Bama Softball Suffers Setback At Tennessee; Alabama Women's Tennis Drops Final Match Of Regular Season; NCAA Approves Football Early Signing Period

Alabama Softball Suffers Second Consecutive Loss

To Tennessee Volunteers On Sunday

University of Alabama softball team
Photo Credit: UA Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – It's been awhile since the Crimson Tide softball team opened a series with two consecutive losses, but the ladies from Alabama did just that, unfortunately, in Knoxville Tennessee to the Volunteers this weekend.  For the second-straight game, Alabama softball fell in walk-off fashion to Tennessee as a seventh-inning home run by Brooke Vines took a scoreless game to a Vols 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Alabama (36-9, 10-7 SEC) suffered its second Southeastern Conference series loss of the season. Now Tennessee (39-5, 11-3 SEC) has extended it's hot winning streak to 18 games. Bama starting pitcher Sydney Littlejohn (14-3) suffered her third loss of the season, giving up just two hits in the game until Vines' two-run home run in the seventh inning. It should be noted that all three of Littlejohn's losses this season have been shutouts while allowing two or fewer runs in each of them. The Tide out-hit the Vols, 4-3, but left seven runners on base.

Chandler Dare and Elissa Brown were both one-for-two in hitting on Sunday. Bailey Hemphill and Sydney Booker both went one-for-three in the contest.

The series finale is set for a 6 p.m. CT start tonight, and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alabama Women's Tennis

Concludes 2017 Regular Season With Loss

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The 33rd-ranked University of Alabama women's tennis team suffered a 4-3 loss on Sunday afternoon to the Missouri Tigers at home at the Alabama Tennis Stadium, officially bringing the 2017 regular season to its conclusion. With the loss, the Crimson Tide falls to 8-15 overall, 2-11 in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers improve to 11-13 and 2-11 in SEC play.

SINGLES:
1. Bea Machado Santos (Missouri) defeated No. 15 Erin Routliffe (Alabama) 6-0, 7-6(1)
2. Andie Daniell (Alabama) defeated Tate Schroeder (Missouri) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
3. Danielle Spielmann (Alabama) defeated Cassidy Spearman (Missouri) 6-2, 6-3
4. Mackenzy Middlebrook (Missouri) defeated Smith Hinton (Alabama) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
5. Amina Ismail (Missouri) defeated Maddie Pothoff (Alabama) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
6. Juliana Valero (Alabama) defeated Clare Raley (Missouri) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

DOUBLES:
1. No. 8 Erin Routliffe/Maddie Pothoff (Alabama) vs. No. 17 Bea Machado Santos/Amina Ismail (Missouri) 4-2, DNF
2. Mackenzy Middlebrook/Cassidy Spearman (Missouri) defeated Andie Daniell/Joanna Savva (Alabama) 6-3

3. Clare Raley/Tate Schroeder (Missouri) defeated Danielle Spielmann/Smith Hinton (Alabama) 6-3

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

NCAA Approves Football Early Signing Period

The days of being glued to the radio, television or internet one day a year to find out what school got which of the high school recruits it was after are over. As of this December, colleges and universities across the United States will now be able to sign football commitments on the dotted line. A binding, no-backing-out, firm commitment to a scholarship to play for a particular school by a particular high school student-athlete.

Yes, the early-February signing day will still be around, but high school players will now be able to sign national letters of intent with their chosen schools beginning this December 20th. A 72-hour window will be open allowing high school student-athletes to sign the NLI, and then again on the February date of each year, as it has been in the past, for those who did not sign in December.

One might say college football will never be the same. But, after all, it's always evolving. Of course there have been many student-athletes leaning one way in December and going another in February, making this new day to sign an interesting one, especially this first one. Sure, minds may be changed after signing, but then comes the one-year period to sit out of being able to play should the youngster now want to go with another school. Pretty interesting.

Another date in June to sign was also originally under consideration in addition to adding the December date to the already-existing February date, but that was nixed. Alabama football head coach Nick Saban was on record as being opposed to that one anyway.

The new rule for the additional signing day was discussed and formulated by the Football Oversight Committee and was then adopted by the Division I Council. Now it needs to be approved by the Conference Commissioners Association, which is expected.

The anticipated change in the number of football coaching assistants was also approved. The new number is 10, and will take effect in February 2018. Saban wanted this one.

Another change also took place. Now there is a rule against "hiring individuals associated with prospects." No more hiring a parent or favorite high school coach that is involved with one of the prospects a school is recruiting.

Two-a-day summer/fall practices were eliminated, but teams are allowed to begin practicing earlier to make up for the additional practices that were done away with. Saban says he'll not add additional days to the Alabama practices because the season is "already too long."