Spring sports may still be in full swing with numerous postseasons underway, but the Tennessee Vols football program once again makes the biggest news of the day. Josh Heupel is making sure of that with his media sessions.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with Heupel conducting multiple interviews on Wednesday with different outlets. We’ll discuss our biggest takeaways from what he said in those interviews. It’s safe to say he is keeping UT relevant with them.
Outside of football, though, we have multiple postseason stories, including the ongoing softball SEC Tournament, a recap of the women’s golf NCAA Regionals and a preview of the track and field SEC Tournament. Awards in softball and women’s soccer along with the addition of a men’s tennis transfer rounds out our coverage for today. Let’s start with the football news.
Josh Heupel discusses QB competition, spring ball – Trey Wallace, RockyTopInsider
On Wednesday, the RTI Digital Series featured a 22-minute interview with Tennessee Vols football head coach Josh Heupel. The quarterback race, spring practice and the offensive schemes were all topics of conversation. Here’s a bit of what Heupel said about the suspended players.
"“You want to help them grow through some of those experiences. You want to inform and educate them on how they can be better decision makers before some of those things happen as well. At the same time, you want to help them grow as young men. As a general process, there are some things they’ve got to do to earn their way back in and on our program.”"
UT football slump a topic of Josh Heupel radio interview – Outkick 360
Along with the RTI Digital Series, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel went on Outkick 360 Wednesday to talk about the program. He addressed the state of UT right now and drew on his own experiences as a player for a comparison. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“I went to Oklahoma and that was a program, at the time, that hadn’t been to a bowl game for five straight years. There was some uncertainty and negativity that surrounded that program. I say that as a positive because, just like here at Tennessee, they have passion. They care. They want to live it, breathe it, and eat it 365 days out of the year.”"
Softball advances in SEC Tournament – UT Daily Beacon
In their first softball game of the 2021 SEC Tournament, the No. 7 seed Tennessee Lady Vols beat the No. 10 seed Texas A&M Aggies with a 3-2 win thanks to a walk-off double from Ivy Davis that drove in two runs. They will next face the No. 2 seed Arkansas Razorbacks, which is the third game of the day Thursday and will be played 35 minutes after the second game ends.
"Ashley Rogers was firing on all cylinders tonight, with 13 strikeouts on the game. Despite pitching nine innings, Rogers limited the Aggies to just four hits. Rogers picked up the win to improve her record to 24-8."
Chelsea Seggern named to SEC Community Service Team – SECSports
Fifth-year senior infielder Chelsea Seggern represented the Tennessee Lady Vols on the SEC Softball Community Service Team for 2021. This is the second time Seggern earned the honor, as she made the team in 2019 as well.
"Seggern has accumulated over 150 hours of community service during her time on Rocky Top. She has spent hours visiting and spending time with children at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital."
Women’s golf wraps up regionals – UTSports
With a final score of 18-over par, the Tennessee Lady Vols golf program came in 10th place at the NCAA Regionals. Junior Mikayla Bardwell advanced individually to the NCAA Championships, as she finished tied for second among all competitors, shooting three-under par.
"Bardwell becomes the sixth individual in Lady Vol program history to advance to the NCAA Championship round. As a team, Tennessee’s season came to a close after narrowly missing the cut line by three strokes and finishing just ten shots behind the Louisville Regional champions, Florida State."
SEC Track and Field Championships to begin – SECSports
Thursday marks the start of the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Tennessee Vols program is sending 47 athletes to compete in the event.
"Texas A&M University will serve as host of the 2021 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday through Saturday at E.B. Cushing Stadium. The meet begins at 2 p.m. CT on Thursday, 1:45 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Live results can be found at SECsports.com and 12thMan.com."
Men’s tennis adds transfer – UTSports
Ranked No. 3 in the nation, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team is still in the midst of a great season right now with the NCAA Round of 16 next week. However, they are already in the process of upgrading their future roster, as they added UT-Arlington transfer Angel Diaz Wednesday. Diaz will enroll in the Fall with three years of eligibility remaining.
"The Manabi, Ecuador native finished the 2021 dual season with a 7-7 record, playing primarily at the No. 1 position for the Mavericks. This season, he earned a career-high ITA singles ranking of No. 84—the highest mark for a Maverick since 2018—and was named First Team All-Sun Belt in singles play."
Women’s soccer places two on All-Region Teams – unitedsoccercoaches.org
Redshirt freshman forward Jaida Thomas of the Tennessee Lady Vols soccer team was named to the United Soccer Coaches Women’s All-Southeast Region First Team Wednesday. Junior forward Mackenzie George earned Third Team.