This weekend may be the biggest sports weekend ever at the University of Tennessee. From football and basketball to swimming and diving, Tennessee will be the place to be for any sports fan wearing orange.
This weekend’s action begins today at 2 p.m. as the No. 8 Tennessee swimming and diving team hosts No. 11 Virginia at the UT Aquatic Center. This is the fourth meeting between the two schools with the Cavaliers winning last year, 138-103.
The women’s diving team will be competing at Indiana this weekend. The Lady Vols stand at 3-2 on the year, however, Tennessee will be competing this weekend without the swimming team.
The Lady Vol volleyball team begins the first round of the SEC Tournament at today 12:30 p.m. at the Stephen O’Connell Center at the University of Florida. Tennessee is the fourth seed and will face fifth-seeded Arkansas.
Tennessee beat Arkansas 3-2 on Oct. 6 in Fayetteville. If the Lady Vols advance, they will face the Florida-Mississippi winner on Saturday.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Volunteer basketball team hits the hardwood for their season opener against Chattanooga. The Vols lead the all-time series against the Mocs 28-4 while holding an 18-1 edge at Thompson-Boling Arena.
(Chattanooga) is well-coached with good size up front, Vol head coach Jerry Green said. We’ll have our hands full with a good basketball team that has a lot to gain if they come up here and beat us.
UTC boasts nine new faces on their young roster. However, leading the way in the paint will be 6-foot-10 center Oliver Morton. He will be a force for the Mocs this season, although he may miss tonight’s game after he sprained his ankle on Nov. 5. That could open up the lane for Tennessee.
The big thing is we have a lot of ways to score and we have a good rotation of our players, Green said. We need to do less gambling on defense.
Tennessee will look to run up and down the floor tonight, something that could wear down UTC. After last season’s dismal mark of 10-19, Morton will be the sole leader of the Chattanooga squad and if he isn’t in the lineup, the Mocs will have a long ride home.
Only hours after the UT-Kentucky football game, the Lady Vol basketball team will suit up for their season opener at 7 p.m. when they host DePaul. The Lady Vols begin their race to return to the national championship game with depth and experience. Tennessee will also look to a stellar freshman class to contribute for future success.
First of all, the team is very anxious to play someone other than themselves, head coach Pat Summitt said. We are trying to work four freshmen into the mix and introduce some offensive schemes.
We are in a fast-forward mode because of our early schedule with games against DePaul and Clemson, two very strong opponents and veteran teams.
The men return to the court to face another in-state foe on Sunday at 3 p.m. when East Tennessee State comes calling. The Bucs, who were once the cream of the crop in the Southern Conference, are scrapping to get back to their dominant years of old.
East Tennessee State has the characteristics of a team that is well-coached and fundamentally sound, Green said. They have great quickness in the backcourt and handle the ball well.
Fifth-year coach Ed DeChellis has made small steps in re-establishing ETSU, but they are far from the days of Keith Jennings, Calvin Talford and Greg Dennis. The bulk of the offense now revolves around guards Dimeco Childress and D.J. McDuffie.
Finally, on Sunday, the Vol tennis team kicks off the USTA/UT Challenger. The tournament will last all week.
