Tennessee Vols men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes recapping his team’s win over Vanderbilt leads our Volunteers news for Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019.
It’s just a normal Wednesday in February, but the entire nation is facing hectic weather. Such craziness comes with an insanely loaded news day for the Tennessee Vols, and we’re going to get to all of it.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with a recap of the men’s basketball win over the Vanderbilt Commodores from Tuesday night. But that’s not our only recap: we have a baseball recap and a swimming and diving recap to also bring you.
Softball rankings and three separate awards are also on the plate, and we’re gong to get to all of them as we bring you our report. But let’s start by building off of our coverage from last night’s men’s basketball game.
Rick Barnes comments on Vanderbilt win – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
Tennessee Vols men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes met with the media after his team’s ugly 58-46 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores to move to 24-2 overall and 12-1 in the SEC. Here is everything he said after the victory.
"“We came out tonight, and I thought defensively, we were very good. We had some shots that we didn’t make, we had some looks at it, but I’ve got a lot of respect for Vanderbilt. The fact that once the season got started, they’ve had to really rebuild themselves after Darius Garland went down, and I think Bryce Drew has done a terrific job. They play hard, that’s one thing when they’ve had the kind of year they’ve had.”"
Tennessee baseball shuts out Northern Kentucky – Noah Taylor, Volswire.com
The Tennessee Vols men’s baseball team dominated Northern Kentucky Tuesday to move to 4-0. In a game that was moved up to 3:05 p.m. due to incoming weather, UT recorded a fourth straight shutout with an 18-0 win.
"Tennessee has now held an opponent scoreless in the last 37 innings dating back to the bottom of the eighth inning versus Missouri on May 19, 2018.“It’s tough to play four games a week,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. “I think that’s one nice thing about our team. We’re built to do that. If you look at a regional and you come out of a loser’s bracket, you have to have that five-games a week-type pitching staff.”"
Rennia Davis named SEC Player of the Week – SEC Staff
Tennessee women’s basketball star Rennia Davis was named SEC Player of the Week for her role in helping the Lady Vols to victory last week over the Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers. The sophomore has begun to grow into a star in her own right after spending the first part of the season in Evina Westbrook’s shadow.
"Davis, who played all 40 minutes in each game, shot 11 of 25 from the field (.440), 2 of 5 from the three-point arc (.400) and 6 of 6 from the charity stripe (1.000) for the week. She connected on six of 12 field goal attempts, including two of five from long range, to tally 16 points and 11 rebounds in helping UT knock off Mizzou in Columbia on Sunday. Davis hit a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left for what turned out to be the game’s final points in a 62-60 Lady Vol victory over an MU team that beat #5/5 Mississippi State on Thursday night. She is now 25 of 26 on free throws since Jan. 13. Davis also hit a crucial three-pointer with 4:48 remaining in the contest that put Tennessee on top by one after the Big Orange trailed by four on two occasions. Against Auburn on Thursday night, Davis supplied 15 points and 10 rebounds in UT’s triumph of what was classified by SEC observers as a must-win game for the Lady Vols."
Tennessee softball remains top 10 in national polls – UTSports
Despite a rough weekend in the Clearwater Invitational that included an upset loss to the James Madison Dukes and then a loss to the Florida State Seminoles, the Tennessee Lady Vols softball team remained in the Top 10 in polls Tuesday. After going 3-2 at the invitational, they came in at No. 7 in one poll, No. 8 in a poll, and No. 9 in another.
"The Lady Vols will be back in action this weekend as they welcome Kansas, Virginia, Bradley, Louisville and Tennessee State to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for the Tennessee Classic (2/22-24). All Tennessee games will feature a live radio broadcast on UTSports.com and the UT Gameday App. The games will also be available for viewing on SECN+/WatchESPN App."
Tennessee thriving at swimming and diving SEC championships – SEC Staff
The Tennessee Vols men’s swimming and diving team came in fourth after the first day of the SEC Championships while the women came in No. 1. They took home three medals overall.
"In the women’s 200 medley relay, Tennessee’s Megan Small, Nikol Popov, Madeline Banic and Erika Brown posted an SEC Championship meet record and the fastest time in the nation this season with a time of 1:34.26 to take first place. Missouri finished second with a time of 1:35.62, and Florida claimed third with a time of 1:35.64."
Sam Rice, Brianna Leverenz named to community service team – UTSports
Tennessee swimming and diving seniors Sam Rice and Brianna Leverenz were named to the SEC Swimming and Diving Community Service team. The team highlights athletes who gave back to their communities.
"Leverenz has varied experience in community service which includes, working as a learn-to-swim coach at the Emerald Academy in Knoxville, serving community holiday meals for the less fortunate, participating in programs such as Coats for the Cold and highlighting women empowerment with StrongHER Together. She excels in the classroom, earning SEC Academic Honor Roll in each of her past three years.Rice, who is a Biological Sciences major, has the most community service hours of any male for the Vols and has accumulated 42 hours in his senior year. As a co-chairman with SAAC, he has worked with the VolsHELP program to promote a healthy lifestyle and has promoted prostate cancer awareness at the UT Medical Center Man Run. The Cohasset, Mass. native is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient and has been named as an honorable mention of the CSCAA Scholar All-America team twice."