TUSCULUM ROUNDUP: Taylor In Mountain Empire Hall Of Fame

Tusculum University football coach Billy Taylor was inducted into the National Football Foundation Mountain Empire Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Joining Taylor in the 2024 induction class were Cecil Puckett, Heath Miller, Robbie Norris and Garry Roberts.

Taylor was named Tusculum’s 17th football coach in December.

Taylor was a three-time letterman and starting quarterback at Morristown West High School. He led the Trojans to a 36-5 record during his career where he was a two-time All-Inter-Mountain Athletic Conference honoree. He was selected to the All-East Tennessee team and was a 1982 Johnson City Press Elite-11 Award recipient. He was twice named Most Valuable Player (1981 and 1982) and served as team captain in 1982.

The Morristown native is a veteran college coach with more than 35 years of D-I experience, including 22 as a defensive coordinator along with 17 seasons as a recruiting coordinator.

Taylor previously served 11 seasons at East Tennessee State University where he was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator. His defenses helped lead the Buccaneers to their first two Southern Conference championships in 2018 and 2021.

Prior to Taylor’s return to ETSU in 2013, he served five seasons (2008-2013) on the coaching staff at Tennessee Tech.

From 2005-2008, Taylor served as defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Chattanooga.

Prior to Tayor’s time at UTC, he served the 2004 campaign at Elon University where he was the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach.

From 1991-1996, Taylor served as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Wofford College. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Southern Mississippi for the 1989 and 1990 seasons.

Taylor earned a degree in mass communications from ETSU in 1988. He was a four-time letterman and three-year starter as an outside linebacker, and he was voted team captain his senior year in 1987.

In 2015, he was inducted to the Morristown West High School Hall of Fame.

FOOTBALL Spring Game

The Tusculum University football team will host its annual Spring Game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Pioneer Field. Admission is free.

The Pioneers will hold their traditional Pioneer Walk that will begin at 11 a.m. from the Niswonger Student Commons. The Pioneer Walk will traverse Pioneer Way, cross Shiloh Road and onto Stadium Drive and end at Pioneer Field.

If parking at the stadium is full, fans may also utilize parking lots at the indoor practice facility and upper practice fields. Parking at Doak Elementary School, which is located adjacent to campus, is also available. Shuttles from these lots will also be available.

BASEBALL Tusculum 9 UVA Wise 7

Murphy Flood belted a walk-off three-run homer as Tusculum rallied from a four-run deficit to claim a South Atlantic Conference win on Sunday at Pioneer Park.

Tusculum (22-19, 16-11 SAC) trailed 7-3 in the ninth inning and was down to its final out before rallying. The Pioneers scored six times in the final frame thanks to a walk and four straight hits culminated by Flood’s blast over the left field wall.

Tusculum won the weekend series 2-1 over UVA Wise (13-30, 8-16 SAC). The two teams split a doubleheader on Saturday with the Pioneers winning the first game 13-2 and the Cavaliers winning the second game 5-2.

Flood finished 3-for-5 with four RBI in Sunday’s game. Ben Scartz was 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, Kayl Ratliff was 2-for-2 with an RBI and Will Samuelson had a solo homer.

Tusculum’s Seth Willis (4-2) pitched two innings of relief for the win. He gave up three hits, two runs, walked one and struck out three.

SOFTBALL Tusculum Splits

The Tusculum University softball team defeated No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne in an extra-inning walk-off in game one before falling in game two of a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader on Monday.

Tusculum is 24-19 overall and 14-8 in SAC play.

Game 1

Tusculum 5

Lenoir-Rhyne 4 (8)

Tusculum rallied from a 4-1 deficit entering the bottom of the seventh to walk off on the nationally-ranked Bears in eight innings. Danielle Jason was the lone Pioneer with multiple hits, including a game-winning RBI single with two out in the bottom of the eighth.

Ellie Alvarez homered and had two RBI, Gabi Nicholson homered and Claire Smeltzer had a double.

Tusculum’s Emily Sappington (10-5) went the distance in the circle for the win. In eight innings, the left-hander gave up nine hits, walked two and struck out four. All four Lenoir-Rhyne runs were earned.

Game 2

Lenoir-Rhyne 12

Tusculum 1

Tusculum’s Alvarez was 2-for-3 with a double and Brooke Smith was 2-for-4 with a double.

Tusculum’s Ireland Cavanaugh (8-10) drew the start in the circle and lasted 2 2/3 innings. She gave up five hits, three runs, walked one and struck out two.

MEN’S TENNIS Tusculum 4 UVA Wise 1

WISE, Va. — Tusculum defeated the University of Virginia at Wise in South Atlantic Conference play on Monday.

The 29th-ranked Pioneers (16-6, 9-3 SAC) won the doubles point and took three singles matches in straight sets from the Cavaliers (13-9, 3-9 SAC) to close out the regular season.

In doubles, Tijn van Gorkom and Rens Verhaar won at flight three 6-0 against Diego Pedrero and Pierre Djaroueh, and Will Gee teamed with Anton Krondell for a 6-2 victory at flight one over Gustavo Marangoni and Miguel De Rueda.

Tusculum went up 3-1 as Nemanja Subanovic beat De Rueda 6-3, 6-2 at flight two and Yuki Ikeda defeated Pedrero 6-2, 6-3 at flight six. Krondell clinched the victory for the Pioneers as he beat Daniel Gonzalez Garza 6-4, 6-3 at flight three.

The Pioneers finish in sole possession of fourth place in the SAC standings and will play fifth-place Lincoln Memorial in a SAC Championship quarterfinal at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.

WOMEN’S TENNIS Tusculum 4 UVA Wise 2

WISE, Va. — Tusculum earned a South Atlantic Conference win over the University of Virginia at Wise on Monday.

The 40th-ranked Pioneers (14-7, 8-4 SAC) dropped the doubles point to the Cavaliers (9-13, 2-10 SAC), but won four of the five completed singles matches in straight sets to close the regular season.

Trailing 1-0, the Pioneers went up 2-1 as Ylva Frafjord Landa beat Lucy Cunliffe 6-2, 6-0 at flight two and Johanna Selde defeated Kinsey Knox 6-4, 7-5 at flight six. The Cavaliers tied the match with a three-set win at flight four, but Valentina Loretz beat Antonella Campodonico 6-1, 6-1 at flight one and Paulina Loretz downed Christina Korakopoulou 6-2, 6-0 at flight three to clinch the win.

Tusculum finishes in a three-way tie for fourth place in the SAC with Catawba and Carson-Newman. The Pioneers will play Carson-Newman in a SAC Championship quarterfinal match at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.

WOMEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL Tusculum 7th

TAVARES, Fla. — Tusculum finished seventh at the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Small College Beach Championships on Sunday.

Tusculum (21-12) tallied the second-most wins in a season in program history, one short of the mark set in 2022.

Match 1

Texas A&M Kingsville 3

Tusculum 1

The Pioneers dropped their opener to the Javelinas to advance to the seventh place match.

Tusculum’s lone point came at the No. 2 flight of Morgan Browne and Olivia Browne, with the twins tallying a 21-13, 21-16 victory.

Texas A&M Kingsville defeated Kyla Oppenhuis/Brynn Smith at top flight (21-13, 21-15), Hannah Marsh/Riley Rushing at the 3’s (22-20, 21-19), and Diana Bierwagen/Emily Venable at No. 5 (21-19, 21-13).

Match 2

Tusculum 3

Carson-Newman 1

TU moved to 4-0 on the season over C-N, defeating the Eagles on the biggest stage.

Marsh and Rushing survived a three-set match at No. 3, 21-15, 22-24, 15-12.

At No. 4, Katie McLamb and Charlyn Miller got their first results of the day, pulling off a reverse sweep by scores of 20-22, 21-16, 15-12.

Finally, Bierwagen and Venable edged out their 5’s opposites 21-19, 21-18.

The lone loss was at the top flight with Oppenhuis and Smith by scores of 21-19, 21-18.

TRACK & FIELD Pioneers Compete In Coleman-Singleton Classic

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Tusculum University men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Classic at South Carolina State University on Saturday.

Freshman Caley Sosnowski earned her fourth win in as many meets in the javelin with the top throw in Division II this season, one of four Pioneers to earn first-place finishes during the non-scoring meet.

The Pioneers will participate in the Catamount Classic at Western Carolina University on Friday and Saturday.

MEN’S RECAP

Freshman Pau Valdepenas won the 5000 meters with a time of 15:04.60, followed in second place by freshman Sam Shipp at 15:22.85 and sophomore Simon Ray in sixth place at 17:48.27. Grad student Antonio Aparicio placed second in the 800 meters at 1:56.27, while sophomore Isaiah Olson was third in the 100 meters at 10.79 seconds and sixth in the 200 meters at 22.22 seconds.

Senior Jamal Cash took second place in the 400 hurdles with a time of 55.13 seconds, and was seventh in the 110 hurdles finals at 15.27 seconds. In the 400 meters, grad student Zack Nelson placed eighth at 49.22 seconds.

The Tusculum 4x400 relay of Nelson, freshman Lansford Cunningham, Aparicio, and senior Dorian Craven finished second at 3:14.32, with the 4x100 relay of senior Jordan Taylor, senior Marquel Pittman, Cunningham and Olson taking third place at 41.11 seconds.

In field events, sophomore Adrian Gumm broke his own school record in the shot put, taking second place at 15.49 meters (50 feet, 9 3/4 inches) to break the mark of 15.14 meters (49 feet, 8 1/4 inches) he set at the John-Hunter Classic on March 16. Freshman Dylan Horne was fifth in the shot put at 13.98 meters (45 feet, 10 1/2 inches). Freshman Noah Girard was fifth in the javelin with a throw of 49.90 meters (163 feet, 9 inches).

Cunningham took fourth place in the long jump at 6.91 meters (22 feet, 8 inches), and freshman Hunter Burkey was fifth in the high jump at 1.70 meters (5 feet, 7 inches).

WOMEN’S RECAP

Sosnowski, who entered the weekend ranked seventh in Division II in the javelin after throwing 45.89 meters at the Blue Bear Invite on March 30, broke her school record with a throw of 47.20 meters (154 feet, 10 inches) on her final throw of prelims. In finals, Sosnowski posted a mark of 48.37 meters (158 feet, 8 inches) on her second throw, and followed up with a heave of 48.55 meters (159 feet, 3 inches) to win the event by more than 20 feet.

Sophomore Theresa Green-White won the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.40 seconds, and placed sixth in the 100 meters finals in 12.12 seconds. Sophomore Kiera Taylor was third in the 100 meters at 11.92 seconds, and took fifth in the 200 meters at 25.26 seconds. Senior Judy Chellah took fourth place in the 800 meters in 2:24.31.

The 4x100 relay of Taylor, freshman Alonda Shelton, Green-White and freshman Kieley Smith was third in 47.00 seconds, and the 4x400 relay of Taylor, Chellah, freshman McKenzie Morton and Shelton finished seventh at 4:11.02.

Junior Amber Hogan was fourth in the hammer throw at 41.79 meters (137 feet, 1 inch) and eighth in the shot put at 10.55 meters (34 feet, 7 1/4 inches).

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL Tusculum Third

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — Tusculum defeated Maryville (Mo.) 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 30-28 for a bronze finish at the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament on Saturday.

The Pioneers end their season at 8-23 with the win over the Saints (21-8).

Three Pioneers reached double figures in kills: Colby Landry (18), Deklan Wingo (17), and Joel Dubinsky (12). Also recording kills were Morgan Makovec (6), Jaden Bramhall (5), and Tristan Blake (2). Blake dished out 51 assists as Bramhall and Landry both landed a pair of aces. Wingo and Blake rounded out their double-doubles with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Makovec finished with a team-high three blocks.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE Tusculum 24 Emory & Henry 3

EMORY, Va. — Tusculum set a program single-game record for goals in the South Atlantic Conference win on Saturday.

Ten players scored for the Pioneers (5-10, 3-6 SAC), led by four goals from Cassidy Bourne and three goals apiece from Kylie Marek, Zuza Stasiak and Liberty Jones. Lucy Brewer, Paetyn Hoffmann, Kira Spaulding and Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg each scored two goals, and Mackenzie Sherrod scored one goal for the Pioneers.

Tusculum led 16-2 at halftime and outshot the Wasps (1-15, 0-9 SAC) 33-9.

The 24 goals for the Pioneers broke the program single-game record of 23 set against Chowan on Feb. 28, 2015, and matched against Converse on Feb. 20, 2016, and again against Converse on March 15, 2022.

The Pioneers used three goalies. Emily White started and made three saves in the first half, followed by Mackie McCotter in the third quarter and Riley Vergano in the fourth quarter.

Tusculum will close its regular season at 3 p.m. Wednesday at UVA Wise.