1997-98 Pioneer Athletics Year-in-Review

Football (2-9)---Pioneers finish 2-9 in final season under coach DeWayne Wells. Wins over Millsaps (51-34) and local foe Maryville (28-14) highlight the season. Tailback Birdie Dockery romped into the record books by gaining 1505 yards on the season. New head coach Frankie DeBusk is hired on December l2tb and recently completed a successful spring practice.

Volleyball (9-25)---Lady Pioneers finish debut season under Beth Birky with a 9-25 mark. Season included wins over South Atlantic Conference foes Carson-Newman, Newberry, Wingate, and Lenoir-Rhyne. Debbie Varney led the TC attack with 493 kills and a .268 hitting percentage.

Men's Cross Country.--The Pioneers captured a second place finish at the Virginia Creeper Trail Run in September to highlight the season. They also finished fifth at ile Chancellor's Cup at Clinch Valley. Ricky Welsh and Scott Rawlings were consistently the top finishing Pioneers.

Women's Cross Country-.-The Lady Pioneers earned the title at the Virginia Creeper Trail Run in September with five top ten finishes, paced by senior Robin Newberry's fifth place finish. The squad finished fourth at the Clinch Valley Chancellor's Cup for ileir only other top five team placement. Newberry earned squad MvP honors and led the Lady Pioneers in four of five races.

Men's Soccer (13-7)---Coach Tony Castainca's club copped the NMA Northeast Independent Regional Tournament en route to a 13-7 mark. The Pioneers fashioned a 6-4 ledger versus NCAA Division II foes. Green Mountain College (Vt.) ended the TC season with a 5-1 win in the first round of the NMA Northeast Regional Tournament. A 6-1 triumph over Emory & Henry on October 8 gave veteran mentor Castainca his lOOth career victory. Cris Dantier led the team with 24 goals and goaltender Ben Molner limited foes to 1.25 goals against per game.

Women's Soccer (10-11-1)---The Lady Pioneers displayed marked improvement in coach Mike Joy's debut season. TC breaks school records for season wins, most consecutive home wins (5), and season goals (47). The Lady Pioneers also won their most lopsided contest in school history with a 9-0 home win over Emory & Henry on October 8th. The team reached the second round of the Great Lakes Independent Regional Tournament before falling to national power Findlay (Oh.) 3-0. Chadra Shirley led the club in scoring with 13 goals.

Men's Basketball (17-11)---Coach Mike Hollowell's team recorded its first winning mark since the 1992-93 season. Pioneers finish 8-7 versus NCAA Division II opponents with starting lineup that consists of four sophomores and a freshman. The season was highlighted by the opening of the new Tusculum College Sports Arena. TC took a 65-63 decision over King in the grand opening and also closed out
old Pioneer Gym in style, by knocking off ancient rival Milligan 83-80. The Pioneers lost in the first round of the NAlA Great Lakes Regional 72-70 to a fine Rio Grande (Oh.) squad. Five of the ten members of the NMA All-Great Lakes Academic Team were Pioneers and Shane Banks and Jeremy Fortner were also all-region selections for their work on the court. Banks led the team with a 17.7 points per game average and has made at least one three-point field goal in 33 consecutive contests entering the 1998-99 season.

Women's Basketball (10-15)---Randy Milligan's first Lady Pioneer club finished at 10-15. However, TC finished 3-3 against SAC opposition. The Lady Pioneers also completed a successful grand opening of the Sports Arena with a tight 51-50 win over Anderson College. The club won three of its last five regular season contests, but fell to Talladega 70-50 in a first round Southeast Region contest. Lydia Taylor turned a stellar senior campaign and earned all-region honors. She averaged 15.0 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per contest.

Men's Golf---Bob Dibble's linksters earn a fourth consecutive trip to nationals and have currently won three tournaments in a row. TC capped an impressive fall season with a 15-shot triumph at the Concord College Invitational in October. Matthew Light grabbed individual honors at Concord. TC also claimed a pair of third place finishes during the fall slate. The Pioneers have closed their spring portion of their schedule with a rush with titles at the TC Invitational, the Bluefield College Invitational, and the Mid-South Regional Tournament. The regional championship secured a trip to Tulsa, Okla. for the nationals, which begin next week Freshman Kevin Broyles took medalist honors in the TC Invitational at Link Hills and Brandon Vernon was the co-medalist at the Mid-South Regional. Senior All-American Allen Atchley placed second at Bluefield and has been a consistent leader for the squad.

Women's Golf---The Lady Pioneers earn a national tournament bid and take the TC Invitational title in their first season. TC shot a 361 in the first round of their own tournament to post a qualifying score good enough for a trip to Tulsa. The Lady Pioneers also put together a solid fourth place finish at the Kentucky Wesley an Invitational in April. Erin Bradbury captured the individual honors at the TC Invitational and was named the squad's co-MVP along with Holly Burns.

Softball (5-27)---Coach Kipp Keenan's Lady Pioneers were bitten by the injury bug as they limped home with a 5-27 ledger. The season did include a sweep of SAC foe Mars Hill. Freshman Brooke Boyd paced the team with a .357 batting average. Six regular starters missed significant time during the year due to various injuries.

Baseball (29-17)---Doug Jones' first season at the helm of the Pioneers was a success. TC seized the NAlA Southeast Independent Sub-Regional title and placed fourth in the Southeast Regional Tournament. The Pioneers lost in extra innings to nationally 8th ranked St. Thomas (Fla.) during the opening round of the regional tournament. St. Thomas went on to claim the title and will represent the region at the national tournament. The Pioneers finished 10-6 against NCAA Division II opposition and grabbed a 13-12 win over #l9th ranked Lincoln Memorial.