GOLF
Arkansas’ Crawford leads SEC Championships
Arkansas’ Kolton Crawford shot a 5-under-par 65 on Friday and shared the first-round lead with South Carolina’s Matthew NeSmith and Alabama’s Robby Shelton at the SEC Men’s Championships at the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course in St. Simons Island, Ga. As a team, Arkansas was in sixth place with a 1-under 279. Alabama led with an 11-under 269, holding a five-stroke lead over LSU. Auburn and South Carolina are tied for third at 275. Arkansas’ Alvaro Ortiz was tied for 23rd with an even-par 70. Zach Coats was tied for 34th at 71. Taylor Moore was tied for 47th at 73, while Nicholas Echavarria was tied for 58th at 74.
Arkansas women tied for seventh in SEC
Arkansas and Alabama are tied for seventh after Friday’s opening round at the SEC Women’s Championship at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. The Razorbacks and Crimson Tide each shot a 12-over-par 300, while Texas A&M, Tennessee and Vanderbilt shared the lead with a 5-over 293. Florida, South Carolina and LSU are tied for fourth at 299. Arkansas’ Gaby Lopez was tied for sixth at 1-under 71 with Tennessee’s Lucia Pole and Missouri’s Michelle Butler. Vanderbilt’s Jenny Hahn leads with a 5-over 67. South Carolina’s Justine Dreher, LSU’s Caroline Nistrup, Texas A&M’s Bianca Fabrizio and Florida’s Taylor Tomlinson are tied for second at 71. Arkansas freshman Alana Uriell is tied for 11th at 73.
UCA’s Angles makes Palmer Cup team
Central Arkansas’ Pep Angles was selected to his second consecutive Palmer Cup team Friday. The event, named for Arnold Palmer and first held in 1997, features teams of collegiate players from the United States and Europe. Angles, a senior from Barcelona, Spain, was a captain’s pick on the 10-member European team that will face the Americans on June 12-14 at Rich Harvest Farms near Sugar Grove, Ill. He was a member of last year’s team that won at Waton Heath Golf Club south of London. Joining Angles on the European team is Jon Rahm and Max Rotluff (Germany) of Arizona State, Rowin Caron (Netherlands) of Florida State, Adrian Meronk (Poland) of East Tennessee State (Poland), Clement Sordel of Texas Tech (France), Gary Hurley (Ireland) of Maynooth University in Ireland, Mathias Schwab (Austria) of Vanderbilt and Mathias Eggenberger (Switzerland) of Stirling University in Scotland. The team is captained by Jean Van de Velde of France and Janice Moodie of Scotland.
Arkansas Tech teams ranked third in region
Arkansas Tech’s men and women’s teams are ranked third in the NCAA’s Central Region The top 10 men’s teams will participate against the the top 10 teams from the Midwest Region on May 4-6 at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Ill. The top five teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships. The Wonder Boys trail Central Missouri and Central Oklahoma in the rankings. Southwestern Oklahoma and Henderson State are ranked fourth and fifth. Southern Nazarene is ranked seventh. The women’s central regional field will consist of the top nine teams in the final regional rankings and the top four individuals not on those teams. The regional will be held May 3-5 at Hillcrest Country Club in Bartlesville, Okla. The top three teams and three individuals on teams not participating will advance to the NCAA Championship at Allendale, Mich. Central Oklahoma and Augustana are the top two teams in the regional rankings.
BASKETBALL
UA-Fort Smith signs JC transfer
Arkansas-Fort Smith added Richie Spiller of Garden City (Kan.) Community College on Friday. Spiller, a 6-1 point guard, averaged 7 points and 3 rebounds and 23 minutes per game for the Broncbusters, who finished 17-14 and 6-10 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference this season. Spiller played his freshman season at Florida A&M, where he started five games, averaged 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game with 33 assists. “Richie is an extremely important sign for us,” UA-Fort Smith Coach Josh Newman said. “We needed to add a true point guard with athleticism, toughness and leadership.”
TRACK AND FIELD
Harding’s Zabrowska breaks record
Harding senior Ewa Zabrowska broke the school record in the 1,500 meters, clocking a time of 4 minutes, 22.30 seconds and finishing second at the 57th annual Mt. SAC Relays at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. The time broke her mark of 4:25.59 a year ago. The time is the second best in NCAA Division II this season.