Chattanooga Today Online
Skip to Navigation
Athletics News
- Newberry Sets NCAA Record
- Men’s Golf Reaches Pinnacle
- Men’s and Women’s Basketball Picked to Win SoCon
- Chattanooga’s Alice Tym Inducted into ITA Women’s Hall of Fame
Newberry Sets NCAA Record
In her four-year career as a player on the Chattanooga volleyball team, Lara Newberry’s name has been etched not only in the school’s record books, but also those of both the Southern Conference and the NCAA.
In her junior season, Newberry was recognized as she shattered the national record for digs in a season with 942, surpassing the previous record of 924 set by Minnesota’s Paula Gentile.
This season, she solidified her position as arguably the greatest collegiate libero of all time by breaking Gentile’s career digs record of 2,791 during an Oct. 8 in a match against Samford. Newberry eclipsed Gentile with her 15th dig of the match.
“I wouldn’t be here though if it wasn’t for my parents, teammates, and coaches,” said Newberry, a Chattanooga native. “They have encouraged and pushed me and I can’t thank them enough.”
For the second straight year, Newberry led the nation in digs (777), and digs per set (6.58). The final tally in her decorated career comes to 3,176 digs, 385 clear of the nearest competitor.
Her accolades have garnered national acclaim as she has twice been named the Southern Conference’s Libero of the Year, as well as National Libero of the Year honors in 2007.
Men’s Golf Reaches Pinnacle
The Chattanooga men’s golf team is the top ranked team in the country according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings Index. The No. 1 ranking is a first in the Division I era for any Mocs program.
“This is very special for me,” said Head Coach Mark Guhne. “We have talked about being the best team in the country and trying to build this program to that level, but for it to be actually recognized as such…it is very humbling.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but I could not be prouder of our players because it’s their hard work being rewarded.”
Chattanooga won its first two tournaments of the season with a tournament record 45-under par finish at the Aldila Scenic City Invitational and topping a stellar field at the prestigious Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic at the Farm in Rocky Face, Ga.
The Mocs lead the computer-generated Golfweek ranking followed by Arkansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Tennessee. South Carolina is sixth as Illinois, Clemson, Michigan and Florida round out the top 10. Chattanooga is 4-0 against top 10 teams, 32-0 overall.
It is certainly a team effort for the Mocs, but individually true freshman Stephan Jaeger is No. 41. Seniors Ben Rickett and Jonathan Hodge are No. 66 and 67, respectively.
Jonathan Hodge and Mark Guhne
Men’s and Women’s Basketball Picked to Win SoCon
Nicchaeus Doaks
Stephen McDowell
Shanara Hollinquest
Chattanooga and Davidson are the favorites to capture the Southern Conference’s divisional men’s basketball titles in 2008-09, according to a vote by the leagues head coaches, while the Lady Mocs are expected to continue to reign supreme on the women’s side.
The Mocs, who return three starters from last year’s 18-13 (13-7 SoCon) team, were tabbed as the preseason favorites in the North Division. They earned 66 points, the maximum allowed in the coaches balloting.
Elon was selected second in the division with 49 points, followed by Appalachian State (48). UNC Greensboro (33) was chosen fourth, edging out Western Carolina (28) and newcomer Samford University (23), which begins its first season in Southern Conference play in 2008-09.
Davidson, Chattanooga and College of Charleston placed two student-athletes on the preseason all-conference team. Nicchaeus Doaks and Stephen McDowell represent the Mocs.
The Lady Mocs are the favorites to win the Southern Conference women’s basketball championship again in 2008-09, which would be an unprecedented 10th consecutive conference crown.
Junior Shanara Hollinquest was the lone Chattanooga representative on the 11-person Preseason All-Conference team. The Sylacauga, Alabama, forward led the league with a 58.2 field goal percentage and was sixth in the conference in scoring with an average 11.6 points per game.
Despite losing three starters and five letter-winners from last season’s team that went undefeated through the SoCon, Chattanooga topped the league’s preseason poll with 98 total points, six points ahead of second-place Western Carolina (92). Chattanooga has claimed at least a share of nine consecutive SoCon regular season titles and is currently in the midst of a 22-game conference winning streak.
Davidson was picked to finish third in the SoCon with 77 total points after finishing in a tie for the third slot last season, while league newcomer Samford (70) was tabbed to place fourth after returning three starters from a 2007-08 squad that went 15-5 and tied for second place during the regular season in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Georgia Southern (62) was predicted to finish fifth this season while the College of Charleston (52) was the sixth team chosen. UNC Greensboro (42), Furman (35) and Wofford (34) held down the seventh, eighth and ninth slots, respectively while the two teams which introduced new head coaches in the offseason, Appalachian State (22) and Elon (21), occupied the final two slots.
The 2009 SoCon Basketball Tournament will take place March 5-9 at the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Chattanooga’s Alice Tym Inducted into ITA Women’s Hall of Fame
Alice Tym, left, accepting her award at last
year's Southern Conference honors banquetFormer Chattanooga Head Coach Alice Luthy Tym was one of four women inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the College of William and Mary recently. Tym is joined by doubles legend Gigi Fernandez (Clemson), Janice Metcalf Cromer (Redlands) and Wendy White Prausa (Rollins).
Tym established the women’s tennis team and served as its captain while an undergraduate at the University of Florida from 1960–64. A Ford Foundation fellow, she received Phi Beta Kappa honors and earned an M.A. from UF in geography in 1966.
From 1964 to 1970, she played on the international circuit, winning titles on five continents and securing a world ranking as high as No. 13 in 1969.
As head coach at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1974 to 1978, Tym started the varsity women’s program and guided her teams to two AIAW Small College National Championships. Appointed director of tennis at Yale in 1978, she coached the nationally-ranked women’s team for four years and won the Ivy Championships in 1981. Tym returned to UT-Chattanooga in 1982 to become a faculty member in the geography department, a position she still holds today.
The ITA Women’s Hall of Fame was established in 1995 and honors outstanding collegiate players and coaches, as well as players who attended college and later had a significant impact on women’s tennis.
Navigation
