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Arkansas slams Lady Vols for split

Two grand slams had a good news, bad news feel for the Tennessee Lady Vols softball team.

Playing a doubleheader at Arkansas on Friday, UT lost game one 5-2 when Lady Razorback Samantha Buckner hit a sixth-inning grand slam off reliever Megan Rhodes.

UT's Tonya Callahan got payback in game two for the Lady Vols.

Already leading 2-1, Callahan yanked a grand slam out of Lady 'Back Yard in the sixth to ignite an 11-2 romp for the No. 8-ranked Lady Vols (27-5, 5-4 SEC).

Arkansas (22-12, 2-8) must have made UT mad after the surprising turn of events in game one.

The Lady Vols had a season-high 16 hits in the nightcap, Callahan going 2-for-3 with six RBIs.

Callahan's grand slam was her eighth home run of the season and second of the day.

Shannon Doepking went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, including a solo home run that followed Callahan's slam. Erinn Webb was 3-for-3.

"Karen (co-head coach Weekly) and I were very proud of the way our kids responded in the day's second game after a tough loss in the sixth inning of game one," Lady Vol co-head coach Ralph Weekly said. "We were really pleased with our pitching and hitting in the second game and especially in our RBIs."

Rhodes (12-2) got the victory in game two, allowing two earned run on five hits with seven strikeouts.

Ashton Ward (15-3) took the loss in the opener when she loaded the bases in the sixth and forced in one run by hitting a batter. Rhodes came on in relief and surrendered the home run.

UT and Arkansas finish the three-game series today at noon.

Men's Tennis: The Vols must have been irritated by Tuesday's loss to Florida. UT took its No. 10 ranking to Arkansas (10-7, 2-3 SEC) and buried the Hogs 7-0 in Fayetteville.

"Any win on the road in the SEC is a good win," UT coach Sam Winterbotham said. "I thought the guys came out with a lot of good energy in doubles and maintained focus throughout the day. Getting back on track was important and we did that emphatically against a very good Arkansas team."

Tennessee (14-2, 3-2) set the theme for the day by sweeping the doubles matches. The momentum carried over into singles as the Vols won the first set in five of six matches.

J.P. Smith clinched the victory at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 7-5 waltz past Blake Strode.

Women's Tennis: The Lady Vols (10-5, 3-2 SEC) had a nice time in Hawaii for spring break, but jet lag must have been a problem with the return home for SEC play against Arkansas.

The 22nd-ranked Razorbacks (11-5, 4-1) torched No. 20 UT 6-1 at the Varsity Courts.

Sophomore Zsofia Zubor was the lone Lady Vol to avoid defeat, claiming her 13th singles victory with a 6-1, 6-2 romp past Maryori Franco in the No. 4 spot.

UT fans did a get chance to see the nation's top-ranked singles player Aurelija Miseviciute, a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Caitlin Whoriskey on the No. 1 court.

Women's Golf: The Lady Vols finished round one of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic tied for eighth (309) at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

Senior Marci Turner and sophomore Angela Oh each fired 4-over-par 76s to end day one tied for 23rd. Turner was 3-under after nine holes, but struggled the rest of the way around.

Nicole Smith finished with a 77, Ginny Brown an 80 and Diana Cantu an 82.

Women's Rowing: The Lady Vols open the 2008 spring schedule 10 a.m. today with a home meet on Lake Loudoun against Minnesota. Tennessee features the No. 7-ranked Varsity Eight crew in the nation. The Golden Gophers' Varsity Eight is ranked 13th.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

       2 Comments

Posted by givehim6 on March 22, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Have you a trend of SEC competiton in collage sports between UA & UT?

Posted by pupvol on March 22, 2008 at 9:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

where can i find lady vol schedule?

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