KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee women’s basketball team will get an early start on preparations for the 2019-20 season this summer, as it heads overseas for a three-game tour in Western Europe.
The 10-day trip, arranged by Basketball Travelers, includes stops in The Netherlands, Belgium and France and will take place August 6-15, 2019.
Fans wishing to make the trek with the Lady Vols may reserve a package through Basketball Travelers. The deadline to register is March 15.
The package (airfare not included) consists of charter bus transportation, stays in four-star hotels, tickets to all games, sight-seeing tours as tentatively listed on the itinerary (PDF) and breakfast at the hotel each morning. The trip will feature a Basketball Travelers representative and local tour guide with the group. Payment in full is due at time of purchase, but more than one payment form can be used.
To see a flyer about the trip, to view cost per person for ground transportation only and to learn how to contact Basketball Travelers for additional information, such as assistance in booking a flight through an in-house travel agent, click here (PDF).
This will mark Tennessee’s ninth international excursion, including 2013-14 and 2018-19 regular-season tournaments in the Bahamas (Junkanoo Jam) and a 2017-18 tourney in Mexico (Cancun Challenge). The Lady Vols had previous summer trips to Brazil in 1987, Belgium/France/Switzerland in 1999, Italy/Greece in 2003 and Italy in 2015. They also went to Great Britain in January of 1992.
UT is 21-7 all-time on foreign soil, including NCAA countable wins over SMU and Virginia at the 2013 Junkanoo Jam, Marquette, Oklahoma State and South Dakota at the 2017 Cancun Challenge, and Clemson and UAB at the 2018 Junkanoo Jam.
Trace Adkins and Clint Black will join forces for a co-headlining tour this spring and summer.
The Hits, Hats, History Tour will kick off on May 2 in Charlotte, N.C., making additional stops in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia and more. Terri Clark, John Berry and Craig Campbell will serve as support on select dates.
“Trace and I toured together back in the ’90s and I’m really looking forward to sharing the stage with him again,” said Clint. “He’s a lot of fun and a real pro.”
“It’s been a few years since Clint and I shared the stage,” adds Trace. “Since then, we have both been fortunate to have added a few more hits, and hats, to our collection. Looking forward to this!”
More dates will be announced soon. Ticket pre-sale begins on March 5, with general public tickets available on March 8.
The Hits, Hats, History Tour
May 2 | Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre | Charlotte, NC*
May 3 | Suwannee River Jam | Live Oak, FL^
May 4 | The Bowl |Sugar Hill, GA*
May 5 | CCNB Amphitheatre | Simpsonville, SC*
June 6 | White Oak Amphitheatre | Greensboro, NC<
June 8 | Foxwoods Amphitheatre | Mashantucket, CT<
June 9 | Bank of New Hampshire Amphitheatre | Gilford, NH<
Aug. 8 | Smart Financial Centre | Sugar Land, TX<
Aug. 9 | H-E-B Center at Cedar Park | Cedar Park, TX<
*Features John Berry
^Features Craig Campbell
<Features Terri Clark
Garth Brooks sold 20,000 units of his upcoming vinyl boxed set, The Legacy Collection, on Feb. 28.
The boxed set will feature five albums—No Fences, The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses and Triple Live—available in three different packages: Analog, Remix-Remaster and Limited. Each package includes seven vinyl records.
For 18 hours on Feb. 28, fans were able to purchase all three packages—21 vinyl records—for $100, with a personalized six-digit issue number. Garth moved 420,000 vinyl records in total.
The collection was initially slated to go on sale on Feb. 26, but the website crashed and Garth re-scheduled the sale for Feb. 28. Once the re-sale began, the limited quantity was sold in 12 hours, but the demand exceeded the allotted amount of inventory, so Garth kept the site open six more hours for those who initially had trouble.
“I have friends I would describe as the most patient, loving people on the planet who were pissed,” Garth said. “It was a frustrating evening to say the least, but thankfully, everyone of them ended up getting the numbers they wanted.”
The next opportunity to purchase the boxed set will come in two to four weeks. More details will be announced soon. The Legacy Collection ships on Nov. 1.
Dierks Bentley announced the lineup for his second annual Seven Peaks Music Festival in Buena Vista, Colo., on Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 30–Sept. 1).
Artists joining Dierks this year include Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Jon Pardi, Mitchell Tenpenny, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ryan Hurd, Steep Canyon Rangers, The War and Treaty, Tenille Townes and Caylee Hammack.
To get the party started on Aug. 30, the festival curated a lineup of artists who inspired Dierks’ love of ’90s country, including Travis Tritt, Tracy Lawrence, Diamond Rio and Deana Carter, with a special performance by Dierks’ own Hot Country Knights.
“I am so happy and grateful we get to come back to Buena Vista for the second Seven Peaks Music Festival,” said Dierks. “And I know I speak for everyone that has worked so hard to make this festival a reality when I say that. Even with the huge success of the first year, no one is taking anything for granted. If anything, we are all working harder than ever to make sure this year meets and exceeds the expectations of our returning ‘Peakers’ and completely blow away our first-time festivalgoers.”
More artists will be announced in the coming weeks. Passes go on sale on March 15 at 10 a.m. MT.
Carrie Underwood announced via Instagram on March 4 that she is taking her upcoming Cry Pretty Tour across the pond.
Carrie will perform five U.K. shows in late June and early July. Carrie will be joined on the UK tour by special guests, The Shires, the UK’s best-selling country act of all time. Tickets for the U.K. shows go on sale on March 7. Carrie will kick off her Cry Pretty Tour in the U.S. on May 1.
June 28 | Birmingham, England | Birmingham Resorts World Arena
June 30 | Cardiff, Wales | Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
July 2 | Glasgow, Scotland | The SSE Hydro
July 3 | Manchester, England | Manchester Arena
July 4 | London, England | Wembley The SSE Arena
During his stint as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 2, Thomas Rhett debuted two new songs, “Look What God Gave Her” and “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time.”
TR kicked off his appearance by performing his new single, “Look What God Gave Her. Penned by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan and J Cash, “Look What God Gave Her” will ship to country radio on March 4.
“I think I played this song 2,000 times in a month after we first wrote it,” says Thomas Rhett. “It makes me want to dance. It makes me want to move. And to me, the song really is a celebration of how awesome my wife is. I know I’ve done that in the past, but I’ve never really done it in an uptempo way.”
For his second performance, TR debuted “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time.” Both song will appear on TR’s upcoming fourth studio album, Center Point Road, which drops on May 31.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee women’s basketball team will begin play in the 2019 SEC Tournament on Thursday at noon ET. The No. 8 seed Lady Vols will face No. 9 LSU at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., in a game televised by the SEC Network.
The Lady Vols (18-11, 7-9 SEC) defeated Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon, 81-56, to move from No. 10 to No. 8 in the bracket. They’ll have a rematch with the LSU Lady Tigers (16-12, 7-9 SEC), who fell to Auburn, 56-46, on Sunday.
The last time UT and LSU played, the Lady Vols forced 25 turnovers en route to a 74-65 victory in Knoxville on Jan. 27. UT is 49-15 all-time vs. the Lady Tigers. They last played one another in the SEC Tourney in 2014, when UT grabbed a 77-65 triumph in Duluth, Ga.
OXFORD, Miss. — The Lady Vols closed out the regular season with a commanding victory over Ole Miss, winning 81-56 on 51.8-percent shooting on Sunday at the Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Tennessee (18-11, 7-9 SEC) was led in scoring by Meme Jackson, who hit five threes in route to 20 points while tying her season high of six assists. Rennia Davis and Cheridene Green also were in double figures for UT with 13 and 11, respectively. Evina Westbrook narrowly missed a double-double, tallying nine points and nine assists.
The Rebels (9-21, 3-14 SEC) were led in scoring by redshirt senior Crystal Allen, who turned in 30 points. Freshman Gabby Crawford also was in double digits for UM with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 5-0 lead off back-to-back buckets by Crystal Allen, but Rennia Davis put UT on the board by knocking down a 12-foot jumper just over two minutes into the game. Davis struck again at the 5:34 mark to give UT its first lead of the game at 6-5. The score was knotted at 10-all with 2:20 to play in the first quarter, with Allen accounting for all of the UM’s points. The Rebels then pulled ahead 13-10 off an old-fashioned three-point play by Crawford, but Tennessee closed out the final two minutes of the quarter with a 13-0 run, fueled by two Zaay Green steals, to take a 10-point lead into the second period.
La’Karis Salter knocked down a jumper on the Rebels’ first possession to end the streak, but Rae Burrell answered for Tennessee, knocking down back-to-back buckets to kick off another double-digit run, as UT scored 10 unanswered points to lead 33-17 with 6:10 remaining in the half. Ole Miss rallied back, scoring on two straight possessions, but Tennessee answered with another 10-0 run to lead 43-19 at the half.
The Lady Vols picked up where they left off in the second half, outscoring the Rebels 14-6 in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Davis led UT in scoring in the frame with six points, all of which were scored from the free throw line. She hit her final two charity tosses of the third quarter with 1:07 remaining to put Tennessee up 64-31, but Taylor Smith knocked down a layup just before the buzzer to send the Rebels into the final stanza down 29.
Ole Miss outscored UT 16-8 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, led by Allen, who poured in 12 of those points. Tennessee went on to hit 4-of-5 from the floor the down the stretch, though, while holding Ole Miss without a field goal for the final 2:53 to claim an 81-56 victory in Oxford.
Up Next: The Lady Vols will head to Greenville, S.C. to compete in the SEC Tournament. With the win, they will begin play at noon on Thursday as the No. 8 seed versus No. 9 LSU.
Big First Half: UT poured in 43 points in the first half against Ole Miss, the most first-half points Tennessee has scored against an SEC opponent since tallying 43 vs. Arkansas on Jan. 4, 2018.
Meme Back To Her Old Ways: Senior Meme Jackson went 5-of-6 from behind the arc to finish the day with 20 points. It’s the eighth time this season Jackson has hit three or more treys, but the first time she has hit 3+ threes or scored 20+ points since logging five threes and 27 points against Auburn on Jan. 3.
Raining Threes: UT went 8-of-14 from the three-point arc against Ole Miss for a 3-point field goal percentage of 57.1, marking their best percentage from behind the arc this season and their highest total of made treys in SEC play.
Unselfish Basketball: UT had season-high 25 assists on 29 field goals with six different Lady Vols logging at least one assist. It was the most assists Tennessee recorded since tallying 38 against Troy on Dec. 6, 2017. Westbrook led Tennessee with nine assists while Jackson tied her season high of six. The game moved Westbrook’s apg. to 5.3 on the season, placing her third all-time for Lady Vol sophomores behind only Dawn Marsh (5.6) and Lea Henry (5.4).
Cleaning The Glass: The Lady Vols out-rebounded the Rebels 36-32. They have now out-rebounded 24 of 29 opponents on the season, including 14 of 16 in SEC play. UT has now out-rebounded opponents 43.9 rpg. to 34.5 rpg.
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Tennessee picked up a doubleheader sweep on Saturday to finish the Cox Diamond Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record.
The Vols earned wins over North Florida (10-2) and Western Kentucky (6-3) to improve to 12-0 on the season, tying the program record for the best start in program history, matching the 2014 team’s historic start.
GAME 2: Tennessee 6, Western Kentucky 3 (7 Inn.)
Tennessee scored all six of its runs in the second inning to finish off a perfect weekend with a 6-3 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
Seven of UT’s starters recorded a hit in the win with Evan Russell leading the way, finishing with two hits, including his team-leading seventh double of the year.
The Hilltoppers struck first with a two-out RBI single by Jackson Swiney in the top of the second. Matt Phipps scored on the play after leading off the inning with a single and stealing second to move into scoring position.
The Vols didn’t waste any time erasing the deficit as Luc Lipcius continued his huge day with a mammoth three-run homer to right-center field to put the Big Orange ahead 3-1. It was the second homer of the day for Lipcius and his third of the year. The junior slugger went 3-for-6 with four runs, two homers and four RBI combined in UT’s two wins on Saturday.
The Orange and White took advantage of two throwing errors by the Hilltoppers’ catcher to score three more runs in the inning and take a commanding 6-1 lead.
WKU chipped away at the lead with a pair of solo home runs by Davis Sims and Jake Sanford in the third and sixth innings but were held at bay for the most part by Vols’ starter Will Neely.
The senior right hander earned his second win of the year and tied a career high with six strikeouts on the night. The Knoxville native allowed three runs on five hits and walked one in six innings of work.
Redshirt sophomore lefty Redmond Walsh worked around a leadoff single in the seventh to earn his third save of the season.
NOTABLE VOLS TIE BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY: With Saturday’s doubleheader sweep, Tennessee improved to 12-0 to start the year. That is tied for the best record to start a season in program history, matching the 2014 squad’s 12-0 start.
Tennessee has been dominant during its 12-game winning streak, posting six shutouts and outscoring its opponents 82-12.
LIPCIUS TWINS LEADING THE WAY: Twin brothers Luc and Andre Lipcius have been two of the Vols most productive hitters so far this season. The Lipcius twins are tied for the team lead with 10 RBI apiece while Luc leads the team with three home runs and Andre is tied for second with two four baggers.
After having just three hits and scoring only four runs last season, Luc has been on an absolute tear to start the season. The Williamsburg, Va., native currently leads the team with three homers, 10 RBI and ranks second on the squad with 11 runs and 12 hits with a slash line of .324/.435/.703.
UP NEXT: The Big Orange continue their road trip with another neutral-site game on Tuesday against Troy in Hoover, Ala. The Vols and Trojans will face off at the Hoover Met, which is the site of the SEC Tournament every year. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET.
GAME 1: Tennessee 10, North Florida 2
The Vols came out swinging in Game One of Saturday’s doubleheader against North Florida, plating three runs in the top of the first inning en route to a 10-2 victory.
Justin Ammons and Jay Charleston sparked the offense at the top of the lineup, combining for five hits, three runs and five RBI. Luc Lipcius also had a strong game at the dish, going 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. The junior first baseman also blasted a solo home run in the second.
Zach Linginfelter put forth another dominant performance on the mound with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work. The powerful right hander gave up two runs on four hits and walked just one to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Alerick Soularie doubled to right center to score Ammons and Charleston before Evan Russell scored on a Connor Pavolony sacrifice fly to give UT an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Lipcius made it 4-0 with a towering solo home run over the right-field fence to lead off the second, his second long ball of the season.
The Ospreys answered back with a home run of their own in the bottom of the second. David Maberry sent a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left for a two-run homer to cut the lead in half.
UT continued the back-and-forth with two more runs in the third to extend the lead back to four. After back-to-back two-out walks by Lipcius and Jake Rucker, Ammons came up big with his second hit of the day, a two-run single to center field to make it 6-2.
A sacrifice fly by Ammons and a bases-loaded walk by Charleston helped the Vols put up another two-spot in the fifth and extend their lead to six. The Vols added two more runs in the eighth to cap off the scoring.
