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Mike Hamilton’s hiring record as Tennessee’s men’s athletic director is looking better all the time.

Sam Winterbotham on Wednesday was named SEC Coach of the Year.

Even if you’ve been in solitary confinement at Brushy Mountain the past three years, you know the Bruce Pearl story.

The Todd Raleigh era at Lindsey Nelson Stadium is just getting started, but the early returns are positive.

But has anybody noticed what Winterbotham is doing over in the tennis corner on campus?

The 34-year-old Englishman was an unknown (to Knoxville) quantity when Hamilton hired him in October 2006. With the assistance of local hero Chris Woodruff, his associate head coach, Winterbotham has quickly restored the Vols to national prominence.

And now he joins Pearl as Hamilton’s second SEC Coach of the Year.

Eighth-ranked UT’s 4-3 victory over No. 3 Georgia last Saturday deserves a second mention. The Bulldogs are college tennis royalty. They had won 40 consecutive SEC dual matches dating to 2005.

Tennessee is 20-2, with a lineup that includes four freshmen, a sophomore and one senior, Kaden Hensel. The Vols’ 9-2 SEC mark going into the conference tournament this weekend at Arkansas is the program’s best since Michael Fancutt’s teams went 10-1 in 2000 and 9-2 in 2001.

--Glory Johnson of Webb School is on the Parade first-team All-America squad coming in Sunday's paper. Four other members of the Lady Vols' incoming class also are Parade All-Americans.

Amber Gray is on the first team; Shekinna Stricklen, Alicia Manning and Alyssia Brewer are on the second team.

Parade's co-players of the year are Elena Delle Donne (UConn) and Nneka Ogwunike (Stanford).

--If you see somebody grab a facemask this fall at Neyland Stadium, there will no longer be any suspense as to whether its a 5- or 15-yard penalty.

It'll be 15, a felony. No more misdemeanor "incidental" facemask flags. That's one of the new rules the NCAA recently approved for 2008.

The most discussed new rule is the NFL-style 40-second clock that starts immediately after the end of the previous play. It replaces the 25-second clock that began after an official marked the ball ready for play.

Another tweak, a kickoff that goes out of bounds will be placed at the 40 rather than the 35.

--Think Phillip Fulmer would like this idea? UCLA's players bolted spring practice Tuesday, upholding a tradition known as "over the wall day" that dates to the 1970s, according to the Los Angeles Times. New coach Rick Neuheisel had asked the team not to do it this year, figuring he needs all 15 of his allotted sessions. So he wasn't pleased when the team huddled after stretching and dashed off the field.

But Neuheisel figured it was coming since the Bruins went over the wall when he was a player 1980-83. These days, they don't literally climb over the wall at Spaulding Field. They sprinted through an open gate.

--Who was the last Tennessee football starter who wasn't a U.S. Citizen? Apparently, Anthony Herrera.

There was a nice story in the Minneapolis paper about Herrera becoming a U.S. Citizen at age 27.

Herrera came to Florida when he was 14 from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago. He was a three-year starter at guard for UT (2001, 2002-03), then found a home with the Minnesota Vikings.

He was sworn in on March 26 in St. Paul, Minn., accompanied by Vikings coach Brad Childress.

Herrera broke into the starting lineup last season and looks to stay there in 2008.

--We knew they loved their basketball in Kentucky. Here's empirical proof.

According to Lexington Herald-Leader hoops guru Jerry Tipton, a survey by Media Audit ranks Lexington No. 1 in percentage of adults who are fans of college basketball (65.7 percent).

Raleigh-Durham is No. 2, followed by Louisville, Tucson and Columbus, Ohio. Memphis is No. 11. Little Rock and Columbia, S.C., made the top 20.

--A state school let a national championship slip away last week. No, we're not talking about Memphis basketball.

Vanderbilt's NCAA bowling dynasty ended at one year. The defending-champion Commodores were up three games to none on Maryland-Eastern Shore in the semifinals only to lose 4-3. MES (as it's known in bowling circles) then beat Arkansas State for the title.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.