Winners announced for annual TSWA writing contest

June 13, 2018 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Sports Writers Association released the winners of the annual writing contest this week. All of the first, second and third-place winners will be recognized during the Hall of Fame dinner and banquet on Thursday, July 12, in Baird Chapel at Cumberland University. Thanks to Ron Higgins for again coordinating the judging for all of the categories in the annual writing contest.

TSWA 2017 WRITING CONTEST RESULTS
Entries were from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017
Note: Any category that is missing in the results was not judged due to having just one entry.

Division I
Gary Lundy Writer of the Year – 1. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean – The winner made me laugh with his feature on Derek Mason’s locker room speeches, made me feel empathy for Vandy’s Matthew Fisher-Davis’ needless foul that lost an NCAA tourney game for the Commodores and made me cry with his feature on the two Vandy baseball teammates who were with teammate Donny Everett when he drowned. 2. John Adams, Knoxville News-Sentinel. 3. Jason Wolf, The Tennessean.

Best Columnist – 1. John Adams, Knoxville News-Sentinel – What other columnist would predict in March (“The harsh reality is when Jones met Currie, he probably met the man who will fire him”) what will happen in November? What other columnist would find the college dorm room overlooking Tennessee’s practice field where he can watch closed practices. 2. Mark Wiedmer, Chattanooga Times-Free Press. 3. David Ammenheuser, The Tennessean.

Best Feature Writer – 1. Stephen Hargis, Chattanooga Times-Free Press – His features reflects the time and sweat he puts in them. This is a writer who does a lot of legwork and it shows in his stories. He also always paints the scene extremely well. 2. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean. 3. Jason Wolf, The Tennessean.

Best Event Writer – 1. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean – Reading the three stories of the winner, there are no holes in them. Good flow, multi-voices and the right amount of subtle analysis that tells a reader why something happened rather than writing it merely happened. 2. Teresa Walker, Associated Press. 3. Blake Toppmeyer, Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Best Prep Writer – 1. Tom Kreager, The Tennessean – A coach who lost 220 pounds, a one-armed high school catcher and a coach whose girls basketball team lost by 93 points. These are the winner’s unique subjects and he knocked all three out of the park one-by-one. 2. John Varlas, The Commercial Appeal 3. Luis Torres, The Jackson Sun.

Best Individual Layout – 1. Jamie Poole, Chattanooga Times-Free Press – All the layouts by the winner in this category contain an amazing amount of information without appearing crowded. All graphics are short and sweet. There’s not much waste of space. 2. Dylan Chessar, Chattanooga Times-Free Press. 3. Shelby Farmer, Chattanooga Times-Free Press.

Division II
Gary Lundy Writer of the Year – 1. Eric Bacharach, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro – Reading the winner’s three stories, they meet a standard of excellence in every way. Great subjects, complete and thorough reporting and written with a deft human touch. 2. Mike Hutchens, The Messenger, Union City. 3. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro.

Best Daily Section – 1. The Daily Messenger, Union City – Not a great amount of space, but this paper packs a lot in an eight-page section. The writing is tight and the pages have good flow. 2. The Daily Times, Maryville. 3. None awarded.

Best Special Section – 1. The Messenger, Union City – Everything about this preseason high school football special section just “pops” – the writing, the graphics, the vivid color picture reproduction, the layout. Wow! Wow! Wow! 2. The Daily Times, Maryville 3. Macon County Times.

Best Columnist – 1. Jimmy Hyams, WNML Sports Radio – To be blunt, the winner was simply the best of a weak bunch of entries. Only the winner gave a hint of opinion in his columns. Everybody else entered nothing but feature fluff except for the second place winner who wrote about his comeback from almost being killed in an auto accident. Note to Division 2 writers: When you enter this column next year, please have an opinion. 2. Mike Hutchens, The Messenger, Union City. 3. Austin Bornheim, The Daily Times, Maryville.

Best Feature Writer – 1. Eric Bacharach, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro – Consistency in all three of his features made this writer the winner. His life on the road with the MTSU women’s basketball team covered every angle. The only complaint is it was way too long. Brevity is not a bad thing. 2. Mike Hutchens, The Messenger, Union City. 3. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro.

Best Event Writer – 1. Erik Bacharach, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro – The story that made him the winner was the Middle Tennessee State baseball team attended the funeral of a 12-year-boy who had befriended and inspired the team. 2. Mike Hutchens, The Messenger, Union City. 3. Kevin Weaks, The Messenger, Union City.

Best News Writer – 1. Jimmy Hyams, WNML Sports Radio – The winner is obviously a polished writer. He took three “hard” news stories – the Josh Smith lawsuit, the Antoine Davis resignation and Greg Schiano’s invalid memorandum of understanding – and guided readers deftly through legal ins-and-outs in clear, concise manner. 2. Mike Hutchens, The Messenger, Union City 3. Kevin Weeks, The Messenger, Union City.

Best Prep Writer – 1. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro – The first rule of good sports writing is hooking the reader in the first three graphs and then moving the reader smoothly through a story. The winner chose to enter three features rather than a variety (news, event, column), but he knows his strength. Great angles and character development. 2. Mike Hutchens, The Messenger, Union City 3. Kevin Weaks, The Messenger, Union City.

Division III
Gary Lundy Writer of the Year – 1. Jimmy Hyams, WNML Sports Radio – This was an easy pick as the winner. His free-wheeling feature on former Tennessee basketball player Ron Slay was full of hilarious stories. His Tennessee-Missouri football game story was a smooth, well-paced read. 2. Craig Harris, Macon County Times 3. Joe Williams, Williamson Herald.

Best Special Section – 1. The Weakley County Press – “All-inclusive” is the best way to describe this section. Yes, it has all the bells and whistles that make it easy for the reader to navigate between the featured teams and a schedule grid on the outside back cover. But the fact group pictures of high school cheerleaders were included makes me think the editor understands more than players and coaches contribute to Friday nights. 2. Williamson Herald. 3. Journal West.

Best Event/News Writer – 1. Bill Sorrell, Journal West 10 – The winner entered three event stories, but they did exactly what event stories are supposed to do – put the reader not just at the event, but inside the event. Great work. 2. Joe Williams, Williamson Herald. 3. Craig Harris, Macon County Times.

Best Feature Writer – 1. Joe Williams, Williamson Herald – Really impressed that his features were more about a topic rather than a subject, such as Brentwood’s softball coach on the subject of her pitchers and infielders wearing protective masks, as well the business problems faced by NASCAR. 2. Jimmy Hyams, WNML Sports Radio. 3. Bill Traughber, Nashville Retrospect.

Division IV
Best Feature Writer – 1. Mark McGee, Lipscomb University – You can tell when a writer’s passion for a story subject shines through. It does time and again with this writer. His story on Lint Smith, who has served 40 years in the Lipscomb athletic department as director of grounds, was tremendous. 2. Thomas Corhern, Tennessee Tech 3. Colby Wilson, Austin Peay.

Best Event Writer – 1. Bill Sorrell, Bethel University – The winner has a knack for mastering the art of writing a feature-style event. It’s hard to pull off, but this writer makes it look easy. 2. Anne Wehunt, Chattanooga. 3. Colby Wilson, Austin Peay.

Smith, Brooks named Women's College Player, Coach of Year by TSWA

May 11, 2018 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont’s Kylee Smith garnered Tennessee Sports Writers Association Women’s Basketball Player of the Year honors while Belmont’s Bart Brooks was voted TSWA Coach of the Year, as announced this week by the organization.

Smith and Brooks will be honored during the annual TSWA Hall of Fame dinner and banquet at Cumberland University on Thursday, July 12.

Smith helped the Bruins to a 31-4 overall record, the best mark for the program in the Division I era, along with OVC regular season and tournament championships. The Alpharetta, Ga., native averaged 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, registering six double-doubles and 12 games with 20-plus points.

She earned Second Team Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA as well as First Team All-OVC and OVC All-Tournament accolades. She ranks 10th all-time at Belmont in scoring (1,520) points in three seasons and carved her name in Belmont’s record book in eight single-season Top 10 statistical categories.

Brooks posted a 31-4 mark in his inaugural season as head coach of the Bruins, earning OVC Coach of the Year and Spalding Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year honors. The 31 victories are the most for the Bruins since 1993-94 and the most in the D-I era of the program.

Belmont appeared in the national rankings for the first time in program history as well, spending four weeks in the AP Top 25, reaching as high as No. 22. The Bruins posted a program-best 22-game winning streak during the season and drained 357 3-point field goals, marking both a Belmont and OVC single-season record.

Belmont won its third straight OVC Tournament championship, earning a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and ranked in the Top 10 nationally in nine statistical categories.

King, Barnes voted Men's College Player, Coach of Year by TSWA

May 11, 2018 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Nick King was voted Tennessee Sports Writers Association Men’s Basketball Player of the Year while Tennessee’s Rick Barnes earned TSWA Coach of the Year, as announced this week by the organization.

King averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the Blue Raiders, posting 32 double-digit scoring games with 19 contests of 20-plus points on his way to Conference USA Player and Newcomer of the Year honors. The Memphis, Tenn., native was voted Third Team All-American by USA Today, the first All-America accolades in Middle Tennessee men’s basketball history.

The senior forward recorded 11 double-doubles and was the only player in Conference USA to rank in the Top 5 in the league in scoring and rebounding. He was a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year and was on the Lute Olson Award Watch List. King broke the single-season scoring record for the Blue Raiders with 694 points, shattering a 31-year old mark by 71 points. He ranked 28th nationally in scoring and 14th in total field goals made (259).

Barnes led the Vols to a share of the regular season SEC Championship and reached the SEC Tournament championship game with a club picked 13th by many in the preseason. Tennessee finished the year 26-9 overall, 10-5 in conference play, earning the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in four years. UT ranked in the AP Top 25 for 14 straight weeks during the 2017-18 campaign, reaching as high as No. 13.

Barnes was voted SEC Coach of the Year by the AP and league coaches and earned Coach of the Year honors for NABC District 21 and USBWA District IV. He was selected as a finalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men's College Coach of the Year and given the Athletes in Action Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award.

King and Barnes will be honored during the annual TSWA Hall of Fame dinner and banquet at Cumberland University on Thursday, July 12.

TSWA names baseball, softball Players of the Week

May 2, 2018 Forrest Freeman

BASEBALL: Vanderbilt’s DeMarco, Memphis’ Bowlan garner TSWA accolades
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt’s Pat DeMarco and University of Memphis pitcher Jonathan Bowlan were named the Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association on Tuesday for their performances for games April 23-29.

DeMarco batted .636 (7-for-11) with three RBIs, two stolen bases and six runs scored in three games for the Commodores against South Carolina. The Staten Island, N.Y., native was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, two runs scored and a walk in the first game of the series versus the Gamecocks.

The freshman outfielder collected two hits with two stolen bases, a walk and two runs scored in the second game of the series and was 3-for-5 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored in the finale. He reached base nine times in the three outings.

DeMarco is batting .311 with nine doubles, six home runs, 28 RBIs and 35 runs scored in 43 games this season.

University of Memphis pitcher Jonathan Bowlan

Bowlan set the Memphis program and American Athletic Conference record with 18 strikeouts in a win at 20th-ranked South Florida. The Arlington, Tenn., native posted the most strikeouts by a pitcher in a Division I game this season in his first career complete game. The junior righthander allowed two runs on four hits and did not walk a batter, facing just 31 total hitters in the contest.

Bowlan retired 18 straight to end the contest and recorded all 18 strikeouts swinging. He posted his second victory of the year and has a 2.78 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 68.0 innings over 11 appearances.

2018 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 20 – Kyle Blackwell, Cumberland University (Player); Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
February 27 – Fernando Garcia, Bryan College (Player); Grant Boyd, King University (Pitcher)
March 6 – Sam Mang, Trevecca University (Player); Stephen Chamblee, Bryan College (Pitcher)
March 13 – Sam Mang, Trevecca University (Player); Will Neely, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 20 – David Scoggins, Bryan College (Player); Sean Hunley, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 27 – Hayden Lewis, Union University (Player); Mason Hickman, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 3 – Drew Huff, Middle Tennessee (Player); Grant Boyd, King University (Pitcher)
April 10 – Ethan Harrison, Trevecca University (Player); Daniel Tolano, Tennessee Wesleyan (Pitcher)
April 17 – Parker Phillips, Austin Peay (Player); Matt Bradley, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
April 24 – Wade Weinburger, Bryan College (Player); Drew Pierce, Trevecca University (Pitcher)

SOFTBALL: Trevecca’s Odom, Austin Peay’s Rackel named TSWA award winners
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trevecca University’s MaKray Odom and Austin Peay’s Morgan Rackel were named the Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association on Tuesday for their performances for games April 23-29.

Odom batted .714 (10-for-14) with two doubles, four RBIs and seven runs scored in four games for the Trojans. The McEwen, Tenn., native singled twice and drove in a run in the first game of a doubleheader against Malone University. She was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the second game versus the Pioneers.

The sophomore collected three more hits with a double, one RBI and three runs scored in the first of two games against Walsh University and registered two hits with a double and two runs scored in the second contest versus the Cavaliers.

Odom is batting .475 with five doubles, four triples, 22 RBIs and 38 runs scored in 38 games this season.

Rackel posted a 4-0 mark in four outings, allowing just one run with 28 strikeouts and tossing a no-hitter against Eastern Illinois.

The Calgary, Alberta, native picked up two victories in relief against Alabama A&M, striking out four in 1.2 hitless innings in a 1-0 victory, with the Governors scoring the only run in the bottom of the seventh. The junior lefthander allowed two hits with four strikeouts in 1.2 scoreless innings in the second game versus AAMU, with APSU scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh in a 3-2 win.

Rackel struck out nine and gave up one run on three hits in a complete-game win against SIU-Edwardsville and followed that with a complete-game no-hitter versus EIU, walking one and striking out 11 in the first no-hitter for APSU since 1997. The Panthers had three baserunners in the contest, two of those via Govs errors.

Rackel improved to 18-6 with a 1.51 ERA in 30 appearances this season with 17 complete games, allowing 121 hits in 153.1 innings of work. She has 187 strikeouts and opponents are batting .207 against her.

2018 TSWA WOMEN’S SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 20 – Bailey Alexander, Trevecca University (Player); Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
February 27 – Jocelyn De La Cruz, Middle Tennessee (Player); Caylan Arnold, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 6 – Kyler Trosclair-Klatt, Memphis (Player); Caylan Arnold, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 13 – Lexi Rouse, Belmont (Player); Molly Smith, Memphis (Pitcher)
March 20 – Essence Strambler, Maryville College (Player); Kayley Caplinger, Cumberland University (Pitcher)
March 27 – Brigid Antonelli, Cumberland University (Player); Savannah Carr, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
April 3 – Morgan Brewer, Maryville College (Player); Savannah Carr, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
April 10 – Megan Groves, Trevecca University (Player); Taylor Waldrop, Tennessee Tech (Pitcher)
April 17 – Gabby Morris, Union University (Player); Caylan Arnold, Tennessee (Pitcher)
April 24 – Haley Barnette, Union University (Player); Cori Jennings, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)

Baseball, softball Players of the Week honored by TSWA

April 24, 2018 Forrest Freeman

BASEBALL: Bryan’s Weinburger, Trevecca’s Pierce garner TSWA accolades
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bryan College’s Wade Weinburger and Trevecca University’s Drew Pierce were named the Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association on Tuesday for their performances for games April 16-22.

Weinburger batted .600 (9-for-15) with three home runs, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored in four games for the Lions, who scored 60 runs in four contests. The Eleuthera, Bahamas, native posted two hits with one RBI and two runs scored in a midweek victory against Martin Methodist.

The sophomore outfielder registered two hits with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored in the first game of the series versus Montreat College. He tripled, homered and scored three times, driving in three runs in the second contest against the Cavaliers and collected two hits with another home run, two RBIs and two runs scored in the series finale.

Weinburger is batting .335 with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs and 66 runs scored in 46 games this season.

Pierce tossed seven shutout innings against Cedarville University, giving up three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in a 1-0 TNU victory. The Kingsport, Tenn., native retired nine of the final 10 batters before exiting the contest and faced just four batters over the minimum. The righthander worked around an error in the second, induced an inning-ending doubleplay in the third and a triple and a walk in the fourth.

Pierce picked up his first win in the contest and has 72 strikeouts in 64.2 innings of work over 11 appearances.

SOFTBALL: Union’s Barnette, Middle Tennessee’s Jennings named TSWA award winners
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Union University’s Haley Barnette and Middle Tennessee’s Cori Jennings were named the Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association on Tuesday for their performances for games April 16-22.

Barnette batted .562 (9-for-16) with one double, two home runs, eight RBIs and three runs scored in five games for the Bulldogs. The Franklin, Tenn., native singled, drove in three runs and scored a run in the first game of a doubleheader at West Alabama and doubled home a run and hit a pair of solo homers in the second contest against the Tigers.

The junior infielder posted three hits in the first game of a series versus Alabama-Huntsville, driving in a pair of runs. Barnette singled and walked in the second contest of the series and collected one hit in the final game against the Chargers. She is batting .304 with 11 doubles, four home runs, 28 RBIs and 14 runs scored in 45 games this season.

Jennings registered a win and a save in three appearances for the Blue Raiders, giving up just two runs on eight hits in 13.0 innings. The Brush Creek, Tenn., native got the final two outs for a save against Belmont, walking one and striking out one versus the Bruins.

The senior tossed a complete game in the first contest of a doubleheader against Florida Atlantic, giving up one run on four hits and one run with five strikeouts. She allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings in the second contest, but the Owls scored three times in the seventh to take the victory and keep Jennings from a second win over FAU.

She is now 15-8 with two saves and a 2.23 ERA in 138.0 innings this season, striking out 83 in 28 appearances.