great chemistry Gregg’s batting average and RBIs both because we have great leaders,” Moss said. ranked nationally, at 10th and second, respec- “We’ve all committed to a certain standard tively. that we’re supposed to uphold, whether it On the injury front, they will have to look be how we’re running our drills to how we to replace the production of the team’s second perform on the field.” most productive offensive player in junior Behind Moss is sophomore Caylan Arnold, Brooke Vines, who underwent shoulder sur- who is coming off of an impressive season in gery in the fall and has an unclear timetable which she was named SEC Freshman of the for return.

Year. The Maryville alum went 20-9 in the In Vines, both coaches are faced with the circle and finished with an ERA of 2.01. task of replacing a player who batted .385, hit “I learned so much about myself freshman six home runs and brought in runners with year,” Arnold said. “Just about the strike zone 59 RBIs. and the hitters and what I have to do to be a “She (Vines) has been one of our top better player. I’m really happy with how far offensive producers,” Karen Weekly said. “But I’ve come as a pitcher.” it’s an opportunity for somebody to step up Tennessee will play its first 17 games on (who) has been ‘waiting in the wings’ (and) the road, mostly in tournaments on the West maybe just hasn’t seen an opportunity... to Coast. The team’s home opener will take shine.” place on March 2, as the Lady Vols play host “We talk all of the time about people pre- to Charleston Southern, Toledo and South paring every day like they are going to start. Alabama in the Tennessee Invitational.

It’s up to somebody on our team to take that From there, they’ll jump into the SEC slate. role. It’s wide open for them to do it.”

Co-head coach Ralph Weekly expects the conSophomore outfielder Jenna Holcomb ference to have an even better season in 2018. is also expected to contribute heavily to “This league is just growing leaps and Tennessee’s offensive production. In her fresh- bounds,” Weekly said. “The coaches in this man season in Knoxville, the Los Alamitos, league are all good, and they are tough to California, product finished with a .365 bat- compete against. We want to make a serious ting average, an impressive nine-game hitting run for this conference title this year. We want streak down the stretch and a total of 18 RBIs. to make a serious run for the World Series.

Outside of the offense, the biggest key to “We may start a little slow, we may start being successful in the SEC is often a team’s a little fast. We won’t know until we get out pitching staff, and in 2018, Tennessee returns there. It’s what happens in May that’s imporone of the most potent in junior Matty Moss tant.”

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

Thursday, February 8, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

3

SOFTBALL

2018’s softball team position-by-position breakdown Noah Taylor

Contributor The expectation of competing for a trip to Oklahoma City in May is nothing new for co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly and the Tennessee softball team.

The Lady Vols will once again enter a new season with a plethora of expectations to make a run through the ever-competitive SEC and reach the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015. The key to getting there will be the players Tennessee returns on the roster.

In 2018, the Lady Vols are set to return with experience. 12 letter winners from the 2017 season, including junior pitcher Matty Moss, top offensive producer and senior Meghan Gregg and SEC Freshman of the Year and pitcher Caylan Arnold. Tennessee may have the tools for a championshipcaliber team.

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of who will take the diamond for Tennessee this spring.

Pitching: Pitching is the most instrumental piece in

determining a team’s success, especially in the weekly grind that is the SEC, so it’s no surprise that we start the breakdown here.

The Lady Vols will bring back one of the most potent staffs that will take the circle in the conference this season, led by junior Matty Moss.

In her sophomore campaign in 2017, Moss tied for first in the SEC with 26 victories, placed fourth in the league with 193 strikeouts and led the team with a 1.76 ERA (currently ranked third in program history).

With a career mark of 38-8 overall, her success will be crucial to the team’s performance going forward.

“I think we’re ready,” Moss said of Tennessee handling the pressure and expectation that comes with the No. 2 billing in the SEC. “I think we’ve earned that second preseason (ranking), and we’ll continue to earn that and eventually get to number one.”

And it certainly helps to have the 2017 SEC Freshman of the Year in sophomore Caylan Arnold second in the rotation with a season of experience under her belt.

Pitching is what drives the engine in fast-pitch softball,” Karen Weekly said.

“Caylan (Arnold) and Matty (Moss) have both improved a lot in the offseason. I think

you’ll see Caylan just going from a freshman to a sophomore, there’s always improvement there.”

In addition to returning two experienced players to the pitching staff, both coaches are confident in the abilities of freshman pitcher Gabby Sprang, a native of Rosemount, Minnesota. “(Sprang) is actually very different from anybody on our roster,” Weekly said. “She’s left-handed, which is really nice for us to have. We haven’t had a lefty here in probably 10 years. She throws really, really great pitches down the zone. It’s going to be really nice to add that kind of versatility to our staff.”

Infield: The headliner of the Lady Vols’ returning infield in 2018 is senior sensation Meghan Gregg, who will contribute heavily to Tennessee as both an infielder at shortstop and at the plate as a hitter. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist has a career batting average of .374 to complement 39 home runs and 191 RBIs. “What Meghan (Gregg) has really improved on and what she has worked really hard at is becoming a better leader for our team,” Karen Weekly said. “And I think that’s

I think we’ve “earned that second preseason (ranking), and we’ll continue to earn that and eventually get to number one.”

Mattey Moss, junior something that takes a really special person to do, because every athlete can become pretty good at taking care of themselves, but when you can take care of your teammates while not letting your game diminish at all, that takes a lot of maturity.”

See SOFTBALL on Page 4

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The Daily Beacon • Thursday, February 8, 2018

SOFTBALL

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

FILE - Matty Moss, #1, during the NCAA super regional game against Texas A&M at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on May 28, 2017.

Adrien Terricabras, File / The Daily Beacon

SOFTBALL continued from Page 3 In addition to Gregg, Tennessee will rely on freshman play in the infield in the absence of one of its top offensive producers, junior All-SEC second-teamer Brooke Vines, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery and has no timetable on her return.

“Brooke (Vines) had a shoulder procedure done in the fall,” Karen Weekly said. “So we’re still waiting that out. I don’t think you ever replace somebody with Brooke’s kind of skill set. But, like on any team, that’s an opportunity for somebody to step up.”

Incoming freshman Ashley Morgan, from Douglasville, Georgia, is expected to contribute at first base as well as in the circle for the pitching staff, according to Ralph Weekly.

Freshman Amanda Ayala and junior infielders Haley Bearden and Katie Weimer will all share catching duties with junior catcher Abby Lockman.

Weimer comes to Knoxville by way of Buffalo, New York, where she made the MidAmerican Conference all-freshman team in 2017 as well as Buffalo Softball Rookie of the Year.

“The pitchers have been working really hard at bringing me pitches,” Weimer said.

“The windups, the catchers have been working a lot with them with some new pitches.

Every single group has brought something different to the team. They’ve done a really good job of stepping up and playing their role.”

Outfield: In the outfield, Jenna Holcomb will look to build upon a solid freshman showing in 2017. The California native started last season with a 10-game hitting streak, the longest by any freshman in school history.

Holcomb finished third on the team with a batting average of .365 and had an impressive showing in last season’s Knoxville Regional, part of the NCAA Tournament, with nine hits and a .450 batting average to cap off an impressive individual performance in the postseason.

Joining Holcomb in the outfield will be returning players sophomore Tianna Batts, senior Sheridan Allen, sophomore Cailin Hannon and sophomore Treasury Poindexter.

Freshmen Ashley Morgan and Amanda Ayala will also split time among infield positions (first base, pitcher and catcher, respectively).

The No. 12 Lady Vols will open the season on Thursday, Feb. 8, as they travel to Tempe, Arizona, to compete in the Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State.

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

Thursday, February 8, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

5

BASEBALL

New staff, experienced leadership crucial for 2018 Vols Blake Von Hagen Staff Writer

The Tennessee baseball team is preparing for a challenging 2018 schedule, including 19 games against teams from the 2017 NCAA tournament, under first-year head coach Tony Vitello.

Vitello’s team will play 56 games, with 33 to be played at home, in his inaugural season with the Vols. The schedule will be met by a young roster that only has two seniors on the team.

“It’s a young team, and those guys (the freshmen) are going to have to form collectively as a group,” Vitello said.

The two seniors on the squad are catcher Benito Santiago and outfielder Brodie Leftridge.

Their importance to this team cannot be emphasized enough by their teammates and coaches.

“Being able to have those guys in the program, those are the ones who are important — showing you the ropes and bringing everyone together,” sophomore pitcher Garrett Stallings said.

Santiago played in 33 games last year, batting .250 with 20 RBI. He is eager for one more season alongside Leftridge and the Vols.

“We’re extremely excited to come in and

take over the team and to have them follow our steps,” Santiago said. “I feel extremely honored to be back and being able to lead the team in the right direction.”

Vitello says that Leftridge, who has 75 career starts to his name, is vital to helping the younger guys and to be a leader on the team with Santiago.

“A freshman is going to listen to Brodie (Leftridge) more than he is me,” Vitello said. “I don’t care how well I state it.”

Behind the trio of pitchers, there are more young arms hoping to get a shot.

“I think the whole staff, whether it’s bullpen or starters, the theme seems to be a lot of usable arms,” Vitello said. “By May you want to lean on your best seven or eight.”

Until May rolls around, there are sure to be many guys jockeying for time on the bump.

The pitchers will be led by pitching coach Frank Anderson, who brings 34 years of coaching experience with him to Tennessee. Vitello refers to Anderson as the “daddy” of the Tennessee pitching staff.

“We have a book printed off of all the guys that have been drafted that Anderson has coached,” Vitello said. “We show that to recruits, and it is pretty impressive.”

Another critical aspect of the coaching staff that Vitello has compiled is the addition of former-Tennessee and MLB catcher J.P. Arencibia, who is now the student assistant coach.

Arencibia joins another former Vol standout in Todd Helton, who is in his second year as the director of player development for the team.

Vitello says that Arencibia and Helton can provide things for the players that he cannot.

“I can give them a few insights from my experience of being a college coach,” Vitello said. “But those two guys are impressive to have around. It’s great to get their autographs, but they really round out our staff well.”

As a unit, the Tennessee players say that their new coaching staff brings a positivity with them that was not evident last season.

“It’s been a complete 360,” Santiago said.

“There has been a lot more positivity; we have been having a lot of fun.”

Now, the Tennessee baseball program can hope this attitude change will lead to different results on the field from last year. A guiding principle for Vitello’s team during the 2018 season: put in the work and have fun watching the effort pay off.

“Nothing is more fun than winning,” Vitello said. “If you do put in that preparation and hard

Garrett Stallings, #27, of the Tennessee Volunteers during the game against South Carolina at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on March 18, 2017.

Adrien Terricabras, File / The Daily work, you’d like to think there is going to be some fun times in the locker room postgame.”

Tennessee will open the season with nine straight home games, beginning with a threegame series against Maryland from Feb. 16 through Feb. 18.

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The Daily Beacon • Thursday, February 8, 2018

BASEBALL

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

Baseball 2018 Positional Breakdown Blake Von Hagen Staff Writer

As the 2018 college baseball season approaches, the Tennessee program will prepare for its first season under head coach Tony Vitello. During its upcoming campaign, the squad will likely be known for its youth at almost every position.

Here is a look at the positional breakdown for the Vols: Pitchers/Catchers: The pitching staff will be led by several key contributors from the 2017 season.

Junior Will Neely enters the season as the most experienced pitcher on the staff, appearing in 39 games during his career, including 14 starts. The Knoxville native went 3-1 last season with a 3.43 ERA and is expected to battle for the Sunday starter position for the Vols.

Sophomore Zach Linginfelter will look to improve on a freshman campaign in which he made six starts and 22 overall appearances en route to a 3.67 ERA. His 61 strikeouts last season are the most of any returning pitcher, and he will also compete for a spot as the Sunday starter.

“It’s about time to get everything going,” Linginfelter said. “We have been grinding out the fall, and then going home for winter break … It’s just good to be back with everyone.”

Garrett Stallings, a sophomore, pitched in 20 games last season and made eight starts for the Vols. He went 3-4 and threw 39 strikeouts during his freshman season.

“This fall I definitely prepared as a starter from the get-go,” Stallings said. “I think just go out there and compete, I mean that is what they (the coaches) have instilled.”

Junior Daniel Vasquez compiled a 2-1 record with 30 strikeouts in the 23.1 innings he pitched during his sophomore season.

Junior Richard Jackson, sophomore Connor Darling and sophomore Will Heflin will all look to improve on their limited action last year.

Freshman Redmond Walsh and sophomore Alex Harper-Cook both redshirted during the 2017 season but will compete for playing time during the 2018 campaign.

The pitching staff will also be bolstered by eight newcomers, headlined by Garrett Crochet, Chase Wallace, Wyatt Stapp and Brandon Trammell.

Benito Santiago is expected to start behind the plate for the Vols. One of two seniors on the roster, Santiago played in 33 games in 2017, hitting .250 with 20 RBI. “I feel extremely honored to be back and being able to lead the team in the right direction,” Santiago said.

Redshirt sophomore Nico Mascia will challenge Santiago for playing time behind the plate.

Infielders/Outfielders: The biggest adjustment to the infield will be when sophomore Andre Lipcius moves to shortstop after starting all 52 games at first base last year. Lipcius was named to the 2017 All-SEC

I feel extremely “honored to be back and being able to lead the team in the right direction.

”

Benito Santiago, senior Freshman team last year and leads all returners with 53 hits, 32 runs, 11 doubles, 26 RBIs and nine steals.

“I feel a lot more comfortable than I did before.

Just getting used to everything at the higher level has been a big change, but it feels good,” Lipcius said.

Lipcius’ twin brother, Luc, started the last 19 games of the 2017 season for the Vols. He is battling for the first base spot after primarily playing right field last year.

Sophomore Pete Derkay finished third on the team last season with a .288 batting average. He started 50 of 52 games and will probably play a plethora of positions around the infield this year.

Freshman Wyatt Stapp came on the scene during the fall. Coach Vitello says he has come back stronger since the break, helping bolster his spot as the third baseman.

“So while he was in a good position to play for us every day, I think he improved that position or solidified it,” Vitello said.

Sophomore Brandon Chinea is the favorite at second base after starting just four games last season while playing in 16 others.

The outfield will be anchored by senior Brodie Leftridge, who has played in 108 career games for the Vols, including 75 starts. Leftridge has 66 hits, nine doubles, seven triples, 20 RBI, 14 stolen bases and 41 runs scored. He is expected to start in center field.

“It was just good that these coaches gave me another opportunity to come back here and just clear my name and have another opportunity to show the Tennessee baseball fans who we really are,” Leftridge said.

Sophomore Justin Ammons started 47 games last season and batted .250 with two home runs, 11 doubles and 15 RBI. He will likely start in right field for the Vols.

Sophomore Jay Charleston is the probable left field starter after starting 12 games for the Vols last season.

Freshman Zach Daniels was ranked the No. 9 outfielder in Georgia last year and will probably see significant playing time in the outfield this season. Freshmen Evan Gilliam and Gunner Ricketts will also battle for time in the outfield.

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

Thursday, February 8, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

7

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Analyzing the Lady Vols’ 2018 tournament scenarios Will Backus

Staff Writer Last year, the Lady Vols had a relatively underwhelming postseason.

They entered the SEC Tournament as the fifth seed, meaning they did not play their first game in the tournament until the second round in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 2, 2017.

In their first contest, they faced No. 12 seed Alabama in a contest that most fans and analysts expected the Lady Vols to win with relative ease.

However, the Crimson Tide were able to take care of business against Tennessee, 72-64.

Still, Tennessee, holding a 19-11 record at that point, did enough to earn a fifth seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. In the first round, held at the YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee faced off against No. 12-seed Dayton.

The Lady Vols were able to down the Flyers 66-57 to advance to the second round of the tournament. This time, though, fourth-seeded Louisville awaited Tennessee at the same venue.

The Cardinals were able to knock Tennessee out of the tournament, besting the Lady Vols 75-64.

This season, No. 11 Tennessee (19-4), with just six games left in the season, is eyeing a much more favorable finish than last year’s.

“It’s a different feel,” head coach Holly Warlick said during the team’s media day before the season. “You’ve got different kids, different coaches, so I think that helps.”

The Lady Vols have an entirely different team this season, with chemistry that senior players say is better than ever. They are an arguably stronger team as well, with quality wins against

then-No. 2 Texas and then-No. 9 South Carolina.

Seniors Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell have been stout leaders for the team this year, and the four freshmen that comprised the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class for 2017 have all been heavy and effective contributors for the Lady Vols.

Tennessee’s players attribute a lot of their successes to a deep team chemistry.

“We do a lot of team bonding stuff off the floor as a team,” Senior Kortney Dunbar said on Dec. 6. “Whether it’s playing cards (or) going to dinner, and I think that’s very important.”

And Tennessee team is looking to make a deep plunge into both the SEC and NCAA postseason tournaments.

If the season were to end today, the Lady Vols would be the No. 3 seed in the 2018 SEC Tournament, which will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from Feb. 28 to March 4.

The two teams ahead of Tennessee would be No. 1 seed Mississippi State and No. 2 seed Georgia. If the Lady Vols are able to hold on to the third-seed spot, then they will not play their first game until the third round for game 10 of the tournament on Friday, March 2.

Given this scenario, the Lady Vols would face the winner of game six, which could be any of the No. 6, No. 11 or No. 14 seeds which, currently, would be LSU, Auburn or Ole Miss, respectively.

If Tennessee wins game 10, it would automatically advance to the semifinals to face the winner of game nine, which could be the No. 2, No. 7 or No. 10 seeds — Georgia, Missouri or Arkansas.

Mercedes Russell, #21, during the game against Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 10, 2017.

Adrien Terricabras, File / The Daily Beacon If Tennessee is still alive after the semifinals, then the Lady Vols would advance to the SEC Championship Game, held on Sunday, March 4, at 3:30 p.m. They would face off against the winner of the other semifinal game, which could hypothetically be the No. 1, 8, or 9 seeds, which would currently be Mississippi State, Alabama or Kentucky.

The NCAA Tournament can be slightly harder to predict than the SEC Tournament. During the last top-16 projection on Feb. 1, the Lady Vols were ranked No. 11 overall, which would make them a third seed.

The first two rounds of the tournament, location-wise, are based on the top 16, meaning

that Tennessee would likely spend the first few rounds at home in Knoxville.

If the Lady Vols were to survive the first two rounds, they would advance to the Sweet Sixteen and potentially the Elite Eight. Depending on the region in which the Lady Vols are placed, these games could be played in any of four locations: Albany, New York; Lexington, Kentucky; Kansas City, Missouri or Spokane, Washington.

In the event that Tennessee made it to the Final Four or the Championship, these games would be held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, with the Final Four contests being played on March 30 and the Championship taking place on April 1.

TRACK & FIELD

Track and field splitting up to tackle separate events Noah Taylor

Contributor

The Tennessee track and field team will split up on Friday, with some athletes heading back to compete at Clemson and others traveling to Seattle to compete in the Husky Classic, hosted by the University of Washington.

Tennessee director of track and field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan discussed the challenges of bringing her squad out West to Pac-12 territory.

“We’ve got some challenges,” Alford-Sullivan said. “We have a pretty heavy travel day, and then we’ll start racing all day on Friday and Saturday. Then we’ll go into a mini-distance high-level competition where colleges will send

their best runners to race against the best. We’re excited to be going.”

Headlining the Vols in Seattle will be junior Zach Long, who broke a school record in the 3,000 meter with a time of 7:59:15 at the Bob Pollack Invitational at Clemson two weeks ago.

“Zach Long will run the 3,000 (meter) again,” Alford-Sullivan said. “He’ll try to better his own school record and try to accomplish some things and then we’ll fill out with developmental, firsttime guys going out there in the 3,000 (meter) and 5,000 (meter).”

Multiple other Vols put forth strong performances at the Bob Pollack Invitational, with junior Stamatia Scarvelis winning both the shot put and weight throw competitions and Georgios Korakidis setting a freshman program record for distance in the weight throw (19.66 meters).

Those athletes will look to capitalize on that momentum in the coming events.

While the Vols will be busy on both sides of the United States this weekend, they had a week off to prepare. Alford-Sullivan was pleased with her teams’ preparation heading into this weekend.

“We had a good week,” Alford-Sullivan said.

“We really utilized the time that we had to train hard, we had weekend practices this past weekend. We went all the way through and utilized as much as we could, simply because there was no travel, no interruption. We got seven days of practice cycle going. We trained hard and trained heavy.”

Heading into what will be Tennessee’s sixth meet of the indoor season, Alford-Sullivan is looking for some of her athletes to take the next step for the first time this season.

“I think we have that all over the place,” Alford-Sullivan responded when asked who she thinks will have a first big performance this week.

“We’ve got Felicia Majors, who’s ready to run very fast in the women’s 400 (meter). Nathan Strother, who I think is in the top 15 right now, but I can move to the top five in the 400 (meter).

I think both of our men’s and women’s relays are doing well, but I think they can take another step forward and do much better.”

The distance runners will head to Seattle on Wednesday and begin competing Friday through Saturday. The jumpers, throwers and sprinters will begin competing at the Tiger Paw Invite at Clemson on Friday and will also wrap up on Saturday before heading back to Knoxville.

8

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, February 8, 2018

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

PUZZLES&GAMES

Thursday, February 8, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

9

STR8TS No. 1082

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3

9 5

3 4

1 3 8 2 5 9 7 4 6

6 4 5 8 3 7 2 9 1

8 1 9 6 2 5 4 3 7

5 7 6 4 8 3 9 1 2

4 2 3 9 7 1 6 8 5

7 8 1 3 9 6 5 2 4

9 6 4 5 1 2 3 7 8

3 5 2 7 4 8 1 6 9

7R FRPSOHWH 6XGRNX ÂżOO WKH ERDUG by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

5 1 8

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

Š 2018 Syndicated Puzzles

4

5 Dungeons & Dragons or Final Fantasy, for short 8 It has tiny tines

15 Actress London of TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Gameâ&#x20AC;?

Previous solution - Tough

9 5 8 1

ACROSS 1 Movie lot?

13 Relative of sake

No. 1082

2

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD â&#x20AC;˘ Will Shortz

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts, Sudoku and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store at www.str8ts.com

16 Sparkle

30 Option for a roll

1

31 Neighbor of an Ethiopian

13

36 Their heads and feet are usually the same distance from the ground

18 Focal point: Abbr.

21 Enemy of CONTROL on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Get Smartâ&#x20AC;?

39 Points of contact?

25

44 Closing bit of music

28

49 Profess

23 Barely relevant

51 Deg. for a jurist

25 Person who came out of the blue?

52 Spark

27 Band that really rocks, appropriately?

55 Check out rudely

28 Onomatopoeic mint name

S H O A T

P U E B L O

C A N A P E

G A S B I L L

E S P A N O L

E X C E L S M O P E T W A

T R I N I M A R I N A

6

7

8 15

19

20

22

23 26

9

10

11

33

34

35

12

24 27

29 31

30 32

36 39

40

41

37

42

43

45

56 Pieces of furniture with many shelves

H A N O O M A N N C T L Y S K M E S S O N K E R K E R G E W I A N S E S S B E O P E R R E T O D E A D

L A Y A W A Y P L A N

K O R B E L

A T A B T A E Y

J A N E I M A X M A T T T I E R E O N O U N D A R S N R A D C E B U R L U P E A S E O X E S L E D E S

38 44

46

48

49

52

53

55

56

57

58

53 Creek language

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE M A C L E A N

5 14

17

18 21

48 Winning QB in the first N.F.L. playoff game to go into sudden-death overtime

20 Room with a Vue, perhaps

4

37 Comicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concern

47 Like derby entrants

19 Stomach

3

16

45 Oprah Winfrey Network show about a family farm

17 Wired

2

47 50

51 54

59

PUZZLE BY ERIK AGARD

57 Viperidae family member 58 This is an issue 59 Uplifting literature DOWN 1 Fair play 2 They might be used in making hops

10 Decree 11 Wailersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sound 12 Prepares to weed, perhaps 14 Word after safe or side 15 Superior stadium spot

3 Volkswagen coupe

22 Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual delivery to Cong.

4 Big name in talks

24 Fix, in a way

5 Convened anew

26 Female singer with the second video ever shown on MTV

6 Eat with no enthusiasm 7 They leave carbon footprints 8 Home to shooting Stars 9 P.R. piece?

29 32 men are found in it 32 Calif. school near the Mexican border

33 Targets of a 1932 â&#x20AC;&#x153;warâ&#x20AC;? in Australia 34 Jedi knightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rival 35 Course participant 38 See 46-Down 39 Eagle constellation 40 Bugged for money 41 Cleared for landing?

42 Quit using 43 Put a backup copy on 46 With 38-Down, Diana, e.g.

50 Removable locks 54 Lead-in to folk or soul

10

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, February 8, 2018

NATIONAL SIGNING WR

TE

SDE

ALONTAE TAYLOR

JACOB WARREN

JOHN MINCEY

6’ 0” 184 lbs Manchester, TN

6’ 6” 211 lbs Knoxville, TN

6’ 4” 255 lbs Homerville, GA

WR

OT

WDE

CEDRIC TILLMAN

JAHMIR JOHNSON

JORDAN ALLEN

6’ 3” 205 lbs Las Vegas, NV

6’ 5” 278 lbs Yuma, AZ

6’ 4” 230 lbs San Francisco, CA

DT

RB

ATH

BRANT LAWLESS

JEREMY BANKS

JOSEPH NORWOOD

6’ 3” 285 lbs Nashville, TN

6’ 2” 215 lbs Cordova, TN

6’ 1” 170 lbs Chattanooga, TN

SDE

PRO

KUROTT GARLAND

JT SHROUT

6’ 3” 250 lbs Conyers, GA

6’ 3” 190 lbs Newhall, CA

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW

Thursday, February 8, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

DAY SIGNEES 2018 OG

TE

QT

OLLIE LANE

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON

JEROME CARVIN

6’ 5” 285 lbs Corryton, TN

6’ 5” 245 lbs Yuma, AZ

6’ 4” 330 lbs Cordova, TN

K

DT

OLB

PAXTON BROOKS

GREG EMERSON

JJ PETERSON

6’ 5” 170 lbs West Columbia, NC

6’ 3” 280 lbs Jackson, TN

6’ 2.5” 231 lbs Moultrie, GA

OT

DT

DT

TANNER ANTONUTTI

KINGSTON HARRIS

EMMIT GOODEN

6’ 5” 273 lbs Nashville, TN

6’ 3” 285 lbs Bradenton, FL

6’ 4” 295 lbs Independence, KS

S

CB

TREVON FLOWERS

BRANDON DAVIS

6’ 1” 185 lbs Tucker, GA

5’ 11” 160 lbs New Orleans, LA

11

12

The Daily Beacon â&#x20AC;¢ Thursday, February 8, 2018

SPRINGSPORTSPREVIEW