Tennessee Vols morning report: NCAA Tournament updates

March Madness is on! The Tennessee Vols’ results in the 2019 NCAA Tournament lead our Volunteers news for Monday, March 25, 2019.

In at least one way, it’s a thrilling time for Tennessee Vols fans. The results of the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament make that so, and that’s a big part of our morning report. However, in totality, things are a bit bittersweet.

Our updates on Rocky Top includes the results of both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament games this past weekend. When you add the women, it’s definitely not good news. We also have NCAA results for swimming and diving.

Outside of that, this Monday’s slate is loaded with weekend recaps, which you’ll notice pretty soon. Spring sports are clearly in full swing, and the season itself is finally here, putting all this on display. Let’s start, though, with the NCAA Tournament news.

Men’s basketball heading to Sweet 16 – Grant Ramey, GoVols247

The Tennessee Vols had to hold off the Colgate Raiders and then beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16. In both cases, they blew huge first-half leads. Nonetheless, the No. 2 seed in the South Region is advancing and has matched its all-time wins total with a 31-5 record. They’ll face the No. 3 seed Purdue Boilermakers in Louisville at 7:29 p.m. on TBS Thursday.

"The Tennessee-Purdue winner will face either No. 1-seed Virginia or No. 12 Oregon Saturday in Louisville. This Tennessee group has history with Purdue. The Vols went to the Bahamas last season and upset the then-18th-ranked Boilermakers to start the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament."

Fiery quotes after women’s basketball eliminated – Jordan Crammer, WKRN.com

After drawing controversy by getting a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Tennessee Lady Vols showed they didn’t belong, losing their first game as a No. 11 seed to the No. 6 seeded UCLA Bruins. Things boiled over in the postgame, as Evina Westbrook said staff changes needed to be made, implying that maybe Holly Warlick needs to go.

"With the team failing to make it past the opening weekend of the Big Dance for a second consecutive season, the question of Warlick’s future with the team is on everyone’s mind.“Do I want to keep coaching? Absolutely. But if they want to go in a different direction, that’s not up to me,” Warlick said in the postgame press conference."

Baseball Vols win series vs. South Carolina – Ben Breiner, TheState.com

Tennessee baseball took two of three from the South Carolina Gamecocks at home over the weekend. The No. 22 ranked Vols won 15-5 on Friday before losing 3-2 on Saturday. They took the rubber match on Sunday to improve to 20-5 overall and 2-4 in the SEC.

"The No. 24 Gamecocks dropped a 6-3 contest and the series at No. 22 Tennessee on Sunday to fall to 1-5 in SEC play. USC (16-8) appeared to have a chance at a second one-run victory in Knoxville, but things came apart in the eighth."

Tennessee softball takes series vs. Arkansas – Press Argus-Courier

The No. 5 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols softball team took two of three over the Arkansas Razorbacks at home over the weekend. They won 6-4 on Friday, lost 1-0 on Saturday and rebounded for a 5-2 win on Sunday. Arkansas, who fell to 22-9 and 4-5 in the SEC, did score first on Sunday, but the Lady Vols then took control.

"Tennessee (26–5, 4-2) would capitalize off an error by the Hogs on a two-out dropped fly ball to tie the game at one in the bottom of the fourth. The Lady Volunteers strung together four runs on three hits and another Razorback error to take a 5-1 lead in the fifth."

Women’s Swimming and Diving finishes 8th at NCAAs – Andrew Mering, SwimSwam.com

The Tennessee Lady Vols Swimming and Diving team finished No. 8 at NCAAs, the highest of any SEC team. They secured 185 points to finish in the top 10 for their second straight year. For the third straight year, the Stanford Cardinal finished first.

"As usual this was a meet dominated by upperclassmen. Freshmen scored 426.5 individual points, sophomores scores 397.5, juniors scored 820.5, and seniors scored 835.5."

Men’s tennis beats Ole Miss after losing to Mississippi State – UTSports

Following a 4-3 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road Friday, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team rebounded to beat the Ole Miss Rebels 4-2 in Oxford on Sunday. With the win, the No. 19 ranked Vols improved to 12-6 overall and 3-4 in the SEC.

"The Orange and White return home on Friday, March 29 for a date against Auburn before hosting Alabama and Mercer in a doubleheader on Sunday, March 31. The match against Auburn is slated for a 6 p.m. first serve from Barksdale Stadium."

Women’s tennis beats Mississippi State, Ole Miss – UTSports

The Tennessee Lady Vols tennis team scored two home wins over the weekend, beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday 4-2 and the Ole Miss Rebels 4-0 on Sunday. With the win, the No. 29 ranked Lady Vols moved to 14-5 overall and 4-3 in the SEC.

"Tennessee hits the road for a pair of away conference matches next weekend. The Lady Vols take on Auburn on Friday at 2 p.m. before facing Alabama on Saturday at 12 p.m."

Rowing swept by Alabama – Apalachicola Times

Tennessee rowing hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide at Melton Lake Park Sunday. The No. 18 ranked Tide swept the Vols in all their races.

"The Tide’s First Varsity 8+ started the sweep, posting a 5:58.1 time, besting the Volunteers by six seconds. The Second Varsity 8+ (6:05.4), First Varsity 4+ (6:42.6) and Second Varsity 4+ (6:48.0) rolled along, adding three more wins for Alabama. The Tide’s Third Varsity 4+ competed with the 2V4+ crews, finishing third with a 7:05.8 finish. Alabama’s Third Varsity 8+ wrapped up the day with a 6:09.2 finish, securing the Tide its third sweep in as many weekends."

Women’s golf finishes 6th at Hawkeye El Tigre Invitational – Golfstat.com

Tennessee Lady Vols golf junior Micheala Williams secured her third top 10 finish this year, coming in No. 8 at the Hawkeye El Tigre Invitational. The Lady Vols overall finished No. 6.

Track and Field sweeps Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge – Deltatiming.com

Tennessee track and field managed to take over the Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge on Friday and Saturday in Miami. They finished first among the women with a team score of 130 and first among the men with a team score of 182.