Wednesday February 8, 2023 - Spring Sports Preview

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Sports Editor: Tennessee baseball is cool

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

Last season, Tennessee baseball garnished sellout crowds nearly every weekend as the Vols put together one of the greatest regular seasons in college baseball history.

Even in the freezing February weather, fans piled into Lindsey Nelson Stadium to see Tennessee clobber mid-majors behind a plethora of home runs and dominant pitching.

What drew these abnormally large crowds? Guys like Evan Russell, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck, Trey Lipscomb and others.

Why did fans like this group so much? Well, they were really, really good at baseball, for one. But they were also cool guys.

I am sure that fans would have latched on to last year’s team no matter what, but I am convinced that the thing bringing them back week after week was the swagger that each player brought every time he walked up to the plate or to the mound.

It made the game fun to watch. Even when Tennessee was up 10+ runs, which happened nearly every game, fans stayed glued to their

seats to see what their favorite players were going to do next.

The hands-over-the-face celebration for doubles, the fur coat that players donned after home runs, the daddy hat – man, that team was fun to watch.

They also embraced the fact that they were the villains of college baseball.

“We definitely embrace it,” Gilbert said on Tennessee being the villain after a win over Vanderbilt. “We don’t care if people are yelling at us. We kind of like it.”

And that villain role was embraced by head coach Tony Vitello, too. Vitello and his team were going to run up the score, celebrate like they just won the World Series, and they didn’t care what you thought about it.

That emotion that the team brought is what made them so fun to watch. You could tell how passionate they were about the game and how much they loved winning.

The Vols played and acted in an unconventional way that baseball elitists probably frown upon, but Tennessee fans live for.

When Vitello chest bumped an umpire last season against Auburn, he had the support of his entire dugout and the thousands of fans inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

When Beck hit a double over the head of a Georgia Tech outfielder and proceeded to

give him a not-so-friendly gesture with his finger, he encapsulated what all the fans in that stadium were feeling that night.

While Beck, Russell, Gilbert, Lipscomb and many of the other guys that made Tennessee baseball so cool last season might be gone, I have no doubt that the younger guys from last year probably learned a thing or two and will keep this tradition alive.

So here’s to more fun baseball, even if it makes baseball purists angry.

Asst. Sports Editor: Never a dull moment

ERIC WOODS Assistant Sports Editor

This time a year ago, I was two weeks into my first beat covering men’s tennis. It was also the time I took my first big step in pursuing a career in what I have loved my whole life: sports

I was scared - scared of doing a bad job, scared that I was in over my head and scared that it was a pipe dream. Besides, I hadn’t done much writing, and my portfolio was a whopping three articles.

After a couple months of doing nothing, I just went for it. It was my dream, and it still is.

Since then, I’ve been blessed to cover sports that I enjoy watching and playing: tennis, football and basketball. I’ve also had to cover sports that I’m not so familiar with: soccer, track and swimming. Even covering those sports, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Watching people perform to the best of their abilities thanks to a lifetime of hard work is truly a sight to behold.

That brings me to my next challenge. It’s baseball time in Tennessee. Those five words used to not have much ring to them. However, in just five seasons, Tony Vitello has made those words mean something to a fanbase

difficult to woo.

I’m not a baseball fanatic by any means. The last game I watched was game six of the 2021 World Series. So, starting Feb. 21, the thought of spending 15 of the next 22 days covering baseball while trying to keep up with March Madness doesn’t exactly get me leaping for joy.

However, the best things come when you least expect it, so I’m keeping an open spot in my heart for baseball. If there’s one thing I love more than watching people doing things to the best of their abilities, it’s doing things to the best of mine.

This is my dream. I’m not scared — maybe a little nervous, but I see it as a time for growth. Whether that’s growth in my writing or how I see baseball.

One thing I’ve been able to do in my time with the Beacon is sit back and observe. I’ve seen a fanbase full of so many different people rally around its team as a unified body and voice. I’ve seen moments that define greatness. What’s to say baseball won’t be any different.

We are in the Golden Era of Tennessee sports and I’m happy to be a part of it. Nothing is boring. In the past year, I have covered four teams ranked in the top 10 and two of them were No. 1. With baseball, that number now jumps to five with potential to be a third

No. 1 team.

It’s a proven fact that this Tennessee baseball team is fun to watch — polarizing, but fun.

It’s time to experience a new side of college sports. There’s never been a dull moment in my time with the Beacon covering UT sports, and I don’t expect things to be any different as baseball rolls around.

Fans cheer on the Vols on as they defeat Georgia Tech and move on to the NCAA Super Regional. Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon

No. 27 Jordan Beck and No. 2 Jorel Ortega celebrate after a home run against Alabama State on Friday, June 3, 2022. Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon

Tennessee set to see top-15 foes in five straight series

season No. 3 Florida will travel to Rocky Top for a chance at revenge after getting swept and bested in the SEC Championship by the Vols.

Following a program record 57 wins and SEC regular season and tournament titles, the No. 2 Vols look to reload for their 2023 slate. However, in a season full of so much triumph, the one thing that leaves a gaping hole is the absence of a trip to the College World Series in Omaha.

While Omaha is the ultimate goal, Tennessee faces a 56-game slate in preparation for the postseason. The Vols will play 38 games at home, 15 on the road and three at neutral sites.

Tennessee will kick things off in Phoenix at the Desert Invitational for a three-game slate from Feb. 17-19. The Vols will face Arizona, Grand Canyon and UC San Diego.

The Vols will take a short two-day break and head back to Knoxville to open a 15game home stand from Feb. 21-March 14 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium beginning with a two-game series against Alabama A&M and ending with a matchup against Lipscomb.

From there, Tennessee will begin its SEC title defense by heading to Missouri from March 17-19.

The Vols will head home for a matchup with West Carolina on March 21 before embarking on the gauntlet of their SEC slate. With matchups against UNC Asheville, Eastern Kentucky and Texas Tech sprinkled in, Tennessee will face preseason top-15 opponents for the next five series.

From March 24-26 the Vols welcome preseason No. 7 Texas A&M to town. The

Aggies are one of two teams that made it to Omaha last year that Tennessee will play.

The Vols will close out March and open April in Baton Rouge for a potential battle of No. 1 and No. 2 and face top-ranked LSU, who had both the top recruiting and transfer class this offseason and boast one of the most talented rosters in college baseball.

Back at Lindsey Nelson, rival and pre-

Tennessee will head back out on the road for a matchup with preseason No. 11 Arkansas. Along with Texas A&M, the Razorbacks were the other team on the Vols schedule that made the trip to Omaha. Both were in the semifinal round of the tournament, but ultimately came up short. Arkansas was a win away from the finals but lost two straight heartbreakers to Ole Miss, who took home the World Series title.

The gauntlet ends back in Knoxville on April 21 against in-state rival and preseason No. 6 Vanderbilt, whom the Vols swept last season for the first time since 2000 and knocked out of the SEC Tournament.

Tennessee will be able to somewhat coast for the remainder of the season with series against Mississippi State, Georgia and Kentucky before ending the regular season in Columbia to face South Carolina from May 18-20.

The SEC Tournament will be held from May 23-28 in Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama and if all goes according to plan, the NCAA Tournament will run from June 2-26.

ERIC WOODS Assistant Sports Editor

Chase Dollander (11) pitches against Campbell University at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Kailee Harris / Contributor

Vols bullpen highlighted by returning starters, depth

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

Tennessee lost some of its talent in the bullpen at the end of last season with Blade Tidwell, Ben Joyce, Will Mabrey and Mark McLaughlin going to the draft and veteran closer Redmond Walsh’s career finally coming to an end.

But the Vols also return all three weekend starters from last season in Chase Burns, Chase Dollander and Drew Beam. The three bring experience after getting a year at Tennessee under their belt and are bound to lead the Vols to success again this season.

In his freshman season, Burns went 8-2 in his 10 starts, recording 103 strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA. Dollander went 10-0 on the season and recorded 108 strikeouts with a 2.39 ERA. Beam, the Vols’ Sunday starter, went 8-1, picking up 62 strikeouts and a 2.72 ERA.

The pitching competition is different from last season. Rather than having a group of pitchers in the hunt for starting sports, Tennessee heads into the season already having that group established.

“I think this deal is a little different because you have some guys that are a little more proven,” head coach Tony Vitello said in a preseason media availability. “I think for the bulk of the competition, we kind of know what we got. It’s just a matter of where do we think guys help the team most and then how are the guys going to capitalize on the opportunities we give them starting in Arizona and then after.”

While Burns, Dollander and Beam bring experience as starters, the Vols also have a veteran presence coming out of the bullpen in Camden Sewell.

Sewell, a fifth-year right handed pitcher, proved to be one of the best relievers on last year’s team, picking up seven wins and a 2.52 ERA.

But more than a good arm, Sewell offers veteran leadership that is much needed for a team that lost a handful of upperclassmen last year.

“Guys now can say ‘I’ve been there, I know what this looks like, this is how you do it,’” Vitello said. “And it kind of all filters to Camden Sewell.”

Tennessee also brings back Seth Halvorsen, a Missouri transfer who missed all of last season with an injury.

Along with Halvorson, the Vols have two other pitchers that are returning to the mound for the first time in a while. Zach Joyce, brother of Ben Joyce, is making his return to collegiate baseball after taking a few seasons off.

Andrew Lindsay will also take the mound for the Vols. The East Tennessee native took a year off from baseball in 2022 after pitching for Charlotte, but followed in Joyce’s footsteps in returning to baseball.

As far as newcomers, Tennessee has 10 incoming freshmen entering the bullpen.

“It’s probably, depth wise, as good of a class as I’ve been around, pitching wise,” Vitello said. Although the new arms will likely have to wait their turn behind already-proven returners in the bullpen.

“We’re blessed with some good arms,” Vitello said. “Those freshmen are going to have to be patient and understand that there’s a natural progression here.”

But just like last year, there is still a chance for freshmen to shine and earn a spot in the rotation.

“We’ll find out where we think they fit in, and the freshman class is going to be fun to work with,” Vitello said. “I know they’re ambitious so

we’ll see which couple, two, three guys jump up and are able to grab some really vital innings for us.”

Catcher competition wide open heading into season

Charlie Taylor returns from last year and has taken ownership of the catcher position preseason. The redshirt sophomore got into 22 games in 2022 while backing up Russell.

Stark slashed .380/.524/.713 while at Weatherford last season.

The days of Evan Russell behind the plate are over for Tennessee Baseball. The outfielderturned-catcher was a staple in the Vols’ lineup during their historic 2022 run.

With the 2023 season approaching quickly, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello is still undecided about who will fill Russell’s shoes.

Jared Dickey, the redshirt sophomore utility player, seemed poised to make the move to catcher. Dickey spent much of his time over the offseason working on his defense behind the plate.

An offseason injury limited Dickey’s work during the fall, and likely contributed to Vitello “steering” him back toward the outfield. Regardless of where Dickey plays, he will find his way into the lineup.

“We have guys like Jared Dickey who can run, he can pinch-hit, he can play the outfield and he’s gotten better behind the plate,” Vitello said.

Dickey slashed .380/.484/.690 last season. The Mount Juliet, Tennessee, native hit seven doubles and eight bombs before injuries curtailed his season. Now, he’s looking to become a leader on a team that lost all eight of its defensive starters.

“I think Jared Dickey has been itching to be that guy,” Vitello said of Dickey’s developing leadership.

Taylor will be a defensive improvement from Russell a year ago, but he won’t be the big bat. He possesses an above-average arm and likely will steal strikes with his receiving ability.

Taylor slashed .056/.306/.083 in 36 at-bats last season. When Taylor was thrust into the lineup to fill in for Russell in the NCAA Regionals a season ago, it gave the 5-foot-10 catcher a chance to build confidence.

“Charlie has certainly taken ownership,” Vitello said. “Last year, him being called upon in the Regional and the reaction he got from the fan base and how well he played, too, gave him a lot of confidence.”

Vitello didn’t confirm a starter behind the plate, but he assured Taylor would see playing time on opening weekend.

“By no means is he our starting catcher on Opening Day, but he will start in Arizona at some point,” Vitello added. “I feel confident in that.”

Vitello also is for the idea of having multiple catchers, particularly two. He’s done it before with Landon Gray and Connor Pavolony.

“If a guy does well, he’s going to play, and at that catching spot, you can only have one guy, but we like to use two,” Vitello said.

While Taylor seems to be the favorite, the Vols have a couple of other guys capable of seeing innings at catcher as well.

Cal Stark, a transfer out of Weatherford Community College, had a solid fall behind the dish.

The Farragut native plays above-average defense and has a lot of experience at the JUCO level.

“Cal can do a lot of different things that we feel are good matchup-wise,” Vitello said.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Miller is another guy learning the catcher position, but can give the Vols some depth. The early enrollee redshirted his freshman year but has impressed thus far.

“Then you throw in Ryan Miller, who is still learning the position,” Vitello said. “He is athletic enough to play corner infield, and he probably takes the most impressive BP out of anyone we have.”

Having four catchers allows the Vols to experiment with different lineups. They also have more versatility to adjust for matchups compared to last year.

“It is kind of nice that each guy is different,” Vitello said. “If you see two guys as very similar, you kind of steer towards the guy that is the better version of Player ‘A,’ but it is a nice complement of guys we’ve got back there.”

At a position known for injuries, Vitello touted how good depth is to have come May and June.

“We’re not NBA guys, so we don’t need the load management, but at that position where you’re squatting, depth is crucial,” Vitello said. “It’s very challenging to go through a whole year just being healthy… It’s tough to go a whole year without missing a game because something pops up here and there. Depth is huge.”

CALEB JARREAU Staff Writer

Tennessee’s Camden Sewell pitches to Georgia Southern in Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Feb. 20, 2022. File / The Daily Beacon

Drew Beam (32) pitches against USC at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on March 20, 2022. Ericksen Gomez-Villeda / The Daily Beacon

6 dates that will make or break softball’s 2023 season

JACK CHURCH Staff Writer

The No. 12 Tennessee softball team looks to build upon a third-placed SEC finish after failing to advance past the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

Pitcher Ashley Rogers and outfielder Kiki Milloy were both selected as second team AllAmericans by Softball America after a successful 2022 campaign.

Tennessee gets the benefit of hosting some of its toughest series in the conference schedule, while the road schedule is heavier in non conference play. These six dates will prove crucial to the Lady Vols’ success this season.

Feb. 10-12: NFCA Leadoff Classic

The Lady Vols will begin their 2023 campaign with a trip to Clearwater, Florida, in the NFCA leadoff classic. The tournament sees Tennessee meeting No. 7 Northwestern and No. 14 Texas among their five matchups in the tournament. Both Texas and Northwestern qualified for the Women’s College World Series last season, with the Longhorns making it all the way to the championship series. Second team All-American pitcher Danielle Williams will lead Northwestern in the circle.

March 10-12: Home Series vs. No. 25 Ole Miss

The Rebels, who finished eighth in the SEC a year ago, open conference play for the Lady Volunteers. Tennessee lost two of its three games in last year’s trip to Oxford. The Rebels return outfielder Tate Whitley, who played in all sixty games last season, recording a .387 batting average. Ole Miss qualified for the NCAA tournament but did not advance past the regional round.

March 24-26: Home Series vs. No. 6 Alabama

Despite earning the No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Crimson Tide did not advance past the regional round of the tournament, losing to Stanford in the process. The two sides last met in Tuscaloosa in 2021, where Alabama won the series 2-1. Returning pitcher Montana Fouts started 26 games a year ago, recording a 2.10 earned run average and holding opponents to a batting average of .193.

the Hokies earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year. They lost to Florida in the super regional round. Junior outfielder Emma Ritter recorded a .400 batting average a year ago, while the Hokies will be led in the circle this season by sophomore pitcher Emma Lemley.

April 22-24:

Home Series vs. No. 5

Florida

The Lady Vols will meet the SEC preseason favorites at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium this season after winning the series held in Gainesville last year. Preseason second team All American Skylar Wallace posted a .386 batting average and eight home runs in a season that saw the Gators advance to the Women’s College World Series. Kendra Falby also looks to build on a season where she stole 36 bases and recorded a batting average of .392.

May 19: Start of NCAA Softball Tournament

April 11: At No. 13 Virginia Tech

The Lady Vols fell to Virginia Tech 5-2 in the front end of the home-and-home series last year at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. After winning the ACC regular season championship,

While nobody is expecting Tennessee to contend with Oklahoma and win the national championship, Lady Vol fans would like to see improvement over last year’s finish, which saw Tennessee lose its home regional to Oregon State. While harsh, most expectations rest on the performance of the team in the tournament, which can be based on luck, as opposed to the regular season.

Lady Vols, facing challenging open, set sights on Oklahoma City

honors, she is more excited to perform in the upcoming campaign.

“It’s crazy that the season is starting already,” Milloy said. “It’s nice having those preseason (awards), but preseason doesn’t mean much to me.”

Led by second-team preseason All-Americans Kiki Milloy and Ashley Rogers, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers will look to qualify for this year’s Women’s College World Series in June.

A year ago, Tennessee finished third in the Southeastern Conference and hosted a regional tournament but were defeated by Oregon State.

High expectations are not unusual for head coach Karen Weekly, who has reached the final stage of the tournament seven times, including a runner-up finish. Weekly, who has been the coach of the Lady Vols since 2002, also has two SEC Tournament championships to her name.

“Every year our goal is to be in Oklahoma City,” Weekly said. “Every year we feel like we have a team that can get there, and then things happen through the course of the year that derail you.”

Weekly cited pitching injuries as a major problem for the Lady Vols but also admitted there was work to do in the locker room.

“We’ve talked a lot about being a stronger, more together team that can withstand adverse situations when they do happen,” Weekly said.

In an interview after an open practice on Sunday, Weekly spoke extremely highly of Milloy

and Rogers, as well as their potential impact on the 2023 season.

“They both have made All-American in their careers, so they understand what it is like to work in order to achieve those awards,” Weekly said.

“They are both big-time competitors. They just

want to win. You could take away every award they have and as long as they are fighting for a championship in Oklahoma City, they are going to be happy.”

Although preseason All-SEC and second team All-American Kiki Milloy was appreciative of her

Starting all 59 games a year ago, Milloy led the Lady Vols with a .362 batting average, 15 home runs and 53 runs batted in. She also stole 31 bases to bring her into a tie for eighth in career stolen base history for Tennessee. Milloy’s performance will be pivotal to the overall trajectory of the 2023 season for her team.

The Lady Volunteers will open their 2023 season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, playing five games in three days. Among their opponents are No. 7 Northwestern and No. 14 Texas, two participants in last year’s Women’s College World Series. Weekly was complimentary of all of Tennessee’s opponents.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge,” Weekly said. “On the first day, we’ve got two teams that were in regionals in Howard and Illinois. It’s going to be a great tournament. It’s going to be a good opportunity for us to get all of our pitchers out there at some point of time and get their feet wet in that kind of competition.”

The schedule does not get easier as the Lady Vols move forward through the season, as Tennessee will face five preseason top 10 teams and three Women’s College World Series competitors.

JACK CHURCH Staff Writer

Erin Edmoundson, 21, pitches during the Lady Vols vs Virginia Tech softball game on April 20, 2022 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Kailee Harris / Contributor

The Lady Vols infield players huddle together before at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. Ericksen GomezVilleda / The Daily Beacon

UT Lady Vols softball cheer Zaida Puni (11) after her walk-off homerun against Texas A&M at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Saturday, April 16, 2022. Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon

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Tennessee men’s tennis leaning on veteran group for success

pushovers. Sophomore Mitsui from Japan is the highest ranked Vol at No. 59 nationally in singles rankings. Junior Monday from England is currently playing at court one in singles for the Vols, meaning he matches up against opposing team’s best.

The Vols are currently living up to their expectations as their record on the year is 6-3 (6-1 at home, 1-2 on the road) with all three losses coming to top-14 teams. They currently sit at No. 10 nationally.

The next step for the Vols is heading to Chicago, Illinois, where they will compete in the 2023 ITA Indoor National Championships against 15 other programs. The tournament takes place February 17-20.

Heading into the tournament, the team and head coach Chris Woodruff are just looking to perform better.

“In the tournament you are getting a shot at at least three ranked opponents,” Woodruff said. “In a perfect world you will get four ranked opponents. It’s good to get experience against the best of the best.”

Hudd, a 2022 ITA scholar athlete and 2022 All-SEC Second Team member hopes to gain the same outcome from last year’s ITA Indoor National Championships Final appearance.

“I think that last year when we made the Indoor National Finals it really gave us a lot of self belief,” Hudd said. “I think that is what we are looking for again this year, to have a successful weekend and give us a jump start into SEC play.”

In a top ranked conference like the SEC you need an experienced team to give an edge to yourself the competition doesn’t have.

and overall solitude that the conference possesses.

“Florida and Tennessee is arguably the biggest one. It’s a historical rivalry so getting to play in that match brings a lot of emotion and excitement,” Hudd said. “I think we take everyone seriously and don’t overlook anyone. Every match in the SEC is a big one.”

Playing in the SEC means that you aren’t playing for yourself, but you are playing for your team.

“It’s all about helping the team where I can,” Hudd said. “I’ve played a lot of college tennis and I know how important it is to give everything for the team.”

The 2023 Tennessee tennis team is looking to go the distance behind a veteran stacked group. Seniors and graduate students make up nine of the 11 members of the team and they are looking to use their veteran presence going into SEC and tournament play.

Vol seniors and graduate students include Blaise Bicknell, Angel Diaz, Pat Harper, Emile Hudd, Boriz Kozlov, Martim Prata and Tomas Rodriguez.

The two outliers of the group are Shunsuke Mitsui and Johannus Monday, and they aren’t

“Currently all I am looking for is better play,” Woodruff said. “We’ve been really inconsistent across the board, and by that I mean one day the guys will come out and play well and the next day you don’t know what you are going to get.”

The team has one goal heading into Chicago.

“We just want to play consistently as a unit,” Woodruff said.

The goal on the weekend is of course to win, but they look to gain experience that will help them later down the road in the SEC and NCAA tournament.

“We have quite a few grad students on the team,” Hudd said. “It helps with experience. We have all been here before and been through an SEC season and know how grueling it is.”

A rigorous SEC schedule kicks off for the Vols on March 2 as they travel to Auburn, Alabama, to begin the 12-match SEC season prior to the SEC tournament.

Woodruff has set some goals and reminders for his team heading into SEC play.

“Keep the ball in play, be strong, be tough, take it one day at a time and try to get a little better,” Woodruff said.

Hudd is excited for SEC play and the rivalries

Hudd’s biggest goal for the remainder of the season is to try and be the best team player that he can possibly be.

“I think if I can be the best teammate possible and have success on the court that will help the team then that would be my biggest goal,” Hudd said.

The Vols have a busy schedule ahead of them and redemption is on their minds from last season’s fourth place regular season finish at 8-4 in the SEC and disappointing end to last season after amassing the No. 1 overall ranking. You can look for the Vols to lean on their veterans to carry them all the way to the NCAA Championships in May.

KERRY WILLIAMS Contributor

Shunsuke Mitsui backhands the ball during a match against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. Cole Moore / Contributer

PHOTOS: Women’s Tennis defeats WCU

Junior Lauren Anzalotta prepares to serve, going on to win her match versus Western Carolina 6-2, 6-1.

Graduate Rebeka Mertena and Junior Esther Adeshina fist bump during their 6-0 win over Western Carolina. At Goodfriend Tennis Center. Feb 1, 2023.

Freshman Leyla Britez Risso celebrates after a hard fought point against Western Carolina.

Lauren Anzalotta and Ashtin Hara support each other after a play.

Graduate Daria Kuczer smiles after an impressive volley during a doubles match against Western Carolina.

CAMBREE GLIESSNER Contributor

SPRING

Vols to Watch in 2023

Returning players are critical for a well developed team. These athletes had success in 2022 and return to compete again.

RyleighWhite

Sparta, New Jersey

Innings pitched: 7.0 vs. Dartmouth Collected 26 strikeouts

Blaise Bicknell

Kingston, Jamaica

Singles: 7-5

Doubles: 5-1

Kayla Gholar

Richmond Hill, Georgia

Outdoor Track personal records:

1500m: 4:31.89

3,000mSC: 10:21.69

Chase Burns

Gallatin, Tennessee

Innings Pitched: 7.0 vs. Ole Miss

Strikeouts: 11 vs. Ole Miss

*All stats are from 2022 season

Students headed to Super Bowl

In 2020, Trey Smith watched Kansas City win the Super Bowl as a student athlete with the Big Orange Combine program. This year, students will travel with the program to see Smith on the field for the Chiefs.

10 UT students were selected to head to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona on Feb. 12 to see the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles go head to head as part of the Big Orange Combine. The program selects five student athletes in the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center and five students from Haslam College of Business.

Senior human resources major Mallory Redmond is among the 10 students departing on Wednesday to work at the mostwatched sporting event in America.

“For me, to go to the Super Bowl is a once in a lifetime opportunity that [UT] has given me. I’m so excited. I never thought in my life that I would go to a Super Bowl,” Redmond said.

At Super Bowl LVII, the Big Orange Combine group will work with Super Bowl Experience, going through the exhibits around the Super Bowl, helping fans through their journey and ensuring they have the best experience possible.

As a human resources major, professionally, Redmond is looking to make the most of this chance as well.

“[Human resources] really focuses on the people— making sure they’re happy and problem solving for employees, so this will help me problem solve by making sure everyone has a hospitable experience,” Redmond said. “I’m hoping to meet a lot of people, not only professionally, but the other students going with me.”

Additionally, she is looking to explore a more specific area in her potential career path – human resources in sports.

“It’s important because I’m going to be able to immerse myself in the sports industry and culture and I’m never going to have that experience again,” Redmond said. “This is the biggest sporting event of the year … not many opportunities come by like this.”

Junior Doneiko Slaughter will also head to Arizona. Slaughter is studying management and is also a cornerback on the football team. Along with the professional experience, Slaughter is excited to get a look at the potential pinnacle of his athletic career.

“I’m very excited. I just feel really blessed. When someone from Vol Leaders approached me with this opportunity, it was only right for me to take it,” Slaughter said. “It’s going to be great to experience the atmosphere … Obviously, seeing it in person, one day, hopefully, I’ll be there … If I work hard enough I can get there.”

However, in the world of name, image and likeness (NIL), there is more to this experience than affirming his goals from the outside looking in.

“Professionally, seeing how sports events are organized, seeing how they facilitate everything … I can coach my own 7-on-7, or just my own camp for kids who want to play football or any other sport,” Slaughter said.

Moreover, Redmond and Slaughter are, of course, excited to take in the moment.

“I found out in the middle of my class and I was so excited that I texted my parents immediately and called everyone I knew. They were like, ‘There’s no way, how did you get this,’” Redmond said.

As for where their allegiances lie on game day, Redmond will be rooting for the Eagles. Slaughter, however, is hoping that the Chiefs win it all on Sunday night – specifically, his former teammate, Trey Smith.

Vol For Life Trey Smith is now an offensive lineman for Kansas City.

“It’s a big step for him. I’m there to support him. I’m sure he’ll come back in the spring showing off for us,” Slaughter said.

Trey Smith participated in the Big Orange Combine in 2020, traveling to Super Bowl LIV in Miami when the Chiefs came out on top over the San Francisco 49ers. What Smith did not know is that he would soon be playing for the team on the field.

CAITLIN MULQUEEN Staff Writer

“I texted my parents immediately and called everyone I knew.”

MALLORY REDMOND Senior, Human Resources

Doneiko Slaughter, cornerback for UT football, and Mallory Redmond are among the students headed to Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12. Ericksen Gomez-Villeda / The Daily Beacon

Trey Smith (fourth from right), an offensive lineman for UT from 2017 to 2020, traveled with nine other students to the Super Bowl in 2020. Courtesy of the University of Tennessee

Trey Smith is currently a guard for the Kansas City Chiefs, who will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. File / The Daily Beacon

‘Here to be the best’

Fresh off transforming North Carolina A&T’s track and field program, champion and former Olympian Duane Ross sets his sights on making Tennessee the top program in the nation as its new head coach.

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

When Duane Ross visited Tennessee last spring, he stood in lane five of Tom Black track – the same lane he became an NCAA Champion in while competing for Clemson in the 110m hurdles in 1995.

Walking down that lane, the memories flooded in.

He remembers seeing his coach, Bob Pollock, standing up and telling him to do a victory lap from the brick bleachers that still stand today. He remembers walking down Cumberland Avenue that night to get food with his teammates. During that moment of nostalgia, Ross knew Tennessee was the right fit for him.

“That was a special moment,” Ross said. “The University of Tennessee was in that moment.”

That visit last spring was the first time Ross had been back to Tennessee since his championship performance, and a lot has happened in the years between.

He became a national champion again at the professional level and competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He also saw his competitive career come to an end after receiving a two-year ban from the U.S. Anti-doping Agency in 2010 for using banned performance-enhancing drugs starting in 2001.

North Carolina A&T, a historically Black university in Greensboro, as the head coach.

Over the past 10 years, Ross has built a track and field empire out of North Carolina A&T.

He has produced 12 Individual/Relay NCAA Championships, 142 combined men’s and women’s All-American honors and two Olympians –one of which is his son, Randolph. He was the 2021 National Coach of the Year and the Southeast Region Coach of the Year a handful of times.

Last season, Ross and his staff came just shy of becoming the first HBCU to win a Division I title in any major sport since 1974, finishing second in the Men’s NCAA Indoor Championships.

He was at the top of the track and field world when athletic director Danny White offered him the head coaching job at Tennessee last spring.

The decision to leave wasn’t easy. Taking the job at Tennessee meant stepping away from a project that was a decade in the making. A project that he was very close to perfecting.

“Building that program from the ground up, 10 years, I had everything in place, exactly where I wanted it,” Ross said. “All of our support staff, all of the resources that we needed, everything was in place.”

But he knew that at a certain point, there would be a time to pass the torch to someone else at A&T and start over somewhere else. He knew it had to happen for the program to continue its growth.

“I believe in necessary endings and creating opportunities for others,” Ross said. “Me leaving A&T after 10 years of what we built there, it was time for someone else to come in and continue that fight of an HBCU winning a national championship. We created an opportunity for the next staff to come in and do that.”

When the time came to leave A&T, he wasn’t going to leave for just any school. It had to be perfect for him, his staff and his family.

“I’ve always told myself – I’ve always told my staff – that if and when I decided it was time to move on from A&T, it would have to be the right environment, the right athletic department, the right team, the right city, the right school,” Ross said. “All of those things just fit.”

The coaching job at Tennessee was an opportunity to start fresh with a team that needed reviving.

2012. When he was offered the job at Tennessee, he saw it as an opportunity to rebuild a program that once was the standard in collegiate track and field.

“This program was huge back when I was in college,” Ross said. “All the Olympic medalists that have come through here – I accept that challenge of putting this program back where it was and even exceeding those things this program did in the past.”

That goal of returning Tennessee to national prominence was a driving factor in why Ross took the job. But he also came because of what Tennessee athletics is building across all sports.

With football returning to national prominence since Josh Heupel was hired in 2021, basketball continuing to hold its place as a consistent top-10 team and baseball on a historic run, Ross saw the Tennessee job as joining something bigger than himself. He wanted to be a part of what is shaping up to be one of the most dominant eras by one school in years.

“We spoke about me willing to be a part of a bigger whole, willing to contribute to the entire athletic department like we did at A&T,” Ross said about a conversation he had with Danny White. “Just like football and basketball inspire other teams, we want to inspire them too. We’re excited about what we’re doing and I’m very excited about this trend upwards.”

And to be a part of the new standard for Tennessee means achieving excellence. Not mediocrity, not mild success, but dominance through and through. That standard is exactly what Ross is shooting for as he begins his first campaign with the Vols.

Either way, Ross won’t accept for his team to sit around and let others do the work for them.

“No one is here to just be takers,” Ross said. “If you’re going to be a part of this great program, this great institution that has so much prestige, men and women, with so much success in track and field, everyone has to contribute to our success one way or another.”

Admittedly, Ross said that his coaching style was a bit of an adjustment for athletes who have been around Tennessee for a while. But the adjustment is one that he believes will lead to greatness.

“I came in with a different kind of energy and a different kind of passion,” Ross said. “And a different kind of expectation. That expectation has been that this is not recreation, but we’re here to win. We’re here to be the best.”

It was that winning mindset – along with the up and down journey that Ross has been on – that led White to believe Ross was the man for the job at Tennessee. Ross knows what it takes to succeed in collegiate track – from an athlete’s standpoint and a coach’s standpoint. He also knows the adversity that it can come with it.

“Tennessee track & field has been all about greatness for most of its history—both men’s and women’s,” White said following Ross’s hiring. “Duane knows what that takes and is poised to restore our program to consistent, elite-level achievement.”

And now Ross is preparing for his first outdoor season with Tennessee the same way he would with North Carolina A&T.

But the forced ending of one chapter led to the beginning of a new one. Ross started his coaching career at the Division III level and soon joined

Tennessee hasn’t won a conference championship in men’s or women’s in over a decade. The program hasn’t seen national success since its glory days in the 90s, when it had dominant teams that Ross remembers racing against when he was in college.

Ross took on the challenge of building something from the ground up at North Carolina A&T in

“We want to be the best competitive Division 1 program in the country hands down, year after year,” Ross said. “We’re very demanding in that aspect.”

He has made that message clear to his athletes. In one of his first meetings with the team after accepting the job at Tennessee, Ross honed in the point that he expected everyone to contribute in some way. Maybe that contribution comes on the track, or maybe it comes in other ways like supporting teammates in practice or before races.

Tennessee is a bigger school in a bigger conference. It has more expensive facilities and more resources than the smaller school Ross was at before. That doesn’t change a thing. He is bringing the same grit and determination that he used to turn A&T into the powerhouse that is today.

“I’m bringing the same work ethic that my staff and I had at A&T,” Ross said. “We’re just going to follow the same blueprint. I don’t think it’s much more magic to it than that.”

Head Coach and Director of Track & Field Duane Ross speaks at a press conference. Courtesy of Emma Corona / Tennessee Athletics

Duane Ross competes on the Tom Black field. Courtesy of Tennessee Athletic Communications

Where Tennessee basketball stands with March Madness around the corner

ERIC WOODS Assistant Sports Editor

March is coming. Before you know it, the whole country will be complaining about busted brackets, upsets and unreached expectations.

For Tennessee fans, March hasn’t been kind to them as of late. Does Loyola Chicago ring a bell? Michigan? All the years in between?

All that is not to bring up painful memories, but Rocky Top is always skeptical when March rolls around. No matter how good the regular season has been for the Vols, something always seems to go wrong. The offense falls short, or Rick Barnes trusty defense seems to not show up.

However, the truth is that every season is different. Whether that be different players or some staff changes, the same goes for every team in the country. It’s time to look at this season through a new lens called the present and not the past.

So, where does Tennessee stand entering the madness?

Currently, they sit at No. 6 after dropping

from No. 2 with a 19-4 record with wins over reigning national champs Kansas and current No. 5 Texas. It’s not anything to scoff at, but the Vols last two games are leaving fans reminiscent over past years.

Against Florida, Tennessee went on to Billy

Donovan Court and put up a dud against a struggling team. The Gators started with a 17-4 lead, and the Vols went into panic mode. Still, they fought back into the game and even took the lead late in the fourth quarter only to be silenced by a 13-0 run by Florida.

There was still a chance to get back in the game down six with four minutes left, but forced shots early in the shot clock quickly put the game out of reach. Tennessee ended their night 28% from the field, 20% from three and a 67-54 loss.

Back in Thompson Boling Arena four days later against Auburn, the Vols were 27% from the field and 10% from range in one of the ugliest games of the 2022-23 season. The difference is that the defense refused to let missed shots dictate its ability to get stops and gave way to a Santiago Vescovi four-point play dagger to put the game on ice in a 46-43 win.

“It’s February, you look around the country there’s a lot of teams that struggle this time of the year, especially in conference play because you know each other so well. Baskets are hard to come by,” Barnes said after the win. “The fire of a home crowd can help push when the season becomes a grind.”

In the past, the Vols haven’t been able to win when they can’t find the hoop. This year, they have been able to find ways to win and learn from the times they haven’t. In basketball, no matter what level, shots either fall or they don’t.

When shots are falling, few teams — if any — can compete with the Vols.

Lady Vols ‘one play away’ in 91-90 loss to Mississippi State

Rickea Jackson hit a three-pointer to bring the game within one on Monday night. The shot fell home with one second left in double overtime, but it was too late and Mississippi State went home with a win 91-90 in Starkville.

Jackson finished the game with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Despite beating her former team earlier in the season, the Lady Vols couldn’t get it done on Monday.

“It’s tough,” Jackson said. “No one wants to go home with a loss. We played tough. It was a long, long game, but we just have to regroup.”

Had one more play gone Tennessee’s way, the Lady Vols may have been on the winning side on Monday.

Jordan Horston fouled out before double overtime, and she played much of the latter half of the game injured. As has been the case for much of the year, the team goes as Horston goes.

Horston was only able to play 19 minutes of the 50-minute contest, finishing with eight points.

“I think her not being able to play much in the first half really hurt her rhythm for the game,” Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said. “And then an injury for her, she couldn’t get in the flow. But you certainly still want her available going into double overtime for sure. And unfortunately, foul

trouble kept her on the bench too much of tonight.”

Maybe if Horston had a couple of calls go her way, the story could be different for Tennessee.

But that didn’t happen - the Lady Vols didn’t make that one play they needed to push them over the edge.

“But at the end of the day, you’re one play away,” Harper said. “You’re one stop away. You’re one finished layup away. You’re one less turnover away from winning that game.”

This isn’t the first time Tennessee has been one play away. The Lady Vols sit at 17-9 on the season with six losses coming against teams ranked in the AP top 25 at the time. The seventh loss was in double overtime on Monday.

“It’s literally one more play, and what’s going to really hurt is when we go back and watch and we see how many mistakes we actually made and how those would have been things that we can control,” Harper said.

Thinking back most recently, Tennessee went down to the wire with LSU in Baton Rouge. Tennessee had the Tigers on the ropes but failed to keep up in the second half.

Like Mississippi State did on Monday, LSU adjusted on defense and the Lady Vols struggled to find success.

Harper struggled to find a lineup Monday

that gave the Lady Vols the best chance to succeed.

“We were doing a lot of substituting trying to figure out what combinations were going to allow us to have great execution on the offensive and with our spacing, and obviously trying to find five players that could defend as well,” Harper said.

Mississippi State is Tennessee’s fifth loss by less than 10 points. Against a gauntlet of a schedule, the Lady Vols are just a couple of plays from looking at very different outcomes.

“We hung in there and gave ourselves chances,” Harper said. “It did not look good at the end of the fourth and gave ourselves a chance. And then it didn’t look good at the end of overtime, gave ourselves a chance.”

Tennessee gave itself a chance on Monday, as it had in several other games, but couldn’t get the job done. The Lady Vols now have their bye week, giving them just under a week to figure out how to find that one play.

In March, one play could be the difference between a National Championship and going home early.

“We will have to learn from this, and there’s some things that we have to do better, have to be better at,” Harper said. “Hopefully, we will, but I think that’s the important thing. You’ve got to come out of this and find a way to be motivated to get better.”

CALEB JARREAU Staff Writer

Jasmine Powell looks for an open teammate against UConn at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday Jan. 26, 2023.

Ericksen Gomez-Villeda / The Daily Beacon

No. 30 Josiah Jordan James, No. 5 Zakai Zeigler and No. 10 John Fulkerson hustle during March Madness game against Longwood on March 19, 2022. File / The Daily Beacon

Vols survive poor offensive performance, defeat Auburn 46-43

Editor

No. 2 Tennessee didn’t need to score 50 points to defeat No. 25 Auburn Saturday afternoon. The Vols just needed their defense to slow down the Tigers enough to escape.

Tennessee did exactly that and held on to beat Auburn 46-43.

Auburn went on a run early, taking advantage of Tennessee’s sluggish offensive start. The Vols missed their first seven shots with Olivier Nkamhoua missing five of those, and the Tigers went up eight.

But then Auburn went dry and gave Tennessee a chance to get back into the game and eventually take the lead before halftime.

“After that first 10 points, our defense was good,” head coach Rick Barnes said. “That’s who we are.”

Tennessee shot 10-for-34 from the field and 1-for-9 deep in the first half, but luckily for the Vols Auburn also wasn’t hitting shots, going 6-for-26 from the field and 1-for-11 from deep.

After going back and forth with Auburn for the first part of the second half, Tennessee

used an 8-0 run to gain some breathing room. The Vols also held Auburn scoreless for nearly five minutes.

Auburn cut it to a two-point game, but Santiago Vescovi hit a three and got fouled, making the free throw and giving the Vols a six-point cushion with two minutes left.

But a Wendell Green three brought Auburn within three points and then the Vols turned it over in the backcourt and gave Auburn the ball

back with 23 seconds to go.

The Tigers scored to cut it to one, but Zakai Zeigler hit two free throws to make it a threepoint game. Green then missed a last-second shot and Tennessee hung on to win.

The game was extremely physical and gritty, and both teams were going at it the entire 40 minutes.

“I think that’s what you expect this time of year,” Barnes said. “I think you expect that

within our league. I don’t think there’s a more physical league in the country. Especially with coaches that have coached against each other for a while.”

Tennessee shot 27% from the field and just 9% from deep. Auburn’s defense was giving the Vols issues, but they also were passing up open looks for worse looks throughout the game.

“We’ve got to continue to take our shots.,” Barnes said. “Whether they’re going in or not, trust our court balance, trust the fact that we’ve got guys that are going to make the effort to go and rebound it, but we have got to take open shots.”

Josiah-Jordan James was one of the only bright spots for the Vols. The senior finished the game with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

It was the second bad offensive performance in a row for Tennessee. The Vols couldn’t get shots to go in in the loss to Florida on Wednesday. But the difference between Wednesday’s loss and Saturday’s win was defense.

“I feel like we responded really well on the defensive end unlike we did against Florida when shots weren’t falling,” James said. “I think we learned a lot from that game.”

Notebook: Nothing pretty about it, but Vols take slugfest over Auburn

Everyone in attendance at Thompson-Boling Arena was left washing their eyes after No. 2 Tennessee took down No. 25 Auburn in a 4643 slugfest.

In what was one of the worst games of the 2022-23 season for viewers, Rick Barnes is just proud of his group for getting back in the win column.

Here are a few takeaways from the Vols’ win.

Offensive struggles at Florida bleed into Saturday

When the buzzer sounded in Wednesday’s loss to Florida, the Vols had hit just 28% percent of their shots and failed to eclipse 30% in either half.

On the back of 2-15 from the field, the Vols couldn’t hit 30% in the first half yet again, finishing 29% on a 10-34 mark. Despite finding some success in the middle of the half, it was simply ugly overall.

Just a week removed from winning SEC Player of the Week honors and an impressive performance against Texas, Zakai Zeigler followed it up with some of the worst performances of his career. Against Florida, he finished 6-19 from the field. Tonight, he failed to hit a shot on 10 attempts — seven of which were from three.

Olivier Nkamhoua, the other hero from the Texas game, struggled mightily with a 4-16 performance. Even his trusty turnaround jumper wouldn’t fall.

Veterans making veteran plays when it

matters most

In a game where nothing seems to be going right, you look to your most experienced players to come up with big plays. The Vols found those big plays in seniors Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi.

“I think when you win a game like this, there’s no question both teams played as hard as they can play. Every possession was a grind.”

It was far from his best game, but James kept the Vols afloat all night, with 15 points. Outside of a 1-7 night from three, he was 5-6 from inside the arc.

When his shots weren’t falling, James stayed active on the glass, adding a team and career-high 14 rebounds to his night

“That was what I was going to be called to do,” James said. “That was what my position needed. That’s what my team needed for us to get a win.”

Vescovi scored just seven points on a 2-7 clip, but he hit the biggest shot of the night for Tennessee with under a minute to go.

After Auburn cut the lead to just two points, Vescovi caught the ball on the wing. The vols hadn’t hit a three all half, but the ball left his hand, he got fouled and the ball went through.

“To be honest, I didn’t see a ball was already on the ground when he went in,” Vescovi said. “You can’t think of that point to think that if you’re missing, you’re gonna stay confident.

I’m talking to all of my teammates about taking any shot. I know they’re confident in me. Even coach told me to just keep shooting. They’re gonna fall at some point” Success on the offensive glass

Just about the only thing that went right for Tennessee on offense was its effectiveness on the glass. Even with the nation’s second-best rebounder, Johni Broome, in the paint for Auburn, the Vols still came up with 15 offensive rebounds.

Tennessee finished with 10 second chance points to Auburn’s two, which was ultimately the difference in the game.

“A game like that shows a lot of character,” James said. “How do you respond to not mak-

ERIC WOODS

Assistant Sports Editor

Tennessee’s Uros Plavsic (33) is helped to his feet by his teammates (from left) Jonas Aidoo, Julian Phillips, and Zakai Zeigler at Thompson-Boling Arena. Saturday Feb. 4, 2023 Cole Moore / Contributor

Olivier Nkamhoua drives in for a basket in Tennessee’s game against Auburn on Feb. 4, 2022 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Cole Moore / Contributor