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Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional

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Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional


Kiki Milloy kicked into another gear when Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly waved her home Sunday.

The senior outfielder sprinted down the third baseline to beat the throw from left field. Milloy dove, sliding headfirst across home plate – safe.

She rose to her knees to smack the ground as she screamed in celebration. Milloy turned towards the field at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as she stood up, yelling again for good measure as she put the Lady Vols up by three runs.

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Rylie West, who was on deck when Zaida Puni hit the RBI-single, came up to Milloy to join the celebration.

West and Milloy are the only two players left from Tennessee’s 2021 team. They’re the only ones left who felt the pain of back-to-back exits in the NCAA regionals on their home field. They’re two of the biggest reasons it hasn’t happened since.

West hit a two-RBI double right after Milloy scored, and by then, the win was well within their grasp. West followed it with a solo home run in the fifth, and No. 3 Tennessee (43-10) won 6-0 over Virginia (34-20) to claim the Knoxville Regional and advance to the super regionals for the second year in a row.

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Two straight years of elation, made even sweeter by the two years before that ended in heartbreak.

“(I’m) just super proud that … we can end our careers differently than how we started them,” West said.

Puni, who transferred to Tennessee from Oklahoma ahead of the 2022 season, called the early exit her first season at UT “heartbreaking.”

“So, we made a commitment to never having that feeling again,” Puni said.

The Lady Vols will host No. 14 Alabama (36-17) in the super regionals. The best-of-three series will start Friday.

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Weekly was already getting emotional after the Lady Vols run-ruled Virginia on Saturday. She fought back tears in the dugout as soon as the game ended.

“When they go out and play with so much joy and so much competitiveness and so much passion … They were just locked in and just really, really enjoying competing, and that’s what makes me the happiest,” Weekly said. “Usually wins come with that, but really, that’s what I want them to strive for every day, is just to go out there every day and compete their hearts out.”

Tennessee was dominant in all three victories, not conceding a single run. The Lady Vols outscored opponents 21-0 over 19 innings and hit .329. Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall held opposing hitters to a .109 average and combined for 24 strikeouts.

MORE: Rylie West’s dad saw potential that led to Tennessee softball career. But first he told her to quit

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The three-game shutout was the first thing Weekly pointed out when she met with the team after Sunday’s win.

“That’s huge. I doubt that’s being done in any other regional in the country,” Weekly said. “I think it takes just a big weight off these guys’ shoulders as hitters, knowing that our pitchers … they both have the mindset that my job is to keep a zero on the board until our offense can figure things out and get runs up for us. I would imagine they’re a whole lot of fun to play behind.”

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.





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A New Miss Tennessee Will Be Crowned This Week

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A New Miss Tennessee Will Be Crowned This Week


photo courtesy of Miss Tennessee

The Miss Tennessee Opportunity welcomes contestants, families, alumni, and supporters from across the state to Nashville June 15-20, 2026, for Miss Tennessee Competition Week at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Belmont University. The week will culminate with the crowning of a new Miss Tennessee and Miss Tennessee’s Teen as current titleholders Zoe Scheiderich and Analee Shaver pass on their crowns. The Miss Tennessee Opportunity is the officially licensed state program of the Miss America Opportunity, one of the nation’s leading achievement and scholarship organizations for young women. Click for More Events

Competition week features interviews, rehearsals, preliminary competitions, special events, and scholarship opportunities for talented young women representing communities throughout Tennessee. Throughout the week, attendees will have opportunities to participate in special events and celebrations leading up to the final night of competition. These events include a Red Carpet Gala on Wednesday, June 17 and the Miss Tennessee Par-Tea on Thursday, June 18, both taking place in the lobby of the Fisher Center. Tickets for the competition and official events are available through the Miss Tennessee website at misstennessee.org.

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Miss Tennessee 2025 Zoe Scheiderich, a native of Lebanon and student at Middle Tennessee State University, has represented Tennessee with distinction throughout her year of service. At the Miss America Competition, Scheiderich earned recognition as a Top 11 finalist and Preliminary Fitness Award winner while advancing her initiative to empower and equip women and girls. A classically trained dancer and aspiring sports broadcaster, she has earned significant scholarship support through the Miss America Opportunity and has served as an ambassador for the organization across Tennessee.

Joining her on the final night stage will be Miss Tennessee’s Teen 2025 Analee Shaver of Collierville. A student leader, accomplished dancer, and advocate against bullying, Shaver has spent her year promoting her community service initiative, Stand4Me, which encourages students to become advocates for peers experiencing bullying. Through school visits and community appearances, she has championed inclusion, empathy, and kindness among Tennessee’s youth.

The Miss Tennessee competition celebrates its 73rd year this June and is honored to welcome the reigning Miss America and former Belmont student, Cassie Donegan, to join in on the competition week festivities and perform a special showcase of music. Donegan has enjoyed a whirlwind year of appearances and advocacy since being crowned the 98th Miss America last September. She will be a featured guest Wednesday – Friday of competition week.

“We are excited to welcome Tennessee’s outstanding young women and their supporters to Nashville celebrating service, scholarship, style, success, and sisterhood,” said Dr. Colene Trent, CEO and Executive Director of the Miss Tennessee Opportunity. “We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of Zoe and Analee while introducing Tennessee to the reigning Miss America and the next generation of leaders who will represent our state.”

The competition is supported by a robust team of sponsors including The Clothes Tree Nashville, which provides all competition and appearance gowns and clothing for the titleholders and Beaman Toyota, which provides the official Miss Tennessee vehicle. The official transportation partner of the Miss Tennessee Competition is Gray Line Tours. The competition is also grateful for its partnership with the Fisher Center and Belmont University. The new Miss Tennessee will receive a $10,000 scholarship, a year of opportunities and travel throughout the state, and the honor of representing Tennessee in the iconic Miss America Competition in September.

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John Rose visits Blountville amid quest for Tennessee governorship

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John Rose visits Blountville amid quest for Tennessee governorship


BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Congressman John Rose made his way to the Tri-Cities Tuesday as part of his “Tennessee True Tour” as he seeks to secure the Republican nomination in Tennessee’s upcoming gubernatorial election.

Rose is holding a series of town halls across the state to talk with voters and hear their concerns.

On Tuesday, the governor hopeful visited the Ron Ramsey Regional Ag Center in Blountville. Rose is an entrepreneur who started his own I.T. training company. He says his business experience translates to the governor’s office.

“I think Tennessee needs to think about who they’re going to choose as their next governor,” he said. “And they need a leader that’s ready to go to work on day one. The job of being governor is the job of being CEO of our state. It’s a big organization. It’s not a business, but it’s got a lot of the attributes of a business.”

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The ag center was a familiar backdrop for Rose. He grew up working with his father on their farm that has been in their family for more than 200 years.  That experience, Rose says, makes him able to relate to farmers who may be struggling.

“They want a governor who will listen,” he said. “They’re tired of DC politicians who come and speak at them when it’s election time, but then don’t show up and don’t address the challenges of the day. They want a governor who will apply our conservative Tennessee values, faith, family, and freedom in taking on the challenges that face Tennessee. And finally, they want a governor who will work hard to protect the nature and quality of Tennessee, our natural beauty, but also the values that really define Tennessee, our southern hospitality.”

Rose will face U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn and State Representative Monty Fritts, as well as others, in the primary on Aug. 6.



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Tennessee Highway Safety Office contest seeks best-looking police cruiser photo

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Tennessee Highway Safety Office contest seeks best-looking police cruiser photo


Tennessee law enforcement agencies are vying for statewide bragging rights in a contest to find the best-looking police cruiser photo.

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office is holding the contest as part of the 22nd annual Law Enforcement Challenge, with more than 90 agencies taking part. The challenge recognizes the agency with the “coolest cruiser photo.”

Several local agencies are participating, including the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, which is hoping to win this year.

“In previous years, we’ve taken pictures in front of the race track. We’ve also used another landmark, which is our Bristol sign downtown and we have not yet submitted one on our mural that’s in downtown Bristol, so we definitely wanted to showcase that beautiful artwork that’s in our downtown area, hoping that that artwork will take us the award home,” said Jacey McCray, community outreach officer for the Bristol, Tennessee Police Department.

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The winning agency will be selected using ranked-choice voting, meaning each voter is required to vote for three agencies.

The deadline to vote is this Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

You can vote here.



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