Following Gail Lee's final throw in the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Memphis track team officially turned their collective attention to the outdoor season.
So far, so good.
At the Rhodes Open, the season's first tune-up, nine U of M athletes won events and seven set personal bests. Eight more Tigers finished as runners up although none qualified provisionally for the NCAA Outdoor Regionals on May 27-28.
Overall, men's track head coach Glenn Hays said the showing produced mixed results.
"We had decent performances, but will have to get better scores to compete in conference," Hays said.
The day saw several standout performances. Junior sprinter Willie Green overcame recent injuries and won the 100 and 200 m titles with times of 10.72 and 21.91, respectively. Lee continued her dominance in shot put, winning the event with a heave of 47 feet - 5 inches.
Freshman Chen Edri posted high score in women's javelin and high jump and the Tigers men's 4 x 100 relay also took top honors.
"It was good," Hays said. "We got a chance to see where we were without much pressure (and) we didn't have to travel."
Men's and Women's track will return to action at the LSU Tiger Relays on March 25-26.
Women's soccer continues impressive spring
The Lady Tigers continued their impressive spring with a split on Sunday. Memphis lost the opener 1-0 to the Under-17 Region III Olympic Development Program, but rebounded to defeat defending C-USA champion UAB 4-2 in the nightcap.
In the early game, Memphis had some good scoring chances, but failed to equalize, following ODP's goal in the 55th minute.
"There are kids on this team that will probably play for the National Team in the future," said head coach Brooks Monaghan in a released statement.
"I didn't think we were at our best and we made some poor decisions, which ultimately ended up costing us the game. But, this was a good chance to go up against some great competition."
Against UAB, the offense returned to the usual spring form. Shoko Mikami scored her team-leading seventh goal of the spring in the 2nd minute.
Candace Halvorson added two goals and Nicky McLeod scored another for the victors.
Tigers baseball renews rivalry
The University of Memphis baseball squad will continue a five-game homestand this week with its annual meeting with Ole Miss at AutoZone Park today at 6:30 p.m. The game is the Tigers' only scheduled appearance at AutoZone this season.
General admission to the game is $8, and all U of M students get in free with a valid school ID. Children under two are also admitted free. Season tickets for Nat Buring home games will not be honored.
Tiger football head coach Tommy West will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Memphis will finish the home stand with Murray State on Wednesday at Nat Buring Stadium.
