Local Weather Forecast
Today: Current:75	Saturday: 88/62	Sunday: 80/55
Complete Forecast for  May 09 2008

Tennis

The UT Tyler men's tennis team drew its first national ranking as it appeared as No. 22 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III poll Wednesday.

The men also came in at No. 12 in the West Regional rankings, while the women's team debuted at No. 9 in the West Regional rankings.

Both teams also placed several players in the individual regional rankings. Junior Dustin Phillips moved up one spot from sixth to fifth, while junior Steven Campbell and freshman Robert Sajovich tied for the No. 16 spot. Campbell had previously been ranked 18th and Sajovich was previously ranked 19th.

Sajovich was also named the American Southwest Conference's men's tennis Player of the Week, his second straight week to earn the honor. Sajovich went 2-2 on the week, as the then unranked Patriots played numerous ranked teams.

Sajovich picked up a win in the No. 1 spot against No. 30 Pomona-Pitzer and also won in the No. 2 spot against fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and their 17th-ranked No. 2 flight, Lawrence Wang.

On the women's side, two Patriots made their 2007-2008 debuts in the regional rankings. Junior Rachel Anders, from Lindale, was ranked No. 20 in the poll, while her doubles teammate, junior Beth Launius followed closely behind at No. 23. The two juniors also made their first appearance in the regional doubles rankings at No. 13.

Both teams will return to the Summers Tennis Center for a pair of matches. On Friday, the Patriots will host St. Mary's (Minn.) at 3 p.m. and on Saturday, UT Tyler will square off against Rhodes at 9 a.m.

Softball

Second-ranked UT Tyler will return to action Friday, traveling to Clarksville, Ark., to play the University of the Ozarks in a softball doubleheader.

The American Southwest Conference games will begin at noon. It will be the Patriots (18-0) first games in eight days. In their last two games, UT Tyler swept Mississippi College to open East play 2-0.

The Patriots prolific offense, which is averaging 9.72 runs per game this season, will face an Ozark (7-3, 2-2) staff that boasts a 3.29 ERA. In the East thus far, the Ozarks has split series with UT Dallas and East Texas Baptist.

The Patriots will return to the UT Tyler Ballpark March 29, when they host UT Dallas 1 p.m.

Soccer

The Robert E. Lee girls and boys soccer teams will play Dallas Bryan Adams on Tuesday in the bi-district round of the Class 5A playoffs.

The doubleheader is scheduled for Tyler Junior College's Pat Hartley Field. It begins with the girls' match at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 8 p.m.

General admission tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for students.

Track & Field

VAN - T.K. Gorman senior Mia Behm set a personal best in winning the 3,200-meter run at the Al Rholes Relays Thursday at Van Memorial Stadium.

Behm, who participated alone in the meet, clocked a time of 11:08. She won the TAPPS state meet last year with a then-personal best time of 11:16.

The John Tyler track teams make stops in the state's two biggest cities over the next two days.

The Lions, coming off a win in the Dallas Roosevelt Hayes-James Invitational, will compete in the Texas Southern Relays in Houston on Friday.

The Lady Lions are slated for action in the South Oak Cliff Relays in Dallas on Saturday.

At the Hayes-James Invitational, the Lions claimed seven gold medals, including two from senior Adren Dorsey (discus, shot put). Levi Bipialaka, also a senior, won 100-meter dash in 10.46 seconds and anchored the 4x100 relay to victory in a time of 41.77.

JT will be minus the services of senior Jeremy Johnson for the rest of the season, JT track coach Michael Johnson said. Johnson, in his first race of the season last week, sped to an impressive time of 21.90 in the 200.

The JT boys were originally penciled to run in the Ragin Cajun Relays in Lafayette, La., but were forced to change plans at the last minute. Fortunately landed a spot in the TSU event at the last-minute.

The TSU Relays are typically one of the state's more anticipated, and includes teams from the high school and collegiate ranks.

"It'll be strange territory," coach Johnson said. "But it'll give the kids something different, and a high-profile meet."

Both JT boys and girls are both entered in the Heart of Texas Relay, set for March 29 in Waco.

The District 12-5A meet follows on April 7 and 9 at E.H. Hanby Stadium in Mesquite.

- Harold Wilson

CLERMONT-FERAND, France — Tyler’s Robert Hahn qualified for the finals in the 60-meter high hurdles Thursday at the World Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Stadium Jean-Pellez.

Hahn finished fourth in his semifinal heat with a time of 9.83. James Braun of Sarasota, Fla., had the fastest qualifying time at 9.25.
Ron Bowling of Richmond, Calif., also qualified at 9.63 giving all three Americans a chance of medals in the 55-59 age group.
Finals are at 1 p.m. Friday.

Hahn will also compete in the USA Indoor Nationals next week in Boston.