Tennessee Vols morning report: SEC Tournament, Pro day recap

The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team’s first SEC Tournament game and a recap of football’s pro day leads our Volunteers news for Friday, March 13, 2019.

We’re down to eight teams in the men’s basketball SEC Tournament, and finally the Tennessee Vols are one of the teams playing. That is obviously what’s going to lead the long list of UT news stories for today.

Our morning update on Rocky Top begins with a preview of Tennessee’s SEC Tournament match-up. But it also involves a feature on one basketball player along with a recap of a major football event that happened Thursday.

Outside of that, we have a softball recap and preview, a softball recognition story, and previews in numerous other sports from baseball to men’s and women’s tennis to rowing to golf. But let’s start with the SEC Tournament.

Tennessee basketball to face Mississippi State – SECSports

The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Friday night at 9 p.m. in Nashville. Whichever team wins that game will face the the winner between the Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide, scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m., on Saturday at 3 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, the LSU Tigers will face the Florida Gators at 1 p.m., and the Auburn Tigers will face the South Carolina Gamecocks at 3 p.m.

"Teams will be seeded No. 1 through No. 14 in the SEC Basketball Tournament bracket based upon the final regular season Conference standings. Teams that finished No. 1 through No. 4 in the final regular season standings shall receive first- and second-round byes and teams that finish No. 5 through No. 10 will receive first-round byes in the SEC Basketball Tournament."

Admiral Schofield featured in Players’ Tribune video – The Players’ Tribune

A mini-biography of Tennessee basketball senior Admiral Schofield documents his time on Rocky Top and why he chose the Vols. It also featured his father and Rick Barnes. Here’s a bit of what he said.

"“Four years went by like that. I won’t have any regrets. What I set out to do, I did. Just really reflecting on that, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to call myself a Vol for Life.”"

Tennessee football holds pro day – GoVols247

The Tennessee Vols football team held its annual pro day Thursday morning, and 12 former UT players got their chance to showcase what they could do. Participants were Kyle Phillips, Jonathan Kongbo, Alexis Johnson, Micah Abernathy, Quart’e Sapp, Keller Chryst, Madre London, Shy Tuttle, Jesse Medford, Paul Bain, D.J. Henderson and Malik Elion.

"The Vols were the only SEC team not to have a player invited to the recent NFL Scouting Combine, so Thursday’s showcase was an important opportunity for the former Tennessee players hoping to earn their shot at the next level either by hearing their name called in next month’s NFL Draft in Nashville or as undrafted free agents. There were around 30 NFL scouts present as players measured in, repped 225 pounds on the benchpress, went through the various testing events (40-yard dash, vertical jump, three-cone drill and other shuttle runs) before going through position-specific drills."

Tennessee baseball opens SEC play vs. Auburn – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com

The No. 21 ranked Tennessee Vols baseball team takes its 17-1 record on the road to open SEC play this weekend with a three game series against the No. 15 ranked Auburn Tigers. Here are the scheduled starting pitchers against the 15-2 Tigers.

"Friday: RHP Garrett Stallings (4-0, 1.63 ERA) vs. RHP Tanner Burns (3-0, 0.67 ERA)Saturday: RHP Zach Linginfelter (4-0, 0.75 ERA) vs. LHP Jack Owen (3-0, 0.00 ERA)Sunday: RHP Will Neely (2-1, 6.16 ERA) vs. TBD"

Softball opens Tennessee Invitational with win – Peyton Martin, Daily Beacon

The No. 5/6 Tennessee Lady Vols softball team dominated the BYU Cougars with a 14-2 win Thursday night to open the Tennessee Invitational and move to 20-3 on the year. They’ll continue the event Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a game against the Texas Longhorns. On Saturday, they’ll play BYU again at 2:30 p.m. before facing Texas again on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"The Tennessee softball team had four runs on the scoreboard before BYU recorded its first out of the game on Thursday. The Lady Vols scored two runs before they got their first hit."

Aubrey Leach a Senior CLASS Award candidate – SeniorClassAward.com

Tennessee Lady Vols softball second base star Aubrey Leach is one of 30 candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award. The award is given annually to a senior who is known for how well they performed on the field combined with what they did off the field from a community service and academic perspective.

"The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition."

Men’s tennis to host South Carolina and Florida – UTSports

The No. 22 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team will continue its three-game home stand this weekend against top 25 teams. At 10-4 and 1-2 in the SEC, they’ll face the No. 24 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks at 6 p.m. Friday and the No. 9 ranked Florida Gators Sunday at 1 p.m.

"Admission is free to all regular-season matches and parking is available in Lot N-12 which is located at the corner of Lake Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard. A live stream and live results will be available for the match by visiting the men’s tennis schedule page on utsports.com or on Twitter (@vol_tennis)"

Women’s tennis to visit South Carolina and Florida – UTSports

The No. 16 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols tennis team is mimicking the men’s tennis schedule but on the road. They will visit the No. 7 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks for a 10 a.m. match-up Friday and the No. 34 ranked Florida Gators for a 1 p.m. match-up Sunday.

"Tennessee (12-3, 2-1 SEC) is coming off of a weekend in which it recorded wins over two top 25 teams – No. 21 Texas A&M on Friday and No. 15 LSU on Sunday. The 4-0 win over LSU avenged an early-season loss to the Tigers at the ITA Kick-Off Tallahassee Regional. Following the pair of wins, the Lady Vols elevated from No. 33 to No. 16 in the ITA team rankings, while also entering the USTA top 25 at No. 25."

Rowing takes part in Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational – GoCards.com

Despite the event being at the Melton Lake Rowing Venue in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the Tennessee rowing team is taking part in an event hosted by the Louisville Cardinals. Those two will join the Yale Bulldogs, the Clemson Tigers, the Virginia Cavaliers, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Miami Hurricanes, the Indiana Hoosiers, the Wisconsin Badgers, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Alabama Crimson Tide for the two-day event.

"The regatta will open on Saturday with a morning session from 9 a.m.-noon ET, followed by an afternoon session from 2:30-6 p.m. ET. Competition will conclude with a Sunday morning session from 9 a.m.-noon ET. Live results from all three sessions will be available on the Louisville team Twitter account (@UofLRowing) and HereNow.com, with daily recaps following on GoCards.com."

Men’s golf to compete in Linger Longer Invitational – GolfStat.com

The No. 22 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s golf team will be one of 15 teams competing in the Linger Longer Invitational this weekend in Greensboro, Ga. This event will last from Friday to Sunday and also includes the No. 24 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, the No. 15 ranked Georgia Bulldogs, the No. 21 ranked Liberty Flames and the No. 25 ranked Louisville Cardinals.