Local combo team wins Southern title

Friday, January 1, 1904

A 6.5 senior men's combo tennis team from Chattanooga breezed to the nine-state Southern Sectional championship in Mobile, Ala., last weekend. Tony Bartley, the champions' captain, said the wind was really strong in the Friday-Sunday event. "We only had a three-hour rain delay, but the wind was awful. I'd never played in a wind like that," Bartley said. "It made it very interesting." The team that also included Gary Shields, John Blake, Thomas Carter, Ed Coffey, Del Ottinger, Don Rutledge, Steve Sherbak, Alan Walker and Bartley's twin, Terry, who lives in Memphis, beat teams from Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama and North Carolina in pool play and then defeated Mississippi for the championship. All the guys played in at least two of the five team matches, the captain said. "They don't have nationals for combos, so this was as high as we could go. There were 1800 players there," he added. Shields is captain of the 6.5 adult men's team that qualified for Sectionals with the same players as Bartley's, but tournament officials said they needed two more players for both teams to compete because of the possibility of playing at the same time.

Golf

• ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- The defending champion University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team is eighth out of 18 teams going into the final round of the 2012 JMU Eagle Landing Invitational tournament, but the Mocs' Jordan Britt is tied for fifth individually at even-par 144 after shooting a 74 on Saturday. She is three shots behind leader Kaylin Yost of Campbell. South Florida is the team leader at 8-over 584, one shot ahead of Maryland and 12 better than third-place Illinois. UTC is at 607 with Maria Juliana Loza tied for 24th at 150, Marion Duvernay at 156 and Mette Kryger at 157.

Basketball

• MADISONVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Temple University men's basketball team lost 84-81 in double-overtime to top-seeded Trevecca Nazarene in the National Christian College Athletic Association Mid-East Region championship game Saturday at Hiwassee College. Temple's Crusaders had edged Bluefield in three overtimes on Friday. Saturday, Dorian Smith scored 19 points and Germeil Daniels had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders (15-16), and Weedlens Beauvil had 13 points and 10 rebounds. John Reik added 11 points and Jarrett Smith was 0-for-9 shooting but recorded 13 assists. Michael France and J.P. Nyadaro had 24 and 20 points and 10 and 12 rebounds for Trevecca (20-11), an NAIA Division I team, and Marquise Rudolph had 18 points, six assists and four steals. Rudolph hit two free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 63, and France hit a tying 3-pointer with 16 ticks left in the first extra period. The Trojans finally had the late lead in the second OT, going up 84-78 before Corey Sanders hit a 3-pointer for Temple with one second to go. At Temple, Bluefield beat Oakland City 64-47 in the women's region final with Kia Gillard scoring 21 points. Rinesha Soaper had 21 in defeat.

• JACKSON, Tenn. -- The nationally 10th-ranked Walters State women and the Columbia State men won the TCCAA/Region VII basketball championships Saturday and the NJCAA Division I national tournament berths that go with them. The Lady Senators beat Columbia State 50-32 after the Columbia men edged Motlow State 59-56.

• Times Free Press columnist Mark Wiedmer will be the guest speaker for the Chattanooga Quarterback Club's noon luncheon meeting Monday at Finley Stadium, and the public is invited. Attendance costs $10 with a meal, $4 without. Wiedmer will be discussing the NCAA tournament that begins this week.