Flames fall 1-0 in NCCAA final and other sports news

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Joao Olveira's rebound goal in the 33rd minute held up as the difference as Southern Wesleyan University edged Lee University 1-0 for the National Christian College Athletic Division I men's soccer championship Saturday afternoon at Kissimmee, Fla. SWU (16-6-2) outshot Lee (13-5-6) 7-2 in the first half, but the Flames had advantages of 6-3 in shots and 6-2 in corner kicks in the second half of the defensive struggle. Tom Halsall made two saves in defeat.

• Beth Morgan from Manchester, Tenn., was one of three Cumberland University women's soccer players honored Friday as NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes for 2013. Morgan is a junior psychology major with a 3.65 grade point average. CU's other two honorees are from Canada.

Volleyball

• Lee University's first volleyball season as an NCAA Division II program ended Saturday in the semifinals of the NCCAA Division I national tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., with a 3-0 loss to top-seeded Point Loma Nazarene. Paula Martins had 15 kills, giving her 104 for five full matches and two one-set playoffs in the tournament, and Camil Martinez had 29 assists and 14 digs in the 27-25, 25-13, 25-23 defeat for Lee (22-11).

Running

• Four of five Bryan College runners who began the indoor track season Friday night on the state-of-the-art hydraulic Mondo surface of Birmingham's CrossPlex recorded personal best times. Alex Stephens was third with an NAIA-meet qualifying time of 8:34 in the first heat of the men's 3000-meter run, and teammate Anthony Simpson was fourth in 8:44, an NAIA B qualifier. Bryan's Madison Yates won the second heat with a PR 9:11, more than seven seconds ahead of the runner-up. The Lady Lions' Hannah Schroeder was fifth in her 3000 heat in 11:13, and Michelle McLeod's 11:32 beat her best time from last year by 11 seconds.

General

• Huntsville Times columnist Mark McCarter will be the guest speaker for the Chattanooga Quarterback Club's noon luncheon meeting Monday at Finley Stadium, and the public is invited. Admission costs $10 with lunch, $4 without. McCarter, a three-time Alabama Sports Writer of the Year, is a Chattanooga native who began his career with the Chattanooga News-Free Press.