-- ed.

Well, the basketball madness is over. Thanks to Coach Pearl for another great season hitting records and giving us even more hope for the future. Love that guy! And thanks to Coach Summitt for another Championship season and another reason to be proud. You're too good to us Pat. Congrats to Candace Parker on trophy number 2 and the first pick in the draft and also to Alexis Hornbuckle, Shannon Bobbitt, Nicky Anosike, and Alberta Auguste all of whom were also drafted. Best of luck to you all, and thanks a bunch.

Now that that's all over let's see what else is happening Around the Hill.

The baseball team is now 20-12 (7-5 SEC) with a 5-1 record in home SEC games and 16-3 overall at home which puts them 2 games back of 1st in the SEC despite being picked by league coaches to finish last. Not too bad for first year head coach Todd Raleigh. Keep it up.

The golf team is now ranked 10th nationally after finishing 10th at the ASU Invitational which was their final chance to prepare for the SEC Championship this weekend. The Vols are ranked 10th behind 'Bama at 1, Georgia at 2, and Florida at 8. Hope the Vols putt well this weekend.

The tennis team is ranked 8th nationally at 18-2, 8-2 SEC. They play their final home match this weekend vs. #3 ranked Georgia (20-1, 10-0). Make those first serves and play the lines boys!

Track and Field is ranked 3rd nationally behind Fla. St. and LSU but appears to be performing well as of late and should make the end of the season pretty interesting as they are hosting the Sea Ray Relays right now competing against 55 other collegiate teams. The Vols are making an impact as senior Jangy Addy has won the decathalon trophy with freshman Michael Ayers finishing 3rd. The action will continue through Saturday with UT's senior day Friday.

And I'm sure we're all aware that the defense is killing new coordinator Dave Clawson's offense so far this spring. Of course it's to be expected that a brand spanking new system will struggle early on but let's hope Coach Claw gets it going soon and a qb emerges in the process. And a big Wah Hoo to E.B. and D-Mo. Keep us safe back there gentlemen!

As for the women...

The golf team is ranked 17th nationally and will compete in the SEC tournament April 18-20. Good luck ladies!

Softball is cruising and ranked 11th nationally with a record of 40-7 which makes this their 6th consecutive 40-win season. Outstanding! It doesn't count towards their season record but they will play the US Women's Olympic team this Saturday welcoming Monica Abbott back to Knoxville for the first time since she graduated last year. Good luck ladies, give 'em heck!

The ladies tennis team fell to 25th nationally (13-7, 6-4 SEC) after dropping two tough matches this past weekend. The ladies will host Georgia this weekend for their last match before the SEC Tournament which begins April 17th. Go git 'em!

That's about all the pertinent action happening right now. Let's not forget that the University of Tennessee has 8 men's and 10 women's competitve sports teams most of which get lost in the fray of football and basketball but all of whom perform well regularly and give that much more reason that It's Great To Be A Tennessee Vol! So let's support these teams and remember, only football and basketball cost money. To go see any of these other teams is free! All they require is our enthusiasm.

Y'all take care. More to come.