Tennessee Swims to Victory

Tennessee Swimming and Diving came out victorious at their Invitational.

The University of Tennessee held its annual swimming and diving Invitational at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center from Thursday, November 30th through Saturday, December 2nd. The Invitational included teams from Tennessee, North Carolina [at Chapel Hill], Duke, Penn [University of Pennsylvania], Carson-Newman, Denver, and Marshall.

After the first day of home sessions, Tennessee led by winning seven out of the 12 events. With four wins for the men and three wins for the women, the Volunteers moved into Friday sessions with clear heads.

After the eventful Friday sessions, the men’s team had scored 651.5 points and the women’s team 749 points. Ending Saturday with wins in 10 of the 14 events, the team safely secured the win ending the Invitational with 1,288.5 points for the men and 1,075 points for the women. Denver took second place in the men’s, with a total of 740 points. Duke took second place in the women’s, with a total of 827.

“I thought our teams did a really good job. We had some really outstanding performances… Erika Brown and Ryan Coetzee. Those swims really got the team energized for the rest of the meet,” said head coach Matt Kredich.

Not only did did the swim team produce but the diving did as well. Juniors Rachel Rubadue and Colin Zeng finished in high fashion.

Rubadue won all three competitions, her score of 322.80 landed her first victory in the 3-meter springboard. She was awarded SEC Diver of the Week.

“I am really excited with what Rachel is doing right now… She is stronger than she’s ever been, and that changes the dynamic of every dive she does. Her dive 4 was a key dive in the competition,” said head diving coach Dave Parrington. 

Zeng, who is redshirted this season, won all three days of diving in his division. Hitting 460.2, he broke the previous record set in 2001 by Gabi Chereches. Within this season alone, Zeng has a victory on platform, four wins on 1-meter, and three wins on 3-meter. He was awarded SEC Diver of the Week for the fourth time this season.

On Friday morning sophomore Erika Brown swam her fastest time yet and set a record. Beating Lindsay Gendron’s record of 47.66, Brown swam 47.54 in the 100 free. Brown’s 100-butterfly time of 50.33 automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championships in March.

“It feels really good. Its kind of nice to know early on that the hard work is paying off,” said Brown. She also set the school record for the 50-free Thursday. Brown’s time in the 100-butterfly set the new school record and the record for the NCAA this year.

Brown, who is from North Carolina, competed against former teammates at this meet. “It’s nice to race against previous teammates, but it makes me really happy to know that I’ve grown to have a family here,” said Brown.

Erika was a two time state champ in North Carolina when she swam in high school. Choosing Tennessee based on the feeling of true family within the team and the facilities, she earned two bronze medals in 2017, was awarded All-SEC (second team), and was recognized with Honorable Mention for CSCAA All-American.

After a tough first year, Brown pushed herself to put her head in the game to give back to her teammates. “..I kinda struggled with the environment of college and just getting used to it. This year I just decided I’m going to get really involved in my team,” said Brown.

Proving she gives her all for Tennessee, Brown showed her improved skill this meet. She was awarded SEC Swimmer of the Week honors for the second time.

With the men winning six out of seven events on Saturday, Sam McHugh pulled two victories out in the 200-fly and 400-fly. With this being his last season, McHugh is no stranger to the spotlight with over 10 career awards, one SEC medal count, and three All American certificates.

Fan Experience intern Colin Azzopardi, who attends several events, said he could tell the team stepped up their game at the Invitational. “They really hit their stride at this meet dominating the competition. They won by a great amount,” said Azzopardi.

“What championship teams do is they take success, learn from it and allow it to make them more hungry instead of satisfied,” said head coach Matt Kredich.

This weekend event concluded the swimming season for Tennessee this semester. Diving will compete at the Auburn Diving Invitational December 17-19. Tennessee will hold the Tennessee Diving Invitational in January. The team then awaits the SEC Championships in February and the NCAA Championships in March.

Behind the scene of Smokey

Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of the most popular dog in the state of Tennessee is like? According to his handlers, it can get pretty hectic on Saturdays in the fall. Current senior handlers Matthew Harlan, Thomas Lochridge, and Kyle McMullen are the guys to ask if you have any questions about Smokey X. When your favorite pup isn’t roaming around the house of the Alpha Kappa chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho or being out and about on campus, he likes to play in his backyard at home. The Hudson family is gracious enough to let the handlers take care of Smokey on game days. Harlan, Lochridge, and McMullen are part of the UTK Spirit Squad, which includes the handlers, cheerleaders, and dance team all headed by Joy Postell-Gee.

Matthew Harlan, originally from Jackson, Tennessee, is a senior this year studying animal science with a concentration in Pre-Veterinary Medicine. With this being his second year as a handler, Harlan has moved from being a junior handler to a senior handler. After his reign as Smokey’s beloved handler comes to an end, Harlan plans on attending Veterinary school to then practice large animal medicine. Being Smokey’s handler not only gives him the chance to run through the T, but grants his the chance to learn real life skills. “[This opportunity] has tremendously helped with my time management skills as well as scheduling and communication responsibilities. It has also taught me how to be around and deal with people even if I am in a bad mood or don’t want to be around,” said Harlan.

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Courtesy of Matthew Harlan

Getting Smokey ready for game day is not a walk in the park. Each Saturday before making his way to Neyland, there is a comprehensive checklist to make sure everything gets done before Smokey makes his debut on campus. “[If we don’t get him Friday night] usually we wake up on Saturday and take him for a run, give him a bath in time to make it to Vol Village four-and-a-half hours before kick off,” said Harlan.

“We go through the Vol Walk at two hours, fifteen minutes prior to kick off. Then he gets to chill in the spirit locker room until we run through the T. After the game we run back to AGR [Alpha Gamma Rho] and he goes to bed until we take him home.”

Away games are a much different story, Smokey doesn’t get the chance to run around his yard at home or sleep on a couch at the fraternity house. He rides the bus with the rest of the spirit squad in anticipation of running on a different field. “..on away trips he makes sure Smokey is fed [regular dog stuff], just gets to help guide Smokey everywhere,” said former cheerleader Ben Ross, who traveled with Harlan to Georgia last year. Harlan said his favorite memory as Smokey’s handler was the Georgia trip. “Standing in the end-zone where the Hail Mary at Georgia was caught has been the best memory from this job,” said Harlan.

Originally introduced in 1953, the line of Smokey dogs has come a long way. Earl C. Hudson, who passed away this June at the age of 91, handled the line of dogs since 1994. He took over that year when the Brooks family passed Smokey VII to Hudson after some health issues occurred in the family. “The Hudsons are without a doubt some of the most caring and unselfish people I have ever met,” said John Edwards, Smokey’s senior handler in 2016. “UT should be very grateful that the Hudsons allow their beloved pet to be the mascot.”  Smokey X was introduced in 2012 at the Tennessee-Missouri game, continuing the long line of extraordinary blue tick coon hounds.

The men of Alpha Gamma Rho have led Smokey on campus and through the T since 1977.  The original owners, the Brooks, had a good relationship with the fraternity in ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, which landed AGR men the role as handlers. Members of AGR apply the spring semester of their sophomore year. They are selected through the UT Spirit department in time for the start of their junior year, and hold the position through the time they graduate.

This upcoming year’s handlers have yet to be announced, leaving a hinge of mystery and excitement around the spirit squad and campus. Moving forward the senior handlers will graduate knowing they got to work with the best dog in the SEC and make a difference in everyone’s game day on Rocky Top. As for Smokey, he is resting up for next season. Back at the Hudson’s house, he gets the next few months to run free in the backyard.

 

Journalism Skills

Over the course of the semester, there have been many times I would sit and think “how can a journalism student three or four years in not know that already?” There were also many times things were said in class that either sparked a new idea or reminded me how important that aspect of writing really is.

My favorite guest speak is honestly a toss up. I really enjoyed hearing Rhiannon Potkey speak, but I also liked what David Cobb brought to the table.

Seeing as I was one out of six girls in the class, Potkey’s lecture reminded me how challenging yet exciting being a female in the sports world can be. I honestly feel like she really showed her dominance by not forcing but enticing people to ask questions. She didn’t back down or shut down when no one raised their hand. She simply gave me a look insinuating she knew I had something on my mind that I wanted to ask. She displayed femininity and poise, while also being a badass female reporter. Potkey gave me that push I needed to continue pursuing a potential career in the sports media.

Cobb was a good lecture to hear because he hits so close to home. With him being a young graduate who is working pretty close to what is considered a dream job for some of the students in our class, he really motivated the class. He put it all on the table and explained it isn’t always a glamorous job, and that you really do have to start at the bottom of the totem pole. He was honest and funny, which made it very easy to relate to the fact that you could be stuck writing about something completely different than you planned at first.

I feel as if I have learned a lot not only in a grammatical sense but in a lifestyle sense. Everyone starts somewhere, but having a good attitude and a good student mentality with your work ethic will help you get to where you want to go.

 

Battling the Gremlin

This article focuses on the terrible injury of tearing your ACL. It starts out by describing it using strong imagery, even comparing it to pasta. The list of total players who have suffered this injury could probably roll all the way down a football field and back. When this story was written in 2013, Rob Gronkowski was the latest victim taking a blow to his knee from a Cleveland Brown’s safety. The author, Neal Gabler, claims this is the deadliest injury within the sports world. Aside from concussions, he’s probably not wrong. The article goes on to give a play by play of what happens when the “sickening pop” first happens. The author continues with the surgery, recovery, and return process included in this whole injury.

Gabler includes the stats that the list of NFL players with this injury continuously grows; “30 [in 2013] players had been placed on injured reserve because of ACL tears — topping the 25 for all of 2011 and edging close to the 32 for all of 2012.” This stat really gives you a good perspective on just how many players are hurt by this injury, but then you realize this is just one sport alone. With almost as many as 400,000 cases a year of ACL tears, you can start to see this how serious this can really be.

This story really stuck out to me because of how vivid the details included are. The amount of imagery really captures the story and gives you a good start to imagining what it is like. Also the number of players mentioned gives you that perspective needed to show just how many different types of athletes can be hurt by this. I also love how Gabler refers to the ACL tear as the “gremlin”. It gives that image of that nasty little something you just can’t seem to escape which really helps wrap it all up in one thing.

Story found on longform.org: The Nastiest Injury in Sports by Neal Gabler, written December 10, 2013.

Girl Power

It has been said that women can do anything that men can do, but they can do it better. This  has no exception when it comes to sports. Our society has come to the conclusion that the sports world is a man’s world and women are in the process of taking it back, not only on the court or field but in the papers as well.

As Rhiannon mentioned in her talk, it can be challenging for a woman to be respect in the sports journalism world. Women reporters are often mocked and ignored because men think they won’t be able to do a good job.

Female athletes get the “shaft” in a lot of situations. Often the articles written about women players are not based around their skill but something off the court. They are asked irrelevant or ignorant questions, which have nothing to do with the game they played or how they preformed.

One player who is targeted by the media is tennis champ Serena Williams. Recently, Williams has been scrutinized for, just wait for it, being pregnant. That’s right, she is under attack because she choose to become a mother.

I really doubt this is the type of journalism these writers went to school for. In Lindy West’s article, she makes it very clear that the purpose of writing an article on a female athlete is to write about the female being an athlete.

A big problem with covering female sports is that some reporters probably feel as if they don’t understand the sport, when in reality there probably aren’t many differences. If any things do come up that they don’t understand, they should be respectful to the player and do their research.

Professionalism has clearly gone out the window when it comes to covering women’s sports.

 

Visual advances

The important of visuals in sports reporting can stem from many things. It really is one thing to report a story, but it is another to perfectly capture a moment that ties the whole story together. Being able to have the keen eye for capturing the perfect picture isn’t always the easiest task, sometimes you have to take 200 pictures to find the exact one  you need. Having the skill to know your story and to look for the perfect moment comes with practice. Another important visual to add can be videos. A perfect picture can add to a story, but a video of the winning shot on goal or a player getting injured can tie the whole story together.

Another important factor in this generation is that Americans today are lazy and not much catches our eye, but a perfectly captured picture will do the trick. Seeing as how we are now considered “visual learners”, pictures and videos can really save a story. Graphics and news packages come into play as well. As our technology advances, our writing seems to become less as important as the visual aspect. However, a picture or video isn’t complete with a cutline or a caption.

 

Sanchez

Photo by AS.com (Whole website was in Spanish, could not find source and didn’t want to put the wrong person)

Alexis Sanchez, FC Barcelona’s side, celebrating after a goal. Sanchez was being scouted by Manchester City and Liverpool at the time.

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Photo from Flickr user  Alby.1412

Dorina Boczogo preforming her beam routine at the 2012 Olympics. Boczogo also competed in the 2008 Olympics.

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Photo by Jeremy Brevard, USA TODAY Sports

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson quizzically looking at the referee during their game against Louisville in early November. The Wake Forest Demon Deacon’s playbook was leaked earlier in the week to their opponent.