From staff reports

Catawba’s women’s  soccer team made a jump into the final regional poll and  received an at-large berth in the 56-team D-II tournament.

Catawba’s strength of schedule boosted the credentials of the Indians, who were seeded fifth for the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Catawba won a road game and reached the tourney semifinals.

Making the regional field is a major accomplishment.

Catawba is in the tournament for the first time since 2008 and for the fifth time in the program’s 29 seasons of competition.

Carson-Newman, ranked 16th nationally, will provide the opposition in the first round of the regional.

The Indians, coached by Nick Brown, headed to Jefferson City. Tenn., on  Wednesday evening to prepare for a 2 p.m. game on Friday.

Catawba has lost two close ones to Carson-Newman in recent weeks, falling 2-1 in two overtimes in Jefferson City late in the regular season on Oct. 27 and losing 2-1 in Rock Hill in a semifinal matchup in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Nov. 2.

Catawba (13-5) is seeded seventh in the regional, while Carson-Newman (14-4) is seeded second.

If Catawba wins Friday, the Indians would play the Lander-Lincoln Memorial winner in Jefferson City on Sunday.

Third-round and quarterfinal  contests take place Nov. 15-16 and Nov. 17-18.

Semifinals and the championship game will be played Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Friday, November 9

GM 1: #4 Flagler vs. #5 Limestone (at Columbus St.) 2 p.m.

GM 2: #3 Lander vs. #6 Lincoln Memorial (at Carson-Newman) 11 a.m.

GM 3: #2 Carson-Newman vs. #7 Catawba (at Carson-Newman) 2 p.m.

Sunday, November 11

GM 4: #1 Columbus St. vs. GM 1 winner (at Columbus St.) 1 p.m.

GM 5: GM 2 winner vs. GM 3 winner (at Carson-Newman) 2 p.m.

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Catawba sophomore Ashley Bornkamp received the  South Atlantic Conference Women’s Soccer Elite 20 award winner at last week’s conference championship.

The award recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average  of all the participants at the finals site of each of the league’s 20 team championship sports.

Bornkamp has a 3.953 GPA in accounting. Bornkamp has made the Catawba Dean’s List in each of her four semesters and has twice been named to the Catawba Presidential Honor Roll and the SAC Honor Roll.

High school football

Davie County is scheduled to play tonight at home against East Forsyth.

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Games on Friday are Oak Grove at Salisbury and  Statesville at East Rowan.

South Iredell pounded North Iredell on Wednesday, 54-6, to wrap up a share of first place in the North Piedmont Conference.

The winner of the Statesville-East Rowan game will tie South Iredell for first.

South Iredell beat Statesville, but lost to East Rowan.

HS boys soccer

Third-round state playoffs games are tonight.

Third-seeded Salisbury hosts familiar  CCC opponent North Davidson, seeded 11th, at 6 p.m. at Ludwig Stadium.

Salisbury (22-2-1) has lost this season to North Iredell and Ledford. The Hornets haven’t dropped a match since Sept. 11.

The Hornets have beaten North Davidson (19-4) twice this season by 2-1 scores, with the Sept. 19 game at Ludwig Stadium going to overtime.

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A.L. Brown’s 18th-seeded boys have won twice in the 3A playoffs and have a home game tonight at 6 p.m. against the No. 23, Southwest Guilford Cowboys.

High school softball

South Rowan’s Summer McKeon committed to North Carolina A&T and plans to sign with the Aggies on Friday, Nov. 16.

McKeon had an all-county junior season for the Raiders (17-10), batting .398 with a team-high seven homers,  eight doubles, two triples and 18 RBIs.

McKeon is  primarily an outfielder and made  all-district last season.

Local golf

Championship results from the Country Club of Salisbury:

Women’s Championship

Susan Morris

Runner-up

Susan Wydner

Men’s club champion

Stephen Bullock

Senior champion

Andre Resner

Super Senior champion

Victor Wallace

Runner-up David Roueche

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This is the third club championship for Susan Morris and Stephen Bullock.

Victor Wallace and Andre Resner claimed their second championships in their respective divisions.

College basketball

Catawba’s men get started officially on Friday with a 6 p.m. home game against Francis Marion.

Catawba’s women open Friday at 7:30 p.m. at North Greenville.

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Livingstone’s teams will be in action in the Earl Lloyd Classic hosted by West Virginia State.

Lloyd played with great distinction at West Virginia State (1946-50) before becoming the first black player to appear in an NBA game.

Lloyd suited up for the Washington Capitols on Oct. 31, 1950.

Two more black players — Boston’s Chuck Cooper and New York’s  Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton — broke the color line  the opening week of the 1950 season, but Lloyd’s debut came a day ahead of Cooper’s and several days ahead of Clifton’s.

Lloyd’s career was  interrupted by service in the Korean War, but he returned to play most of the 1950s in the NBA.

Livingstone’s men get started against Virginia-Wise on Friday at 5:30 p.m.  Livingstone’s women, who beat D-I Winthrop in an exhibition, will play on Saturday at 8 p.m. against the hosts.