Tennessee Vols morning report: Kellie Harper recaps upset loss to Auburn
It’s a bit of a depressing day to cover the Tennessee Vols. The women’s basketball team suffered a horrific loss Thursday, one that wrecked all the excitement that was surrounding what they have become this year. Fans are beyond shocked about it.
Our morning update on Rocky Top has to lead with continuing coverage of that loss. Players and coaches spoke after the game, and we’ll recap what they said. On a brighter basketball note, though, there’s a men’s basketball player on an awards watch list we’ll mention.
Beyond basketball in general, there are multiple events to cover this weekend beyond the the men’s basketball game at the Texas Longhorns Saturday. We’ve got a track meet and a men’s tennis event to discuss, and we’ll close with cross country awards.
Kellie Harper, guards talk Auburn loss – Maria M. Cornelius, GoVols247
The Tennessee Lady Vols lost their first SEC game Thursday night 71-61 at the Auburn Tigers, who were ironically winless in the league. Kellie Harper, Jordan Horston and Jordan Walker spoke after the game. Harper said her team looked frustrated on the court for the first time in a while and gave Auburn credit for it. Here’s a bit of what she said.
"“Auburn played a really good basketball game. They’ve been knocking at the door here in some games recently and just weren’t able to close it out, but I’ll tell you they played with great aggressiveness all night long.”"
Horston and Walker talked about the fact that they didn’t do what they usually do. Here is how Horston descibed it.
"“I feel like we just didn’t come out playing our game. We came out kind of complacent, which I feel like we’ve never done that before.”"
Walker talked about what this means with the rest of their league schedule. This is what she said when it comes to that.
"“We knew coming into this season the SEC was going to be tough night in and night out, so, you know, it just proves to us even more that every single night you have to come and play. You have to play your game.”"
Kennedy Chandler on Defensive Player of the Year watch list – NaismithTrophy.com
On Thursday, the Naismith Trophy named its Defensive Player of the Year 2022 Watch List. Tennessee Vols freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler was named to it.
"Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the creator of the game of basketball, the first Naismith trophy was awarded in 1969 to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The trophy was sculpted by Marty C. Dawe of Atlanta and has become among the most prestigious national honors awarded each year to top basketball players in the nation. The Naismith Women’s Player of the Year Award was first given to Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University in 1983.…In 2018, the Men’s and Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year was added to the Naismith family, with Jevon Carter and Teaira McCowan taking home the inaugural awards."
Men’s tennis set for ITA Kickoff Weekend – WeAreCollegeTennis.com
Coming off a top 10 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and ranked No. 1, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team will take part in the the 60-team Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend as one of the 15 host teams. They will face the Old Dominion Monarchs Friday at 1 p.m. ET and then either the Memphis Tigers or Western Michigan Broncos Saturday.
"Up to 36 teams may earn regional representation if they are ranked top-3 in their region based on the ITA National Rankings and fall within the top-75 nationally.The remaining spots in the 60-team Kickoff Weekend are filled with at-large selections based on the year-end ITA National Rankings."
Track and field set for event at Clemson – UTSports
This weekend, the Tennessee Vols men’s and women’s track and field team will have 51 players competing in the Bob Pollack Meet. The event is hosted by the Clemson Tigers and will take place on Friday and Saturday.
"UT opens the meet Friday at 1:10 p.m. ET with the women’s 60-meter dash preliminaries. The men’s 4x400m relay beginning at 3:45 p.m. Saturday wraps up the weekend for Tennessee."
Cross Country teams earn All-Academic honors – ustfccca.org
Both the men’s and women’s Tennessee Vols Cross Country teams earned All-Academic team honors by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. On the Lady Vols’ side, redshirt junior Olivia Janke and senior Sydney Seymour were named All-Academic Athletes.
"We saw some incredible performances from student-athletes in each venue during the 2021 season. You can’t have one without the other to complete the student-athlete experience.That’s why the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is pleased to honor those individuals and teams that stood out both academically and athletically."