From staff reports
Regional golf play starts today, with local girls competing for 18 holes in the 1A/2A/3A Central Regional at Statesville Country Club.
Salisbury’s Catherine Parks starts things off at 8:45 a.m.
Teammates Madison Kennedy (8:53), Lily Yatawara (9:01), Amber Lyerly (9:41) and Brooke Smith (12:12 p.m.) will follow Parks.
West Rowan golfers competing are Katie Knepp (9:25), Alex Mills (9:33), Ashlynn Perry (10:51) and Krista Rounds (11:09).
East Rowan golfers are Samantha Haviland (9:41), Emily Cleveland (11:54), Tabitha Warren (12:12) and Rachel Nelson (12:39).
South Rowan’s Courtney Barbee is set to tee of at 9:57.
The top three individual scores count toward the team total, and the top four teams in each regional will qualify to compete for the state championship.
In addition to the 12 golfers who will qualify with their team, 14 or 15 individuals will qualify today for a berth in the state event.
Salisbury coach Dale Snyder is confident the Hornets will qualify for states as a team, and they are likely to qualify their No. 4 scorer as in individual.
The Hornets are one of the favorites for the Central Regional title and own the lowest stroke average in the field at 122 (three golfers, nine holes). Their chief competition figures to come from Western Alamance (123).
Other top entries include South Stokes (130), Marvin Ridge (132), West Rowan (135) and Northern Guilford (136).
The local teams face a challenge in the length of the course. Statesville Country Club plays 5,680 yards and is significantly longer than the layouts the girls usually face.
Statesville’s top players Kathryn Vance and Kathryn Palmes will be the players most familiar with the course.
n Prep tennis
The first round of the prep dual-team tennis playoffs is set for Tuesday.
North Rowan will travel to Gaston County to play Highland Tech, while East Rowan and Salisbury will open at home.
n Prep volleyball
The NPC tournament begins today, with No. 4 seed South Rowan on the road at No. 5 seed Statesville.
The teams tied for fourth and split their regular-season matchups.
The league gets four playoff berths. South lost a coin flip for homecourt advantage for today’s match, which starts at 4:30 p.m.
The winner is very likely to qualify for the playoffs, while the loser’s season is over. There are no wild cards in the 3A playoff bracket.
No. 7 seed West Rowan plays at No. 2 seed North Iredell, while No. 3 seed Carson entertains No. 6 East Rowan.
The Cougars have clinched a playoff spot. East and West Rowan have to win today to extend their seasons.
No. 1 seed West Iredell joins today’s winners for the semifinals at South Rowan on Tuesday.
n YMCA basketball
The Saleeby-Fisher YMCA, East Rowan Branch, plans changes for the upcoming basketball season for Little Shooters and girls basketball.
Games will be played on Mondays and Tuesdays at 6 p.m., rather than Saturdays. All practices will be held on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.
Little Shooters is in an introduction to basketball for boys and girls in Pre-K through first grade.
Girls basketball leagues are for grades 2-8.
Practice starts Nov. 9, with games on Nov. 21. Registration is through Oct. 31. Contact sports director Joe Finney at 704-279-1742.
n Registration for J.F. Hurley and West Rowan YMCA basketball is open through Oct. 25.
There are leagues for girls in grades 2-8 and for Little Shooters, a boys and girls program for age 3 through first grade. Games are on Saturday. The season ends before Christmas.
Contact John Peterson at 704-636-0111.
n Overseas hoops
Terris Sifford (West Rowan) scored 21 points and had 17 rebounds to lead his Italian team to its first win of the season on Friday.
n College volleyball
Pfeiffer was swept by Wingate on Sunday night, ending the Falcons’ winning streak at 12 matches.
Led by Stormi Gale, the Bulldogs (24-1) won 25-11, 25-17, 25-22.
Pfeiffer fell to 15-7.
n Catawba field hockey
Catawba fell to top-ranked Bloomsburg 8-0 on Sunday.
The Huskies (16-1) built a 5-0 halftime lead. Catawba (3-9) was outshot 29-2. Goalkeeper Bronwen Gainsford recorded 18 saves in the loss.
n Catawba men’s soccer
Catawba lost at Lincoln Memorial 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Catawba (4-9-1, 0-5-1 SAC) had four shots in the second half. Catawba keeper Tyler Held recorded four saves.
n Catawba tennis clinics
Catawba Junior Tennis Clinics continue until Thanksgiving on Tuesday evenings, Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.
Call or e-mail to let coach Jeff Childress know you are coming.
Clinics are $10 each.
To register or for questions contact Jeff Childress at 704-637-4265 or Jchildre@catawba.edu.
n Youth wrestling
The Rowan County Youth Wrestling League is holding registration for boys in grades K-6.
Registration is Nov. 3 and 5 from 6:30-8 p.m. in the wrestling room at Hall Gym and Nov. 7 from 9-3 at North Rowan High during the YFL games.
The cost is $65. Visit www.rowanwrestling.com or contact Jason Hinson at 980-521-1968 or Tim Pittman at 704-267-4125.