Tennessee Vols morning report: Fourth spring practice concludes

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Vols football team wrapping up its fourth spring practice of 2019 leads our Volunteers news for Thursday, March 14, 2019.

As the men’s basketball SEC Tournament begins, all the Tennessee Vols can do is wait. They’re among the four teams who won’t be playing until Friday, so we actually have no news to bring you on that front for today. Just know that, to nobody’s surprise, the Georgia Bulldogs and Vanderbilt Commodores have been eliminated.

Anyway, our morning update on Rocky Top actually goes back to football. We’ve got some spring coverage to bring you as we wait to see what will happen with Tennessee basketball when they begin tourney play.

On top of that, we have baseball and tennis recaps to bring you. And there’s a tennis award to announce as well. So even without basketball, there was plenty of news throughout the day to cover. Let’s start with football.

Tennessee football hold fourth spring practice – Ryan Callahan, GoVols247

The Tennessee Vols wrapped up their first week of spring practice with their fourth practice overall on Wednesday. They practiced in helmets and shoulder pads.

"They’re scheduled to practice just once more, Friday afternoon, before taking off more than a week for Tennessee’s spring break, which officially starts Monday. Three periods of Wednesday’s practice were open to media, including a routes-on-air passing drills for the Vols’ quarterbacks and wide receivers that featured an impressive catch by Georgia transfer Deangelo Gibbs."

Baseball Vols beat UNC Asheville – Noah Taylor, VolsWire.com

The top 25 Tennessee Vols baseball team completed a two-game sweep in a midweek series against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs Wednesday with a 7-2 win to improve to 17-1. Up next for them is their SEC home opener Friday on the road against the No. 15 ranked Auburn Tigers.

"On the mound, RHP Chase Silseth (1-0) got his first start for the Vols. In three innings, the Farmington, N.M. native recorded four strikeouts while relinquishing two hits and a run. Five other pitchers saw action in the game, combing for 10 strikeouts and just six hits over the last six innings."

Men’s tennis falls to TCU – SECSports

The No. 22 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team fell at home 4-0 Wednesday to the No. 12 ranked TCU Horned Frogs, who improved their record to 10-3 on the year. The Vols will next host the No. 24 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday and the No. 8 ranked Florida Gators on Sunday.

"Tennessee (10-4, 1-2 SEC) began the day dropping the doubles point with Scott Jones and Pat Harper falling to the 56th-ranked doubles pair, Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov, 6-4, on court two. In back-and-forth fashion, No. 36 Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos fell, 6-4, to the No. 18 doubles pair, Bertus Kruger and Reese Stalder. On court three, Tennessee’s Adam Walton and Martim Prata led 5-4, before their match went unfinished."

Sadie Hammond named Women’s Tennis SEC Player of the Week – SECSports

Tennessee Lady Vols tennis senior Sadie Hammond was named the SEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week for her recent performances. This recognition comes after Tennessee scored two huge wins over the Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers.

"She made her season debut in the ITA singles rankings at No. 65. She took down the ITA’s No. 31 doubles team, Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova, in Tennessee’s win over No. 21 Texas A&M, 6-2. For the second time this season, defeated LSU’s Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson in doubles – the defending NCAA doubles champions."