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Tennessee offensive line coach Will Friend coaches players during spring practice on March 20. Tara Halley / The Daily Beacon

Vols kick off spring practice with a new look Damichael Cole

Asst. Sports Editor The Jeremy Pruitt era at Tennessee officially kicked off on Tuesday as the Vols opened their first spring practice. It wasn’t the ideal weather, with chilly weather and rainfalls, but you couldn’t tell from the players and coaches. There was a bit of a different vibe on the practice field with a new coaching staff in place. “As practice went, I saw some guys that improved in their technique,” Pruitt said. Fast pace: One noticeable change on the first day was the pace of practice. The Vols were continuously running from drill to drill at speeds that mimicked a two-minute offense. This was evident everywhere in all position groups. They seemed to focus on getting their work done fast and timely. Being that it was the first day, the faster pace could have been just to get everyone going, but it’s something to watch under Pruitt. “One thing that we won’t do is, we don’t want guys standing around,” Pruitt said. “When we do position drills we will do three or four drills.

Volume 135 Issue 18

There’s constant movement.” Roster Changes: Junior defensive lineman Quay Picou figured to play a role in the rotation this season, but he was not listed on the spring football roster. Picou appeared in eight games last season, recording six tackles. He has appeared in 20 games in his career. “Right now Quay is not on the team,” Pruitt said. “He has left the team. He won’t be with us this spring.” One player who was listed on the roster was receiver Jauan Jennings. Jennings was dismissed from the program by former interim coach Brady Hoke, but was reinstated by Pruitt shortly after the start of the spring semester. However, Jennings’ work isn’t done yet. He’s currently recovering from an injury, and he must complete guidelines in order to take the field for the Vols. Pruitt in Orange: No, it wasn’t the first time Pruitt was in orange, but it was the first time he was seen in orange with a whistle around his neck. The new look is a welcome sight for Vols fans, who can now get the pictures of Pruitt in crimson out of their heads. Now that he is in orange in his coaching

utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon

uniform, there aren’t many people more jubilant about building the football team than Pruitt. “It was exciting to get out there on the grass,” Pruitt said. New faces, new attitude: No coaches returned from the previous coaching staff, so there were new faces everywhere. On the defensive side, the coaching faces were much more familiar to Pruitt, making it an easier transition. He said that he plans to spend more time on the defensive side of the ball because of his background and familiarity with the coaches. It’s not just with the coaches. Pruitt is tasked with learning about over 80 players and where they fit on the team. “Getting to know them is getting to know what kind of player they are,” Pruitt said. “There’s plenty of time to build relationships, but at the the end of the day, this is a performance based industry.” What’s next: The Vols will return to the practice field on Thursday for their second of 15 total practices. Each of those practices are something they won’t take for granted. “I know this ... you get 15 practices,” Pruitt said. “Today was our first day, and we’re never going to get it back.”

Thursday, March 22, 2018


2

CAMPUSNEWS

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, March 22, 2018

THE DAILY BEACON STAFF

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief: Alex Holcomb Managing Editor: Rob Harvey Chief Copy Editor: Olivia Leftwich Engagement Editor: Alec Apostoaei News Editor: Kylie Hubbard Sports Editor: Tyler Wombles Asst. Sports Editor: Damichael Cole Arts & Culture Editor: Neeley Moore Digital Producer: Leann Daniel Asst. Digital Producer: Natasha Roderick Opinons Editor: Jarrod Nelson Photo Editors: Emily Gowder, Adrien Terricabras Design Editors: Laurel Cooper, Lauren Mayo Production Artists: Kelly Alley, Grace Atter, Kyla Johnson, Caroline Littel

ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION

Advertising Production Manager: Zenobia Armstrong Media Sales Representatives: Mandy Adams, Ansley Brancoff, Amy Nelson Advertising Production: Nathaniel Alsbrooks

CONTACTS To report a news item, please e-mail editor.news@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-2348 To submit a press release, please e-mail pressreleases@utdailybeacon.com To place an ad, please e-mail beaconads@utk.edu or call 865-974-5206 To place a classified ad, please e-mail orderad@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-4931 Advertising: (865) 974-5206 beaconads@utk.edu Classifieds: (865) 974-4931 orderad@utdailybeacon.com Editor-in-Chief: (865) 974-3226 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com

Association sparks discussion on identity Natalia Capella Staff Writer

UT’s Asian-American Association (AAA) promotes cultural diversity and aims to give a better understanding of Asian culture. A small group of members revived the association last year, and the group has since become the executive board. The association soon created a space it felt Asian-American students could feel welcome in and get better involved in multicultural student life. “We wanted to connect with other AsianAmericans just like us because we saw little representation of us on campus,” Mori Fukui, junior majoring in human resource management, said. The Asian American Association (AAA) hosts events such as the RAAAmen night, when ramen is cooked and served to members. They also host karaoke nights and an annual 865 Night Market that includes performances, art showcases and food. This year’s market will be held April 6 in the HSS Plaza. “Our key takeaways for students when attending the night market is being aware of a student-organized Asian-themed event all

CORRECTIONS POLICY: It is the Daily Beacon’s policy to quickly correct any factual errors and clarify any potentially misleading information. Errors brought to our attention by readers or staff members will be corrected and printed on page two of our publication. To report an error please send as much information as possible about where and when the error occurred to managingeditor@utdailybeacon.com, or call our newsroom at (865) 974-5206. The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee on Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. The offices are located at 1340 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year or $100/semester. It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com

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became involved with AAA her freshman year. For Mallari, AAA has been a place that allows her to build her work ethic and skills and discover her leadership abilities. “To me, the Asian-American Association means a place where people of many different backgrounds can come together and participate in various events and activities while learning about Asian-American culture,” Mallari said. “It is also important for UT to have organizations like ours to bring about diversity that are present on campus because oftentimes it is overlooked due to the general population.” The members of AAA bring about their diverse goals by raising awareness of AsianAmerican culture with the target audience of all students. They interact and make alliances with different groups on campus to promote understanding for all. “We take every opportunity to connect with all types of multicultural student organizations and like to take the time to educate anyone willing to listen about the culture we grew up with, the social struggles we face and more,” Fukui said.

Slam poetry champion to perform poetry on mental illness Cat Trieu

Copy Editor

Main Newsroom: (865) 974-3226 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor must be exclusive to The Daily Beacon and cannot have been submitted to or published by other media. Letters should not exceed 400 words and can be edited or shortened for space. Letters can also be edited for grammar and typographical errors, and Letters that contain excessive grammatical errors can be rejected for this reason. Anonymous Letters will not be published. Authors should include their full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address for verification purposes. Letters submitted without this information will not be published. The preferred method to submit a Letter to the Editor is to email the Editor-in-Chief at editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com .

while being exposed to various multicultural student organizations they may be interested in joining,” Fukui said. “If students understand our mission, we can hopefully impact their lives and inspire them to impact other students too.” The Asian-American Association wants to reach all students at UT with the knowledge of the diversity of the students on campus, according to Fukui. To achieve this, its events are planned for all students to interact with a diverse array of people and cultures. People stop by events hosted by the AAA to have fun and engage in discussions about the AsianAmerican identity and social expectations. “In the end, members are drawn to other students who want to make a difference in society while enjoying the company of likeminded people, and we are sure many of our members are just like that,” Fukui said. There are currently 50 active and paid members that work hard to connect with other organizations and students on campus. “People believe we are a closed-off organization to anyone that is not Asian-American and that we only keep to ourselves when our organization is far from that,” Fukui said. Juvi Mallari, a sophomore studying nursing,

Neil Hilborn, college National Poetry Slam champion, will perform his poetry about mental illness Tuesday evening in the Alumni Memorial Building after being invited by the Campus Events Board (CEB). After growing up in Houston, Texas, Hilborn graduated with honors from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he currently resides. In college, he joined a slam poetry team and performed across the country, an activity that he would continue after his graduation. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder, Hilborn expressed his struggles with the illnesses through his poetry. Hilborn’s fame began when his poem “OCD” went viral as the most-viewed slam poem on YouTube in 2013. The poem illustrated Hilborn’s personal struggles with the disorder in the context of a serious romantic relationship and breakup. “She told me that she shouldn’t have let me get so attached to her — that this whole thing was a mistake, but … How can it be a mistake that I don’t have to wash my hands after I touched her?” Hilborn said in the poem. Since then, he has appeared on National Public Radio (NPR) and in The Wall Street

Journal. In 2016, he published “Our Numbered Days,” a full-length poetry book. Now he travels across the country to different colleges and venues to share his message about struggling with mental illness and the power of poetry. An arts and culture committee member of CEB suggested inviting the contemporary poet due to his achievements. “As a committee, we agreed that his popularity and unique performances would provide an unforgettable event for the UT community,” Julia Navin, senior in nutrition and public health and membership chair of CEB, said. Hilborn will recite his poetry about his experiences of having OCD along with the general challenges of mental illnesses through an artistic spoken word presentation. Singing and dancing are renowned as some of the most popular art forms through which to express creativity at UT, but CEB aims to bring more awareness to poetry recitation. “I think spoken word performance is a unique and underrepresented art form in our campus community,” Evan Oliver, junior in psychology and event management chair for the arts and culture committee of CEB, said. “I think that his focus on mental health adds another dimension to this art form.” Along with bringing awareness to his poetry, CEB wanted to share Hilborn’s unique view of mental illness. “We hope for students to gain a greater

Courtesy of Natalie Guffey perspective on mental health and a greater appreciation for spoken word as an art form through Neil’s performances,” Oliver said. Navin said the event will give students a new way to spend their free time at UT. “This event is will be a wonderful and engaging experience,” Navin said. “Come out to see a great showcase of spoken word art for free.” The event is free for opted-in students and $5 for opted-out students and the general public.


CAMPUSNEWS

Thursday, March 22, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

3

Egyptian association shares rich culture, community Natalia Capella Staff Writer

A group of UT students has ensured Egyptian students can meet, gather and support one another. Graduate students Ibrahim Abotaleb, Mohamed Eid and Seif Etifa, former president and current assistant professor in Cairo, Egypt, founded the Egyptian Student Association (ESA) and soon used the platform to promote Egyptian culture on campus. “The goal of the ESA is to strengthen the bonds among Egyptian UTK students, and to help them engage in the university community to eventually promote the Egyptian culture through discussion, cultural programs, service events, and social activities,” Abotaleb, a graduate student studying civil engineering, said. The three founders decided there was a need for new Egyptian students coming to UT to have a cohesive space to gather. Abotaleb said a lack of representation of Egyptian culture helped to create the association. Eid, graduate student in civil and environmental engineering and previous ESA president, said ESA is an opportunity for students to come together and share Egyptian culture with

other members by discussions and participating in fun and learning oriented events. “ESA inspires to be a part of UTK’s integrated environment that provides UTK’s students with multi-cultural and broad spectrum perspective of the world,” Eid said. ESA has participated in the International House’s annual International Festival and International Coffeehouse events. Other activities include Egyptian Trivia and culture nights to share food and drinks while discussing Egyptian arts. The activities have helped the association make different impacts on campus, according to Abotaleb. “Students learn about new cultures and engage with people from those cultures faceto-face,” Abotaleb said. “In some cases, such interactions lead to life-changing decisions and open doors to new experiences.” Abotaleb said he enjoys the interaction he has had with the UT community as a member of ESA. “Everyone I meet is extremely interested to know more about the Egyptian culture,” Abotaleb said. “Just talking to the people about Egypt and seeing their reactions when they learn something interesting is priceless.” Abotaleb said the interactions he has with the

The Egyptian Student Association hosts an event in the Mary E. Greer room in Hodges Library. Courtesy of Ibrahim Abotaleb UT and surrounding community allows him to dispel misconceptions about Egypt and discuss daily Egyptian life. Diverse organizations such as ESA better the community and its members, according to Abotaleb. “Members engaging in such communities get introduced to new experiences and acquire important soft skills,” Abotaleb said. “Some of the skills include communicating with audience, networking, organizing events, and even

cooking.” Egyptian UT students are invited to join the association by contacting the board members about free membership. “I met so many interesting people and made so many friends from different countries,” Abotaleb said. “I always say that every international student is an ambassador of his/her country. I truly realized the meaning of that statement when I became part of ESA.”


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ARTS&CULTURE

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, March 22, 2018

Margaret Lazarus Dean recounts writing ‘Endurance’ Emily Lewellyn Staff Writer

Fiction writing is not the only way a reader can be transported to outer space. A reader can be transported even more profoundly through the memoir of one who has been there himself. “You have to go to the ends of the Earth in order to leave the Earth,” Scott Kelly said in his memoir, “Endurance,” written with the assistance of UT professor Margaret Lazarus Dean. Dean is an associate professor at UT and the director of creative writing. She teaches writing courses for undergraduate and graduate levels, with a specialized knowledge of spaceflight and the culture surrounding it. She has written a novel on the aftermath of the Challenger disaster, a work of nonfiction on the final year of the space shuttle program, and most recently collaborated with Kelly on “Endurance,” depicting his year on the International Space Station. “I wasn’t especially interested in spaceflight until I got into writing my first book, which was a novel set in the mid-eighties around the time of the Challenger disaster,” Dean said. “I thought it would make a more interesting coming-of-age story to have the character live through a real-life disaster, so I chose that one and placed the character and her family near Cape Canaveral and made her father a space worker. In order to write about a character obsessed with space, I had to learn a lot about the space shuttle and accidentally became a bit obsessed myself.” Dean came into contact with Kelly after he had read some of her work and reached out to her to discuss the book. Her second book was a creative nonfiction project about the end of the space shuttle program. It came out in 2015, partway through Scott Kelly’s year in space. Kelly read the book and called Dean from space to talk about it. “What I like about being a writer is that I can go off by myself and produce something that will be read and judged by others only when I’m ready for that,” Dean said. “But when I looked at the journal Scott was keeping in space, I saw a lot of the types of details that I look for in my own writing, and I thought we might actually share a vision for how this book could work. I’m very lucky that he was easy to work with and that we never had any real conflicts. I also became good friends with his fiancée Amiko, who I first met when he was still in space, and that made the collaboration easier as well.” Kelly struggled academically yet joined the Navy and completed high school, a bach-

elor’s of science from the New York Maritime College and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. He joined NASA in 1996, and after a career in spaceflight, Kelly embarked in 2015 on an 11-month residency in space, the longest in American history. He retired from spaceflight in 2016 after his return. The main challenge in Dean’s project was the time frame. They two had to write a 400-page book with a lot of technical and historical detail in less than a year. The creation of ‘Endurance’ occurred with a somewhat jagged writing process, yet produced a seamless work. After Kelly returned to Earth, Dean and Kelly met and decided to collaborate on Kelly’s memoir. Because Kelly lives in Houston, Dean lives in Knoxville and Kelly was often traveling to talk about his year in space, they had to find multiple different ways to collaborate. They emailed documents back and forth, talked on the phone and Skyped; they even used software that allowed Kelly to see what was on Dean’s screen while they edited together over the phone. A few times, Dean traveled to Houston to work together, and Kelly came to Knoxville once with his family. By balancing the book’s contents with reports from space and Kelly’s own personal background, Dean showed Kelly’s commonality with the reader. “People were completely captivated and fascinated by the fact that Scott spent a year living in space, and rightly so—that was a feat no American astronaut had ever attempted,” Dean said. “But as I learned more about Scott’s story, it became clearer that his year in space wasn’t the main thing, or the only thing, he had to share with readers.” Dean shares many stories of Kelly’s life from back when he was a terrible student who barely graduated high school and how as a kid he watched his mother train to pass the men’s physical to become the first femlae police officer in New Jersey. Another story “Endurance” tells is the how on his previous mission to the space station, Kelly’s sister-inlaw Gabrielle Giffords was shot in an assassination attempt while he was still in space with months left to go. “Early on, we decided to alternate chapters between the present (the year in space) and the past,” Dean said. “I thought it was a good way to balance different types of material, and also I hope it reflects the way that we are all always living out the past. The experiences Scott had earlier in his life, and the decisions he made, are what give his adventures meaning.”


ARTS&CULTURE

Thursday, March 22, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

5

What to Watch Wednesdays: March Madness Movies Neeley Moore

Arts and Culture Editor In the midst of March Madness, the biggest college basketball event of the year, we are highlighting films about basketball. Whether you follow basketball yearround, only watch March Madness to see how your bracket is doing or don’t enjoy watching it at all – the biggest month of the basketball season is the perfect time to watch a movie about historical moments for athletes or fictional stories inspired by the sport.

TTwo w Months Free or R a t e s

Courtesy of IMDb the right funds, he still attempts to recruit the very best players regardless of race to have the best team possible to compete in the NCAA championship. “Glory Road” explores racism, discrimination and the ethics of student athletics and tells an important story of the history of basketball.

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Courtesy of IMDb Space Jam (1996) For something casual and hilarious, consider “Space Jam.” “Space Jam” is a liveaction/animated sports comedy film, which ties real life into the cartoon world. It stars basketball player Michael Jordan, along with the Looney Tunes characters. The film is the alternative history of what happened between Jordan’s initial retirement from basketball and the NBA back in 1993 and his comeback in 1995. In the film, Jordan is equipped by Bugs Bunny and his fellow Looney Tunes friends to play against a group of basketball-playing aliens. The aliens want to enslave the Looney Tunes for their amusement park with playing basketball as their ransom. “Space Jam” is a bit bizarre, but a well known fan favorite that twists real life basketball history into a fictional, wacky world. Glory Road (2006) Another real life story without fictionalized and animated aspects is “Glory Road.” The movie is a sports drama film based on a true story surrounding the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Championship. In “Glory Road,” the head coach of Texas Western College, Don Haskins, leads a team with the first all-black starting lineup in NCAA history. Although he doesn’t have

Courtesy of IMDb Love and Basketball (2000) For more of a chick flick and fictional film option, watch “Love and Basketball.” The romantic drama film is a fictional story starring Sanaa Nathan and Omar Epps, who play Quincy and Monica. The two are next-door neighbors in Los Angeles, California. More than simply neighbors, they are both pursuing their careers in professional basketball before eventually falling in love with each other. Quincy was born with a father in the NBA and can easily excel, while Monica must defy more odds to achieve her dream. Both of them must reach high to grab their dreams, all while realizing their romantic feelings for each other. For something regarding the lives of athletes with a twist of romance, “Love and Basketball” is an excellent choice.


6

PUZZLES&GAMES

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, March 22, 2018

STR8TS No. 1092

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SUDOKU No. 1092

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For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts, Sudoku and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store at www.str8ts.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD • Will Shortz ACROSS

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OPINIONS

Thursday, March 22, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

Big bad data ain’t nothing new Owen Flomberg Living the Dream

What really is marketing? To me, it is just a nicer way to say propaganda. Now, I am sure that all the marketing majors out there would disagree. However, I just don’t think that there is a big difference. Merriam-Webster defines propaganda as “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumors for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause or a person.” Advertisements for Coca-Cola and for a political candidate are not that different. Think about it. They are both trying to sell the viewer on a perspective. Drinking a cold Diet Coke will make you happy, and your buying of that happiness will benefit the behemoth Coca-Cola Company. In much the same way, voting for Candidate A is presented as the moral thing to do, and your voting for them will benefit that candidate. They both typically try to elicit an emotional response. Propaganda can induce both negative and positive feelings. People would probably argue that propaganda solely peddles in untruths. They’d say that truth is the difference between marketing and propaganda, but that itself is an untruth. By definition, propaganda does not have to be untrue. Also, marketing is just as full of insubstantial claims and feelings as propaganda can be. They are both examples of persuasion. They are both powerful. They both can

appeal to minds, hearts, and money, too. After all, why do we have social media and TV? They exist to sell advertisements (i.e. propaganda). That is the only reason why we have television news networks, television entertainment shows, reality television, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and everything else that allows advertisements. These are not charities existing solely to occupy our brains with wholesome entertainment. They exist to be mechanisms for interests to sell ideas which are carried out as actions. Thus, it should not be any surprise that Cambridge Analytica was creating profiles on voters and targeting them. Cambridge Analytica was the data firm that the Trump campaign used for its social media strategy during the 2016 presidential campaign. Over the weekend, it was revealed that it had accessed Facebook’s profile data during its work and used them to create “psychographic” profiles of over 50 million people. But I don’t really see how it is that different than a clothing brand targeting people of a specific race or place of residence. While the action it desires would only be buying a t-shirt — something less consequential than voting — it is still an action desired as a result of the viewing the advertisement. It is still

pretty much done against the consumer’s will. Cambridge Analytica took this targeting and profiling a step further. It violated Facebook’s privacy rules and harvested information from 50 million users. However, people overstate the impact this had on the election. They act like candidates and parties don’t already make profiles of voters and target them to sell ideas and elicit action. Campaigns already use voter profiles that contain voting history to more efficiently target likely voters. It’s just that this time, they did it in a much more underhanded and widespread way. Do not get me wrong here. I am not defending Cambridge Analytica or the Trump machine that used its services. What I am saying is that if we want to condemn and outlaw something like this, we should really look at the whole system and the targeting of voters. We should re-evaluate the whole system of data collection, not just by political entities but corporate ones as well. Owen Flomberg is a sophomore in College Scholars studying political economy with a focus in development and can be reached at oflomber@ vols.utk.edu.

Campaign Season

Cartoon by Fletcher Henkel Fletcher Henkel is a freshman in Studio Art and can be reached at chenkel@vols.utk.edu

Columns of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

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8

SPORTS

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, March 22, 2018

TENNIS

SEC battles in store for tennis teams this weekend Jessica Landefeld Contributor

This weekend, the Tennessee men’s and women’s tennis teams will travel to face off against opposing SEC teams. The Lady Vols will be attempting to get their first SEC win against Vanderbilt and Kentucky on the road, while the Vols are looking to continue their winning streak and add to their SEC wins against Texas A&M and Georgia. After a split doubleheader against Florida (4-1) and Lipscomb (4-0), the Lady Vols tennis team is preparing for their weekend matches against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The Lady Vols (13-5, 0-5 SEC) have been hard at work to get back on track after a five-game losing streak against various SEC teams including Texas A&M (1-4), LSU (3-4) and Georgia (0-7). “I feel like once you do that five or six matches in a row, that shows you who you are as a team,” head coach Alison Ojeda said following the doubleheader. “There are a few things that we are missing to be a really good team every day.”

When it comes to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, the Lady Vols will be looking to utilize all of their strongest assets to notch the SEC wins. Sophomore Johanna Silva proved herself this past weekend when she went 2-0 in singles against Katie Kubicz, 6-4, 6-4, to score the Lady Vols’ lone point against the Gators and cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Thabile Tshatedi from Lipscomb. “(Johanna) did a great job today,” Ojeda said. “The thing she is doing really well right now is playing tennis. What she isn’t doing well is the mental approach to losing tough points.” The Lady Vols will take on Vanderbilt on Friday at 4 p.m. in Nashville and Kentucky on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Lexington. After coming off a successful weekend with wins against Arkansas (4-3) and Ole Miss (4-0), the Tennessee’s men’s tennis team is preparing for a busy weekend against Texas A&M and Georgia. The Vols (15-4, 4-1 SEC) are feeling confident going into this weekend after a 4-game winning streak. “Like I said after Arkansas, any time you can get a road win is huge,” head coach Chris Woodruff said after his team’s victory over

Ole Miss. “It’s always good for the team and now our focus shifts to A&M.” The Vols will be putting some of their best players to the test this weekend. The No. 73-ranked duo of Preston Touliatos and Luis Valero are preparing to face opposing Texas A&M and Georgia after a successful match (6-1) against Ole Miss. Valero won his singles match (6-2, 6-0) against the Rebels’ Zvonimir Babic and FILE - Johanna Silva and head coach Alison Ojeda at the is looking to expand Goodfriend Tennis Center during the meet against UT upon that performance Martin on Feb 2, 2018. this upcoming week- Caleb Jones, File / Contributor end. the Goodfriend Tennis Center, and will take on The Vols will face off against Texas A&M on Friday at 6 p.m. at Georgia at 1 p.m. in Athens.

SOFTBALL

Arnold a key contributor to Lady Vols’ successful start Noah Taylor

Contributor The Tennessee softball team is 30-1 overall, in the midst of an impressive 22-game win streak, ranked No. 2 in the nation and coming off of a six-game sweep of the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Tournament last weekend. Despite that list of accomplishments, the Lady Vols aren’t slacking in preparation to make a run through an unforgiving SEC slate. A large part of this team’s success, now halfway through the 2018 season, is due to the production from its pitching staff, and sophomore pitcher Caylan Arnold has been instrumental throughout the Lady Vols’ dominating run. Following wins over Cleveland State and Maryland, as well as saves versus North Dakota and Maryland in game two of Sunday’s doubleheader, Arnold received SEC Pitcher of the Week honors- an impressive feat in a conference full of elite arms. “It’s a big deal,” Arnold said. “I was kind of shocked because I thought there were a lot of things that I needed to work on. I’m grateful for it, but I’m still not satisfied with my performance.” “I know that I have to keep working hard to get where I need to be.”

It has been that attitude of never settling and always looking to improve that has led Arnold to a strong sophomore campaign thus far this season. Arnold is currently undefeated on the season, boasting a 13-0 record through 27 appearances in the circle. She also leads the team in strikeouts with 137, a mark that places her in first place among conference pitchers. Outside of strikeouts, Arnold also has top billing in other statistical categories in the SEC, including wins (13), games finished (11), appearances (27) and innings pitched (100). Despite the accolades, Tennessee’s coaches continue to preach about consistency among their players, and for Arnold, it’s a message that continues to be well received. “I’d say mentally,” Arnold said concerning what she focuses on improving. “The only thing that I ever struggle with is normally mental. Keeping everything simple. I’m a perfectionist. I’ll throw a pitch and it was great, and I did everything right. Then they’ll call the same pitch and I think I need to make it better. “That’s not what I have to do. I have to just throw the exact same pitch, over and over without trying to think about trying to make it better.” For Tennessee co-head coach Karen Weekly, the most notable improvement she has seen out

of her standout pitcher from Arnold’s freshman season to now is her maturity. “I’m very pleased with Caylan (Arnold),” Weekly said. “In games where we needed to hold the opponent down because our offense wasn’t clicking, or it took us time to put some runs on the board, she has done a great job.” One game in particular that spoke volumes about Arnold’s ability to overcome adversity came against Charleston Southern on March 3. After giving up a three-run homer and putting the Lady Vols in an early 3-0 hole in the first inning, Arnold proceeded to finish the game in dominating fashion, tying a then season-best 13 strikeouts. “Once you give up a three-run bomb like that, it can deflate a pitcher,” Weekly said. “It can keep them down for the rest of the game. (Arnold) was a completely different pitcher after that inning. I think that speaks a lot to how she is maturing mentally.” Arnold will look to continue building on what has been a successful season up to this point, as the Lady Vols will travel to Columbia to face South Carolina (25-4) in a three-game series beginning Friday. Being a competitor, SEC play just presents another challenge that Arnold relishes to take on. “I’m excited about it,” Arnold said. “I love

FILE - Caylan Arnold, #12, during the game against Ole Miss at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on March 26, 2017. Adrien Terricabras, File / The Daily Beacon playing against other SEC teams because there is always really good games. Everybody is so competitive. Everybody brings their A-game. I just love playing in the SEC.”


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