Sports

TTU sports wrap-up

Shaq Calhoun rises above a Kennesaw State defender, Bryson Lockley, in the Golden Eagles 82-68 victory.

Track:

The track team participated in the Vanderbilt Indoor Opener in Nashville on Dec. 2.

Fifteen athletes finished in the top 10 positions in 11 events. Junior Na’Asha Robinson won the 400-meter dash, and finished in second place in the 200-meter dash.

Teauna Anderson, Khemani Roberts, Cierra Tate, and Purity Sanga competed in their first track events, with Sanga having won the OVC Freshman of the Year honor for her cross-country efforts earlier this year.

The team is scheduled to resume their season on Jan. 6 at the Purple and Gold Classic in Clemson, South Carolina.

Women’s Basketball:

After winning their first two games of the season, the women’s basketball team have yet to win a game since.

Victories over Tusculum College, Cumberland University and Tennessee Wesleyan at home marked the only victories of the season. The team has fallen to Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee State, Radford, Georgia, Wright State and Kentucky since the victory over Wesleyan.        

The team is scheduled to play their next five games at home, welcoming IUPUI to the Hooper Eblen Center on Dec. 10, Winthrop on Dec. 19, Lipscomb on Dec. 21, Morehead State on Dec. 28, and Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 30.

TTU women’s basketball had only two early commitments during the early signing period, according to TTU Sports Information.

Hannah Garret from Clarkrange High School in Jamestown, Tennessee signs with Tech after being named to the Class A All-State team, as well as two district and two regional titles with the Clarkrange Buffaloes. Garret is listed as both a forward and a guard, allowing some room for growth under coach Kim Rosemond.

The only other early signee is Taylor Lamb, a power forward from South Greene High School in Greenville, Tennessee. South Green won the TSSAA Division I Class A championship in 2016 and 2017, with Lamb winning the tournament Most Valuable Player trophy both times.

Men’s Basketball

After defeating Lipscomb at the Hooper Eblen Center on Nov. 29, the basketball team has lost two games.

The team, currently in the middle of series of road games, lost to Furman on Dec. 2, Dayton on Dec. 6 and again to Central Michigan on Dec. 9.

The team is scheduled to resume play on Dec. 17 in their first home game since late November, when Chattanooga comes to the Hooper Eblen Center.

The men’s team signed three recruits for the 2018 class during the early signing period, according to TTU Sports Information: Garrett Golday, Jr. Clay, and Caden Mills.

Golday, a forward from Arlington High School in Arlington, Tennessee, earned a Class-AAA-All-Metro team honor on the way to helping Arlington win the District 14-AAA Regular Season title.

Clay, a point guard from Chattanooga’s McCallie High School earned multiple All-State and All-Region awards during his career. He was a TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Basketball Award finalist during the previous season, as well as being named MVP of the “Chattanooga Times Free Press” Best of Preps Tournament.

Point guard Caden Mills of Spencer, Tennessee’s Van Buren County High School rounds out the 2018 TTU basketball signing class. Mills scored over 2,000 points during his time at Van Buren, as well as being named to the Best of Preps Second Team in his senior season for his part in helping the school to it’s third consecutive TSSAA Region 3-A championship.

Golf

The golf teams will welcome four new signees next semester, one woman and three men, according to a release from the TTU Sports Information Department.

Women’s

Heidi Lawson of Northview Academy in Kodak, Tennessee joins a team that is not scheduled to lose any graduating players this semester. Lawson won the Sevier County Championships and regional titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Men’s

Bryce Beeler of Maryville High School in Maryville, Tennessee joins the men’s team after a three-time All-Blount County career in high school.

Cade Puryear of Riceville, Tennessee brings championship experience to the team, having been a part of three team district titles at Walker Valley High School, as well as individual championships at the district and regional levels.

Chance Taylor is the only non-Tennessean to join the team, having won District Player of the Year all four years of his career at Gate City High School in Gate City, Virginia. He also won All-Region honors twice and was named Regional Player of the Year on one occasion.