Baylor divers qualify for J.O. national meet

Friday, July 8, 2011

MOULTRIE, Ga. - Baylor Diving Club representatives Emily Pelletier and Marissa Roth in the 14-15 girls' age group and Madison McCoon in 14-15 boys all qualified Thursday in platform diving for the Junior Olympic national meet, even though Baylor doesn't have a platform in its aquatic center. Those three all will compete Saturday and Sunday in 1- and 3-meter diving at the Zone Championships at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center, and 11-under girls' teammates Eva Binder and Megan Burnette participate today in 1-meter competition. The top 12 in each age group qualify for the nationals, and Pelletier finished fifth, Roth 10th and McCoon ninth in their respective platform divisions. They practice once a month in Knoxville, where the nationals will be held July 29-Aug. 6 at the University of Tennessee's Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

GOLF

• GALLATIN, Tenn. - After winning the 10-14 age group of the Girls' Junior Amateur golf tournament last year, Chattanooga's Blakesly Warren leads the 15-18 division going into the final round of this year's event at The Club at Foxland Harbor. Warren shot a 2-under-par 70 Thursday and at 144 has a one-stroke lead on Clarksville's Samantha Gotcher and Knoxville's Allie Knight. Hixson resident Jessica Cathey, who finished third last year, moved into a tie for fifth at 149 with a 69, and her Soddy-Daisy High School teammate Haley Cothran is 10th at 153. Signal Mountain's Lauren Johnson is at 155, tied for 12th, and Ooltewah's Samantha Griffith is tied for 16th at 158. Benton's Lydia Triplett and Signal Mountain's Haley Davidson are at 169 and 170, and McDonald's Sloane Rakestraw and Signal's Jenny Adkins are at 176 and 178. Lenoir City's Kayland Boling leads the 10-14 girls by four strokes after her second successive 76.

• NASHVILLE - Alcoa's Grant Daugherty stretched his lead to five strokes with a 69 Thursday in the Tennessee Junior Amateur Championship at Harpeth Hills Golf Course. Knoxville's Kory Webb is second at 140. Cleveland's Clark Melton is tied for ninth at 146 after a second-round 74, and Chattanooga's Brooks Thomas shares 14th place at 149 after a 76. Another Chattanoogan, Scott Stevens, is tied for 20th at 150 after a 74, and Harrison's David Weeks and Athens' Tyler Reynolds are at 153 and 157. Also from the Chattanooga area, Drew Mays is at 163, Jacob Clark at 164, Jake Dailey at 165 and Patrick Armor at 175.

• ATLANTA - Defending champion Lee Knox of Augusta took the first-round lead in the 90th annual Georgia Amateur Championship with a 3-under-par 67 Thursday at Cherokee Town and Country Club. LaGrange's Ridge Purcell is second at 68. Dalton's David Noll Jr., the 2003 champion and reigning GSGA player of the year, is tied for 13th at 71 along with Calhoun's Chad Wilson. Dalton's Will Morrow opened with a 78.

• Three University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfers are set to play Wednesday through next Saturday in the 105th Southern Amateur at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla.: two-time Southern Conference golfer of the year Stephan Jaeger plus all-conference Benni Weilguni and SoCon all-freshman selection Davis Bunn. Another Moc, junior Steven Fox, and high school teammate Steve Lee from the University of Memphis finished second in the recent Tennessee Four-Ball Championship at the Links at Kahite at Vonore. Weilguni tied for 16th at 280 and Bunn shared 21st place at 282 in the Rice Planters Amateur at Snee Farm Country Club at Mount Pleasant, S.C., and another UTC sophomore, Chris Robb, tied for ninth in the East of Scotland Amateur (after being tied for second through three rounds), tied for 19th at the Tennant Cup and tied for 28th at the Cameron Corbett Vase, also in his native Scotland.