Sunday's Daily News 'n Notes: Mercer Tennis Classic gets underway; Falcons stumble hard; Tuberville to visit TD Club, which honors duo; Scoreboard; state college FB
Sunday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.
Mercer Tennis Classic opens to good weather, full field
The bad weather of the weekend is gone, just in time for the seventh Mercer Tennis Classic.
Play begins at 10 a.m. Monday with qualifying at the Leroy Paddy Tennis Center at Mercer, four courts in action to get started.
Nearly three dozen players will work to qualify on Monday and Tuesday, with the main draw action beginning on Tuesday, play continuing through Sunday.
Astra Sharma of Australia is the highest ranked player, at No. 95, not far ahead of Whitney Osuigew of the U.S. at 112, in the main draw.
The top seed in qualifying is Angelina Gabueva of Russia, ranked 481st in the world, with No. 503 Sanas Maranda of the U.S. seeded second, both moving up as the field underwent late changes.
Four Americans in the main draw are ranked in the top 150 in the world.
Varvara Lepchenko is back to defend her 2018 title, and is seeded fourth. Other players to watch include Whitney Osuigue, Ann Li, Shleby Rogers, Johanna Larsson, and Mandy Minella, among others.
Twenty players are in the main draw, with 12 more joining that field through qualifying or wildcards. The tournament includes a 16-team doubles draw that includes upper-level junior players.
Again, the semifinals and finals will be televised on the Tennis Channel, with the first rounds on its website.
The tournament is in its seventh year, making it the longest-running in Georgia, and the $80,000 prize money makes it the second-most lucrative in the state. It’s a qualifier for the Australian Open as well as a major chance for players to get WTA points.
A pro/am will be held Tuesday evening, and the week includes a Kids Day on Wednesday, and visits to local schools along with free lessons and more.
For more information, or to inquire about volunteering, contact Mercer head tennis coach and tournament director Eric Hayes at 478-301-2269.
Falcons fall hard at home
Atlanta took a 3-0 lead, and held it for almost 10 minutes before being tied.
And it was only 13-3 at halftime.
Shortly thereafter, departures began as L.A. started rolling and led 30-3 en route to a 37-10 win.
Bad karma 1: Devonta Freeman, who ranks among the 200 biggest running backs in the league – ahem – got into it with Rams defensive standout Aaron Donald, and was ejected.
Bad karma 2: QB Matt Ryan left the game for good early in the fourth quarter, on his fifth sack of the day, by Donald, no less, with an ankle injury and left the stadium in a boot.
Bad karma 3: The Rams added a gut punch with a touchdown in the final 11 seconds when they recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Atlanta ran 15 times for 38 yards, to 36 f0r 90 for the Rams. Jared Goff went 22 of 37 for 268 yards, two scores, and no picks or sacks. Matt Schaub succeeded Ryan and was perfect on six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Atlanta fell to 1-6.
The season is over, time for a move
Ryan’s ankle to be re-evaluated Monday
Pass rush impacts game, perhaps a few more games
McKinley puts loss on players, not coaches
There was a change in the defensive coordinating
TD Club taps players from Windsor and Mount de Sales
Two players will be honored Monday night by the Macon Touchdown Club.
Windor’s JaBoree Goodson, the back of the week, carried 11 times for 252 yards and three scores on one side of the ball, turning in five solo tackles and five assists plus two interceptions – one taken back 45 yards for a score – in the game against Solid Rock.
Mount de Sales standout Josiah Cotton earned lineman honors after racking up 16 tackles, two for loss, at linebacker, in the romp over Tattnall, adding 183 yards and three touchdowns on the ground on offense.
No special-teams players were nominated.
Former Auburn, Cincinnati head coach Tuberville to speak at Macon TD Club
Two-time SEC coach of the year Tommy Tuberville is the guest speaker Monday night at The Macon Touchdown Club.
The club meets at the Methodist Home for Children and Youth, in the Rumford Center, at 304 Pierce Ave. It starts at 6:30 p.m. with dinner and the program to begin around 7. Cost is $30 for non-members.
Tuberville went 159-99 as a college head coach at Mississippi, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati.
He went 25-20 at Mississippi despite NCAA sanctions, and then moved to Auburn. His first and last seasons were his only losing seasons, at 5-6 and 5-7. In between, Auburn finished first or tied for first in the SEC West four times, and second or tied for second three times.
Tuberville went 5-3 in bowl games at Auburn, and the Tigers finished ranked in the top 15 five times. He went 7-3 against Alabama, with six straight wins.
He succeeded the fired Mike Leach at Texas Tech in 2010 and went 20-17 in three season, bolting for Cincinnati, where he went 29-22 in four seasons, retiring after the 2016 season.
The 65-year-old Republican is a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Alabama, currently held by Democrat Doug Jones.
Around/About Central Georgia
Tech rolls past Georgia College in exhibition
Newcomer Bubba Parham was a focal point because of his 3-point wizardry, and he made all five deep tries in Georgia Tech’s 98-76 exhibition win over Georgia College.
The Bobcats cut a 12-point halftime deficit in half six minutes into the second half, and Parham drilled three 3s in less than two minutes to spark a 15-0 run.
Monday Morning Quarterback
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Scoreboard
College
Golf
W-Mercer, finished eighth, Cardinal Cup at Louisville
Soccer
W-Flagler 4, Georgia College 0
W-Western Carolina 4, Mercer 1
Peach State college football report
Tech: How did that Miami win happen?
UGA: Georgia, Florida getting interesting