Tennessee Vols morning report: Dominick Wood-Anderson arriving at UT
A JuCo tight end arriving at UT and disputes over the Tennessee Vols firing Chancellor Davenport lead the Volunteers news for Thursday, May 10, 2018.
We’re one-third of the way through the month of May, and the Tennessee Vols continue to bring drama to the program. That drama manifests itself again this morning following reports of the university’s controversial administrative decision last week.
As we get set to bring you the news on Rocky Top, those reports are relevant because of the belief that it’s related to decisions in the athletic department. But it’s not the only thing leading this morning’s news.
We also have a football story to bring you about a player enrolling on campus. So football is still the engine driving the train heading into the middle of May. Is anybody surprised by that at all who follows UT?
Well, there are also two spring postseason stories to bring you. One sport is in the middle of its postseason, and another is set to begin it today. Let’s begin with the football enrollment news, though.
Dominick Wood-Anderson arrives on Rocky Top – Patrick Brown, GoVols247
One of the prized bulls of the 2018 Tennessee football recruiting class, a four-star junior college tight end is coming to Knoxville. Dominick Wood-Anderson confirmed Wednesday that he’s heading to Knoxville to begin his career with the Tennessee Vols.
"According to Tennessee’s online directory, Wood-Anderson is listed as an active student admitted for the May mini-term semester, which began on Wednesday.The four-star prospect out of Arizona Western College is the second signee to get to campus this week as he joins defensive lineman Kingston Harris is arriving ahead of the rest of the 2018 signing class."
Disputes over Berverly Davenport firing – Tyler Whetstone, Knoxville News Sentinel
When Joe DiPietro’s letter to Beverly Davenport about the reasons for her demotion from chancellor came out last week, it was assumed that she was fired because the Haslams got involved after she took a stand against them in the Tennessee Vols athletic department decisions last December. Well, the new disputes don’t help anything. Some UT Faculty and United Campus Workers staff says it’s because of her opposition to a proposed outsourcing plan. DiPietro denied that, however. So the different stories only further affirm the incompetence. Here’s a bit of what DiPietro said.
"“We said from the very beginning that whether to use outsourcing for facilities services would be the decision of each chancellor, and we have stood by that. We agree with Gov. Haslam that the outsourcing initiative is over, and we have moved on. We will not revisit it. The matter of outsourcing had absolutely nothing to do with my decision about Dr. Davenport.”"
Tennessee softball begins SEC Tournament – Lauren Moore, Maryville Daily Times
The Tennessee Lady Vols softball team opens play in the SEC Tournament as a No. 4 seed. They will face the LSU Tigers, who defeated the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday. The two will play at 5 p.m. at Mizzou Softball Stadium.
"“We are heading into what is the toughest tournament, short of the College World Series, because of the teams in this tournament,” UT co-head coach Karen Weekly said Monday. “It doesn’t matter who you play, it’s going to be an extremely good game and tough battle. I think it’s just a great way to get us prepared for postseason play.”"
Golf’s Williams advances to NCAA Championship – UTSports
Tennessee Lady Vols golf sophomore Michaela Williams 1-under at 71 in the third round at Tallahassee, finishing seventh place overall. Her performance was enough for her to advance to the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla. as an individual. Tennessee, however, finished 11th overall and missed the cut.
"Williams finished the NCAA Tallahassee Regional nine strokes below par, shooting 67 and 69 during the first two rounds for a 54-hole total of 207. Her three-day tally is the Lady Vols’ second lowest of the season."