Tennessee Vols morning report: Phillip Fulmer letter to fans
Tennessee Vols athletic director Phillip Fulmer penning a letter to the UT fan base leads our Volunteers news for Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
Welcome to the first day of May in 2019! A crazy winter and spring semester that saw the Tennessee Vols make history in men’s basketball but bad history in women’s basketball and the NFL Draft is now finally winding down.
But it’s not all ending, as there are plenty of other postseason sports. Our morning news on Rocky Top leads with a message from the athletic director himself, which is the proper time to give an update on the program.
Outside of that, we have multiple stories recognizing individuals to bring you, including a softball SEC Player of the Week, sports scholars and women’s tennis All-Americans. But let’s start with the update from the top.
Phillip Fulmer pens letter to Tennessee fans – Wes Rucker, GoVols247
Tennessee Vols athletic director Phillip Fulmer penned a letter to UT fans Tuesday about the state of the athletic program. Here is a bit of what he said in his spring update.
"With our basketball and swimming & diving programs having recently completed their seasons, we find ourselves positioned well in the Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup standings. Tennessee currently ranks 25th in the nation and fifth among SEC schools—that’s an improvement of 10 spots from our finish a year ago and a long way from finishing 46th back in 2016-17. Our goal is to continue to move up. As they say, you either get better or you get worse — you do not stay the same."
Cailin Hannon named SEC Player of the Week – SECSports
Tennessee Lady Vols junior center fielder Cailin Hannon was named the SEC’s Softball Player of the Week. Hannon hit .786 on the week with 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored while batting .800 in a weekend series against the Ole Miss Rebels.
"In the series finale extra-innings win over the Rebels, she moved the Lady Vols’ go-ahead run to third on the single to left and recorded seven putouts in center field. On the week, Hannon boasted a 1.071 slugging percentage and a team-high .786 on-base percentage."
Women’s tennis Vols named Doubles All-Americans – NCAA.com
Tennessee Lady Vols tennis senior Sadie Hammond and sophomore Kaitlin Staines have been named doubles All-Americans. They will compete as an 8-seed in the NCAA doubles bracket from May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
"All matches shall be the best-of-three sets. No-ad scoring and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all will be used for all matches. In doubles, a 10-point match tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set."
Vols have 14 athletes named Arthur Ashe Sports Scholars – Diverse Education
The 2019 edition for “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education” featured the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholars of the year. Tennessee had 14 players named among them, including four first-teamers, seven second-teamers, two third-teamers and one fourth-teamer. The athletes were across 10 sports: Football, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s track and field, soccer, softball, volleyball, women’s golf and women’s tennis.
"Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s commitment to education as well as his love for the game of tennis, U.S. colleges and universities are invited to participate in this annual awards program by nominating their outstanding sports scholars. In addition to their athletic ability and academic performance, Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars demonstrate a commitment to community service and student leadership."