THE SEASON GOES ON! Tennessee Tech Volleyball Takes The 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Crown

Story from TTUSports.com
Herald-Citizen
UC Daily News, Cookeville, Tenn.


COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - "Success is dependent on effort."

It seems the Tennessee Tech volleyball team knows this proverb first hand.

In a hard fought match Saturday, the Golden Eagles put out a huge effort, and now have the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference crown to prove it. The 3-2 victory over the Murray State Racers now vaults Tech into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.

Tournament MVP Kappy Lang led the way with 62 assists, 13 digs, four kills, and two service aces. Four in purple-and-white reached double-figures in the kills stat box. Amanda Lindgren had 20 herself. She was followed by OVC Player of the Year Leah Meffert, who had 16. Marie Peddicord totaled 15 kills, and Jessica Asplund followed her with 13.

By the end of the first set, it was clear that the fight for the 2008 OVC tourney championship was going to be a tightly-contested matter. The Racers jumped out to win the first set of the match by a 25-23 score. Tech rallied back to take sets two and three by the scores of 25-15 and 25-20 respectively. Murray State came back to win set four by a final score of 26-24. It then all came down to the grudge-match in set five, where Murray kept it tied on several occasions up to an 11-11 score. The Golden Eagles then found an opportunity to open the score up in their favor.

Asplund and Caitlin Bullock hit back-to-back kills to make the score go to 13-11 in Tech's favor. Murray's Logan Sue then scored a point on a kill to run the score to 13-12. Racer Becca Lamb committed an error to put the score at 14-12.

That set up the deciding score of the match.

Teresa Craig served to restart action, and after a short time of bouncing on either side of the net, Lang got assist number 62 on the night, and got the ball to Lindgren. She proceeded to crush the ball onto the Racer side of the court for her 20th kill, and the championship-clincher.

OVC Defensive Player of the Year Katie Kenline was another achiever in the match for Tech with 21 digs.

Leading the way for Murray State were Sara Hayden with 17 kills, Jade Guo with 45 assists, and Kayleah Sauer with 24 digs.

The victory represents the first conference championship for OVC Coach of the Year John Blair and Assistant Coach Jessica Lane. It follows a sweeping of the Austin Peay Lady Govs in the OVC Semifinals Friday. Tech won that match by the scores of 25-12, 25-22, and 25-21.

The tournament victories follow a 17-11 regular season for the Golden Eagles, in which they went 14-4 in conference play. That was good enough for OVC regular season co-championship honors, a first-round bye through the tournament, and the right to host the event at the Eblen Center in Cookeville.

Next on the schedule for the NCAA Tourney-bound Golden Eagles is a pre-tourney event in Louisville against the Cardinals. That match is set to be played on Saturday at 1 PM. The NCAAs are scheduled to begin on Thursday, December 4th, but place and time are still unknown. Those will be determined in the selection this Sunday.

GO TECH!

Former Tennessee Tech Football Coach And A.D. Don Wade Passes Away

Don Wade, a former Tennessee Tech football coach and Director of Athletics, passed away in Clemson, South Carolina on Wednesday night. He was 79.

Wade, a native of Tyronza, Arkansas, began his playing career at Lenoir City High School in Lenoir City, Tennessee, where he played football and basketball. He went on to play with the Clemson University Tigers, while earning a bachelor's in education there. He graduated in 1952. While at Clemson, he played in the 1950 Orange Bowl, and in the 1951 Gator Bowl. Out of college, he began his coaching career at a high school in Georgia. In 1953, he began an assistant coaching spot at Clemson which lasted up to 1967. He helped coach the Tigers to bowl games three times.

In 1968, he left Clemson to take the head coaching job at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee. This was a job he held until 1983. He was one of Tech's most successful football coaches. Under him, TTU won the Ohio Valley Conference title in 1972 and '75. He had 81 career wins for a .509 winning percentage, both second-place showings for Golden Eagle football coaches. Wade became Tech's Director of Athletics in 1974, a position he held until 1980.

His memory will certainly live on at Tennessee Tech, and at all the places where he left his mark through his exciting life. God rest his soul, and bless his family and friends through this hard time for them. He will be missed!

FOR MORE:

Tennessee Tech Sports coverage on Wade's passing

Clemson Tigers' coverage

The Cookeville, Tenn. Herald-Citizen

The Nashville Tennessean

Clemson Tigers Insider

The Knoxville, Tenn. News-Sentinel

OVC TOURNAMENT FIRST FOUND WOMEN'S ACTION: Tennessee Tech fights back, but falls short

The first set of games from the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Mens and Womens Basketball Tournament were played last night, and there were comebacks and even an upset on the women's side of the court. Here is a brief recap of all the action from the women's tournament.


#1 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 58, #8 AUSTIN PEAY 54
(CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.-ConState Sports) The defending 2006-2007 OVC tournament champion SEMO Redhawks faced a bit of a struggle against the Lady Governors, but managed to prevail. Ashley Lovelady led SEMO with 20 points and six rebounds. SEMO jumped out to an early 11-5 lead, but the Lady Govs stayed close, and the score read 30-28 SEMO at the midway break. SEMO now goes to Nashville to attempt a repeat of its OVC title.

#2 MURRAY STATE 68, #7 EASTERN KENTUCKY 66
(MURRAY, Ky.-ConState Sports) The number two-seeded Murray Racers survived a close scare, as the EKU Colonels put up a strong fight to attempt the upset. Ashley Hayes led the way for the Racers with 26 points, including the two free throws with 0.4 seconds left in regulation. Murray trailed by two late when freshman guard Mallory "Lucky" Luckett put in the tieing points with 14.9 seconds left. EKU had a shot, missed and Hayes was fouled, giving her the opportunity to get the winning points. Its on to Nashville for Murray, where the Racers will try to advance to the OVC finals.

#6 UT MARTIN 61, #3 MOREHEAD STATE 57
(MOREHEAD, Ky.-ConState Sports) In a surprising upset, the Martin Skyhawks found a way to top the three-seeded Morehead Eagles. The Eagles went cold in shooting, getting only 38 percent of their shots to go in. Martin was up as much as 49-38 with 9:21 left, when the Eagles attempted a failing comeback bid. Martin led most of the way through this game, leading by six with 8:57 left in the first. Morehead came back and led 23-22 with 5:48 left before the break. Martin came back and led at halftime 31-28. Martin goes to Nashville and will attempt to test No. 2 Murray State on Friday.

#4 SAMFORD 63, #5 TENNESSEE TECH 60
(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-ConState Sports) The Samford Bulldogs came out strong from the gate, and held off a huge comeback attempt by the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles to advance to the semifinal round. Samford took the early 8-0 advantage with 3:19 gone in the first after Alex Munday put in a three. The Golden Eagles continued with fairly cold shooting and several crucial turnovers early, and found themselves down 29-15 at the halftime break.

Tech recovered strongly and put this one back into play after a quick 12-2 run right from the get-go in the second half. Cara Reed put up a three to cut the Bulldogs lead to 31-27 with 16:28 to play. The Golden Eagles came all the way back and led 39-37 after Blair Bowens put in a shot with 12:44 to go. Tech senior Kendall Cavin put in a three to give Tech the 49-45 lead with 6:13 left. The game bounced around from there. Samford would comeback to tie it, 51-51, before jumping ahead 54-51. The Golden Eagles would then score the next four points to take a 55-54 advantage with 2:40 left. Samford shot four from the charity stripe to take a three-point lead with 1:38 left. The Bulldogs held a four-point lead, 61-57, with 19 seconds left. Tech put in a three to cut Samford to 61-60, but Megan Wilderotter put in a pair from the charity line to prove the winning difference. Tech had another opportunity at the basket, but the shot just didn't go in. The Bulldogs now go to Nashville to oppose the top-seeded SEMO Redhawks. Munday scored 20 to lead Samford. For Tennessee Tech, senior standout Kendall Cavin and Blair Bowens put in 19 points apiece.

This was the final game played in the 45-year-old Seibert Hall. Next year, the Bulldogs will play in Pete Hanna Arena.


SEMO is the favorite to win the OVC women's tournament this year. An upset bid could be done by Murray, but I wouldn't really count on it. The team to watch next year is our own Tennessee Tech, the regular-season co-champions of the OVC in the 2005-06 season. Tech is the winningest OVC women's program over the course of history, and among the top ten winningest Division I women's programs in history. Tech is, also, the team who has won the most OVC titles with nine from its first title in the 1981-82 season. The Golden Eagles are bouncing back from the loss of standout Emily Christian, a senior last year, as well as dealing with a coaching change. The 20-year head coach Bill Worrell retired after last season, and one of his assistant coaches, Amy Brown, was handed the job. Brown has done an outstanding job in her first season, and her assistant coaching staff is strong as well. Tech will deal with the loss of three senior players, led by Cavin, in next years season. However, two new sophomore transfers, former Vanderbilt standout Holly Rogers and former Ball State player Rebecca Howerton, should pick up a lot of the slack. We, also, have three good players who will be seniors next season in Cara Reed, Marissa Hensley and Kristina Tyler. Juniors should be strong as well, led by Meagan Lyons and Bowens. Whitney Mayo and Jennifer Hood, who will be sophomores, should step up quite a bit. New freshmen will be added to the mix as well. Look for Tennessee Tech to contend strongly for the No. 1 seed in the 2007-08 OVC season.

Thanks to the OVC for information used in the above game summaries.

OVC TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MEN'S ACTION: Austin Peay wins close one, Tennessee Tech wins in a rout

The first round of the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Mens and Womens Basketball Tournament was played last night, and there was surprises to be had, although there were expected finishes as well. Here is a recap on the men's action. A recap on the women's action will come soon.


#1 AUSTIN PEAY 89, #8 TENNESSEE STATE 84 OT
(CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.-ConStateman Sports) In a game that should have been a breeze for the top-seeded Governors, the TSU Tigers showed some unexpected fight. The Govs led for most of the game, but the Tigers would come back to tie it four times until finally taking their first lead with a shot by Andrae Belton to make it TSU 69-67 with 55 seconds left. Fernandez Lockett would tie it all up for the Govs with 30 seconds left, and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, the Govs went on a 8-2 run early, and would eventually hold of the Tigers to advance to the semifinal round in Nashville. Dreake Reed had a total of 27 points for Austin Peay.


#2 EASTERN KENTUCKY 63, #7 MOREHEAD STATE 45
(RICHMOND, Ky.-ConStatesman Sports) The second-seeded Colonels had no trouble holding off the Eagles, as EKU had three players in double-figures. EKU went on a 16-0 run for nine minutes early, improving their position to a 25-8 lead at the time, and led 40-23 at the half. EKU now heads to the semifinals in Nashville for third time in the last four years.


#3 TENNESSEE TECH 88, #6 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 60
(COOKEVILLE, Tenn.-ConState Sports) The Tech Golden Eagles started slow, but eventually gained momentum over the icy-shooting SEMO Redhawks on the way to 28-point rout. Belton Rivers and Anthony Fisher had 34 points between them as they led the Golden Eagles to the semifinal round in Nashville, where they will play #2 Eastern Kentucky on Friday. Tech had a total of four players in double-figures in scoring, including Rivers and Fisher.

#5 SAMFORD 70, #4 MURRAY STATE 60
(MURRAY, Ky.-ConState Sports) In the only men's upset of the night, the defending OVC Tournament champion from the 2005-06 season, the Murray Racers, got knocked off by the visiting Samford Bulldogs. Samford had four players in double-figure scoring, led by Randall Gulina and Jerry Smith with 20 points apiece, and the team as a whole was 75 percent from the floor in the final half. Smith himself was perfect from the charity line, as he went 10-for-10 there. The game was tied 26-26 at the half, and the Bulldogs then went on a 10-0 run and never gave back the lead.

The Bulldogs will now receive an even greater test when they travel to Nashville to play top-seeded Austin Peay on Friday.


The OVC race just may be wide open. Austin Peay was the clear favorite coming into the tournament, but their tough outing against TSU may prove the Govs to be vulnerable. Our Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the EKU Colonels are the most likely for any upset bids. However, Samford is showing itself to be a formidable contender, and has a shot at upsetting Austin Peay on Friday. Stay tuned as we keep abreast of all the action in the OVC tournament as it switches now to the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashvegas, Tennessee.

Thanks to the OVC for some of the information used for the game summaries.

FIRST ROUND OF OVC TOURNAMENT IS DONE. WATCH FOR NEWS TOMORROW

The first set of games from the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Mens and Womens Basketball Tournament are completed, and the winning teams will now head to Nashville. The time is now late (12:06 AM CST) and I have to wake up at my usual time of about 6:30 in the morning, so I will now turn in for the night. I plan to post the results and briefs on this blog sometime by mid-afternoon Wednesday. Until then, that's your news for Tuesday, February 27, 2007. Thank you and good night. Just trying to bring my broadcasting journalism skills in. I'm working on a bit of a sign-off. :)

TENNESSEE TECH HOOPS UPDATE: OVC Tournament set, Golden Eagles to play Tuesday

The Ohio Valley Conference regular season is done, and the teams are ready for the 2007 O'Reilly Auto Parts OVC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. It has been an exciting regular season, and we are shaping up for a great tournament.

The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's team ends the season with an 18-12 record, 13-7 in the conference. That is enough for a third-place finish, and a first-round home game on Tuesday at the Eblen Center in Cookeville. We are facing the No. 6 seed, Southeast Missouri State at 7 pm CT. The Golden Eagles should pull off a victory, but anything can happen outside of the regular season.

The Tech women's team should be at home, but lost a road game against Murray State in Murray, Kentucky on Thursday. We led by seven with about half a minute left in regulation, but poor charity-line shooting and some good late offense by Murray tied the game at the end of regulation. Tech led halfway through the overtime period, but MSU came up with a late shot and our answer came up short. The final count showed Murray with a 80-79 victory over our Tech Golden Eagles. If the Eagles would have won this one, a home game in Cookevile on Tuesday. Now, we're on the road as the No. 5 seed and we'll travel to Birmingham, Alabama to face No. 4 Samford. This game is almost certainly a toss-up, and we are hoping that Tech will pull it out and head to the semifinal round at the Gaylord Center in Nashville.

Keep up to date with the OVC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament right here. We will record the winners and may have a brief story on the games after each round.

GO TECH!

CONGRATS TO THE SENIORS OF TENNESSEE TECH WOMEN'S BASKETBALL!

Deanna Apple (left), and Kendall Cavin are two of the four seniors on Tennessee Tech's women's basketball team.

Pictures courtesy of TTU Sports

The four seniors from Tennessee Tech's women's basketball program were honored at halftime of Saturday's game against OVC rival Austin Peay at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee. Players Deanna Apple, Kendall Cavin and Joi Nichols, as well as manager Ashley Fisher were met at halfcourt by President Bob Bell, and his wife Gloria, as well as Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. There, along with their families, they were presented with awards thanking them for their contributions to the university and to the basketball program. All four have made crucial contributions in their years on the team and they will be missed by all who are involved with the women's basketball organization here at Tennessee Tech.

Tonight was the final regular-season home game played by these three ladies, and the final one, as well, for Fisher. The home team won this one over the Governors by a final count of 63-51. Tech was led by Cavin, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. Tech now stands a half game behind Samford for fourth in the OVC race with one game to go for TTU. Samford has two games left in the regular season. A fourth-place showing would give Tech a much welcome first-round home tournament game. Fifth place would send us to the road for the whole tournament.

Next up for the Lady Eagles is Murray State in Murray, Kentucky on Thursday night.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2006-2007 SENIORS FROM TENNESSEE TECH WOMEN'S BASKETBALL! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY AND TO THE BASKETBALL PROGRAM AT TECH! GODSPEED TO YOU ALL IN YOUR FUTURE GOALS!

TENNESSEE TECH HOOPS UPDATE: Lady Birds fry Colonels with late bucket.

I really like that headline, especially with all the "KFC-style" references in it.
Tennessee Tech basketball has been picking up as of late, although I won't go
as far to say they're "back on track". I've done that already this season only to
watch them fall in the next game. I am not ready to jinx them again with the
progress we are making so far.

The men are now 10-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference and in a tie for third place. Overall, our men stand at 14-10. We just broke an eight-game winning streak with a 92-90 double overtime loss Saturday to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (The above headline does not speak of the men's game, more on that to come). Five games remain in the regular season for the men, who will almost certainly be heading to the OVC Tournament late this month. Also likely is a first-round home game, which is crucial during the tournament. The top four seeds in the OVC all host first-round home games.

The women's basketball team is who fried the Colonels recently. They are who the headline above speaks of. The women started out very slow this season, and played some top notch national competition. We played now No. 17 Middle Tennessee State in November, and now No. 2 North Carolina in late February, not to mention Pepperdine, Virginia Tech and Clemson. All that helped prepare us for the OVC schedule to come. Even in the early conference schedule, Tech struggled to get victories. However, within the last few weeks, the team has begun to come together. The Lady Eagles have won four of their last five. The latest win came on Sunday night, in a see-saw contest that could have went either way. Tech senior Kendall Cavin put the game away with a three with 29 seconds to go, giving Tech a 65-64 victory in Richmond, Kentucky. If you had to pick one leader this season for Tech, you would have to pick Cavin. Juniors Cara Reed and Kristina Tyler as well as Sophomore Meagan Lyons have stepped up as well. Also crucial is Senior Deanna Apple and Junior Marissa Hensley. Five more games remain in the regular season schedule, with Tech now at 8-7 in the conference and 9-15 overall. We are now in a three-way tie for the fourth seed and that coveted first-round home playoff game. The next contest will be a double-header with the men's team in Jacksonville, Alabama on Thursday where we will play Jacksonville State.

TENNESSEE TECH HOOPS UPDATE: Eagles Work To Get Back In OVC Race

Junior Marissa Hensley (left), and senior Kendall Cavin

(11) in action against Jacksonville State on the evening of

Thursday, January 11, 2007 at the Eblen Center in

Cookeville, Tennessee.

Pictures from TTU Sports at http://www.ttusports.com/

I am overdue on a Tennessee Tech Basketball update, so here is the latest. Coming into Thursday's game against Jacksonville State, the women were 3-12 overall, with a 2-4 record in Ohio Valley Conference play. The men were 6-9, 2-4 in OVC play. Both teams were 1-1 in the last week. The men have faced some tough teams such as Bradley and the Tennessee Volunteers. We won the Bradley game at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, but lost the Tennessee game in Knoxville. The women have had some seriously tough competition against strong teams such as Virginia Tech, Pepperdine, MTSU, and the topper was North Carolina , who was ranked No. 2 in the country when we faced them in late December. Sadly, we lost all four of those games. However, the positive thing about those games was that they seem to have prepared the women for the all-important interconference play, which we are in the thick of now.

On Thusday night, the Jacksonville State Camecocks came to the Eblen Center. The women's game, as usual, was played first. The 'Cocks came into the game in the OVC cellar, while the Tech Lady Golden Eagles came in 8th out of the 11 OVC teams. The Golden Eagles started off strong, and led by as much as 20 during the first half. The home team went into the halftime break with a 16 point advantage, up 44-28. The 'Cocks came back with a 12-4 run to start the second half, and would cut Tech's lead to seven with 8:23 to go. Tech would then have a 9-2 run would give the Eagles a double-digit lead, which they never gave up. When the final buzzer sounded, Tech came away with the 85-73 victory. Our Eagles are now 3-4 in the OVC and 4-12 overall. Tech was lead Thursday by senior Kendall Cavin who had 20 points. Sophomores Megan Lyons and Blair Bowens had 15 (Lyons) and 14 (Bowens) points, and Junior Marissa Hensley had 11 points to round up Tech's double-digit scorers. Junior Cara Reed had a career-high 12 rebounds, and Cavin posted four boards to help pace the Eagles. Next up is Samford at the Eblen Center Sunday night in a game which is scheduled to be televised on ESPNU.

The men did not start of as strong as the women, however. The Golden Eagles started off with a lead, but soon began to struggle as the game wore on. Tech struggled midway through the game on three-point shots and free throws. Tech led 31-18 with 5:26 left in the first half before the struggles began. During the second half there was 11 lead changes, and no one lead by over three points until 3:04 was left in regulation. Tech warmed up in time though, and finally scored their last 10 points from the line. The Eagles were 12-of-14 during a late run which put us up by eight points with less than a minute left. When the final buzzer sounded on this one, Tech survived with a 75-71 victory. The win put our Eagles at 3-4 in the OVC, and 7-9 overall. Tech will next play as the first of a doubleheader on Sunday against the before-mentioned Samford, who leads in OVC play and was defeated for the first time this season Thursday night against Tennessee State. It is a switch to see the men play first. As I mentioned earlier, the women usually start off our doubleheaders. As we continue our OVC action, things are bound to get more exciting.

Tennessee Tech Basketball Teams Back On Track

After a six-game slump, the 2006-2007 Tech Womens Basketball team is back to winning again. Marissa Hensley had 16 points and Kendall Cavin had 13 en route to a 59-58 Tech Golden Eagles victory over the visting Skyhawks of Southeast Missouri. Now the Lady Eagles are 2-6 (1-2 Ohio Valley Conference), and are still ranked number seven in most wins all-time with a 772-330 record since the program was established in the 1970-71 season. By that stat, they are one of the most successful women's Division I programs in the country.

The men followed soon afterward. Belton Rivers led Tech with 33 points, his career high, and the Golden Eagles ended a double-header sweep of SEMO with a 91-76 victory at home in the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee. The men are now 4-4 (1-2 OVC), and both men's and women's teams will be off for a week for final exams.

During halftime of the men's game, Cookeville native Watson Brown was named the new head coach for TTU's football program. See the below posting and links for more on this exciting announcement.

Watson Brown Is The New Tennessee Tech Football Coach

Tennessee Tech may just be on its way to the college football map. Watson Brown is coming back to his native town of Cookeville, Tennessee where he will coach our Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Brown has spent the last 12 seasons at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he oversaw that program's move to Division I-A. He struggled through a disappointing 3-9 season for UAB and was expected to lose his job. A lot of UAB fans are highly negative towards him, although he has a fairly good track record. His all-time record is 94-151, but that doesn't show the whole picture. In 1983, he was head coach at Cincinnati, where his Bearcats beat defending national champion Penn State 14-3 at the beginning of the season. He was the offensive coordinatior at his alma mater of Vanderbilt from 1981-82, where he helped the Commodores to an 8-3 record in '82. From 1986-90, he was the head coach at Vandy.

Football runs deep in his blood, which stands as a Cookeville-born coaching dynasty. His brother, Mack, led the Texas Longhorns to a national championship this last year. His grandfather, Eddie Watson, is a high school coaching legend. He led the Cookeville High School Cavilers to a 106-51-13 record during his coaching days. Watson Brown's son, Steven, is a wide receiver for UAB.

I received the pleasure of meeting new Coach Brown after our mens basketball game Saturday night, and I am very impressed by him. Going into Saturday's announcement, he was the potential candidate that I was hoping would be chosen. After meeting him, I am looking forward to football season so much more. During his introduction Saturday night at halftime of the mens basketball game, he said he is looking forward to putting Tech on the "national map" and that he wants "to win immediately". Google's news section mentions 103 articles at the present time under "Watson Brown" pertaining to his announcment Saturday.

For more on this story, click on the links below.

Tennessee Tech Sports

OVC Sports

Cookeville, Tenn. Herald-Citizen

Nashville Tennessean

WJSU-TV (ABC) Birmingham, Ala.

MSNBC Sports

CBS SportsLine

ESPN

USA Today

TENNESSEE TECH HOOPS UPDATE: Men Winning Against Noted Teams, Women Battling Tough Competition

I haven't updated news about the Tennessee Tech basketball teams since the beginning of the season, so now would be a good time - especially since conference play will begin this weekend. The Tech men are looking strong this season. On Wednesday, we beat Bradley 86-84 with a layup by Anthony Fisher with only 2.9 seconds left. Bradley is a team that received some votes in recent polls to be put into the top 25. That makes the school one of the 40 best in the country. Our Sports Information department at TTU had said to us yesterday that Bradley may be the best team to ever visit the Eblen Center, which is our home court. Even the San Luis Obispo Tribune newspaper in California posted a story on the game on their online edition.
Our men's team, also, topped UW-Milwaukee by a 78-68 margin this past Sunday. An article from the web site of Sports Illustrated can be read here.

Meanwhile, the women are going through a bit of a struggle in the early part of this season. However, this can be realistically understood, because they are facing serious national competition. After winning the first game of the season, we have lost four straight, all to powerful teams that can compete with virtually anyone in the country. The first loss came against Alabama, where we were even ahead 32-28 at halftime. However, a drought in the second half ended in a 71-56 loss. Our high point of that game is when our Marissa Hensley put a 3-pointer in to increase our lead to 29-17 with 6:18 left in the first half, but it went mostly downhill from there. Meagan Lyons and Deanna Apple were the top scorers in that game.

Next, our women headed to Malibu, California, where they participated in the Pepperdine Tournament. The first team there we faced was Pepperdine, who has size and long arms in their arsenal. We didn't really compete strongly from the get-go, and actually played better in the second half, and finished with a 91-62 loss this past Friday. Pepperdine is a Top 40 team in the country. On Saturday, we faced Virginia Tech, who has an even higher size advantage, as their tallest player is 6-6. The bright point in this game is that we shot 10-for-21 from 3-point range. VT dominated us pretty much everywhere else. Hensley and Kendall Cavin, with 19 and 13 points respecively, were the leading scorers. Most of the scoring went to the Hokies, who finished with a 87-52 win.

On Wednesday, the women faced an old rival, Middle Tennessee State. These games always create excitement for the communities around Cookeville, Tennessee (TECH) and Murfreesboro, Tennessee (MTSU), as well as those familiar with both teams. The MTSU squad have competed well this year against national powerhouses, falling by only 4 points to Top 25 ranked Maryland, and competed strong against Pat Summit's Tennessee Vols group. They came to the Eblen Center, or the "Hoop" as we at Tech like to call it, and they brought their A game. We trailed 32-23 at the half, and when all was said-and-done, the scoreboard showed a final of 68-50 in favor of the other team in our U.S. Congressional District. Cavin and Hensley were again the top scorers with 15 and 11 respectively between them.

Both our teams head to Clarksville, TN, where we face Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay on Saturday. Looking at history, I will go ahead and say that both the men and the women should be the favorites going into their games. The men should go deep into the OVC tournament this year, as they usually do. The women were ranked just below #50 in CBS Sportsline's pre-season magazine, and I see no reason why they can't compete this year. Once OVC play comes around, watch for the Tech women to tear up the court. They should play deep into the OVC tournament as well, perhaps even winning the tournament outright and heading of to the NCAAs.

Let's close this post with an interesting fact. The Tennessee Tech's women's team is the seventh-best in the country when considering win-loss percentage since the team's beginning. We are just a few games behind Stephen F. Austin, who is #6 by that statistic.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Tech Men Swoop On Bluefield, Both Our Teams Victorius In Tonight's Openers

It looks like both birds are ready to soar this season! The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles thrashed Bluefield College of Virginia by a final of 110-69 tonight. Fourteen of 15 players got to score in this one, and Tech led 50-32 at halftime. TTU will now head to Manhattan, Kansas, where the men will play Kansas State this Saturday night.

NEWS FLASH: Lady Eagles Find Their Prey In Lambuth

The Tennessee Tech Lady Golden Eagles started their new season on a high note, as they outlasted a tough Lambuth team and went on to win 92-75. Meagan Lyons and Cara Reed paced the team, as both had record high-scoring nights with 27 and 26 points each respectively. Kendall Cavin had 12 points herself and Marissa Hensley put in 11 points. The win gives first-year coach Amy Brown her first win. Former coach Bill Worrell retired this past season, and Brown, who has been an assistant coach here for several years, received the head coach job. The team looks like it is outlasting two key losses over the offseason. The loss of Coach Worrell, and the loss of standout Emily Christian, who was a senior last season. The Eagles (1-0) will go on to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where they will face Alabama on Friday, which will be a good test.

Tennessee Tech Basketball Season Set To Begin

Although this is more of a political & current events site, I still am able to throw some "odds and ends" into the mix. Here at TTU, our mens & womens basketball teams will head to the court for the first regular season games tonight. I am looking forward to this! We almost always field good, competitive teams every season, and this year looks no different. I went to the womens exhibition game this past Thursday, and they look ready. They beat Tusculum by a final of 79-62 here at the Eblen Center. The mens team looks ready from what I hear, as well. Tonight, the men face Bluefield College, while the women will duke it out against Lambuth University. Keep up with all the TTU Golden Eagles action at http://www.ttusports.com, or go to my links section and click "Tennessee Tech Sports".