Baker enjoys net gains at Samford

Former high school and college tennis star Kemper Baker now has aced his coaching exam. Baker's Samford (Ala.) University men's and women's teams have won Ohio Valley Conference titles and berths to the NCAA tournament.

The Samford women will play Florida State on May 9, and the Samford men will play Florida State on May 11. The regional action will be played in Tallahassee, Fla.

Baker is in his sixth season as Samford's coach, was a standout at Douglas Freeman High and the University of Mississippi. He remains active on the USTA Pro Circuit.

Chesterfield's Sally will play at WKU

Chesterfield native Anthony Sally will continue his college basketball career at one of the nation's hottest mid-major programs, Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

Sally, who led Chesterfield Community to the state Group A semifinals, is transferring to WKU from Motlow State Community College, Tenn. The 6-2 point guard averaged eight points, 7.6 assists and 6.3 rebounds this past winter on Motlow's 28-5 squad. He played with Tyree Evans (former George Wythe star), who is transferring to Maryland.

A member of the Sun Belt Conference, WKU's Hilltoppers posted a 29-7 record this season with wins over Drake and San Diego in the NCAA tournament. WKU was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by UCLA.

Walker, Patterson win fights to finish

Brandon Walker and Ian Patterson of City Wide Boxing won their divisions at the recent Golden Gloves competition in Norfolk.

Walker, 13, fighting in the 110-pound junior class, defeated Kilvantea Harris of the Cobra Club of Richmond. In the 178-pound novice class, Patterson defeated Derrick Daniels of 9th Dimension of Richmond.

Collegiate's Wood will play lacrosse at UNC

Thomas Wood is thinking blue -- Carolina blue. The Collegiate School senior captain has signed a scholarship to play lacrosse at the University of North Carolina.

Wood, who moved from attack to midfield this spring, has 22 goals and 15 assists through 14 games. A year ago, he had 54 goals and 37 assists for 91 points. That's second on the Cougars' all-time list behind Ned Rider, who had 100 points in 2004.

"Thomas' stats have suffered some because of the position move, but his impact has been significantly higher," Collegiate coach Andrew Stanley said.

Team Richmond 13-U squad wins state title

All aboard for Memphis. Tenn. Team Richmond's next stop is the national basketball tournament. By winning the state AAU boys title earlier this month, the team is headed to the AAU 13-U nationals starting June 30.

Team Richmond qualified by posting a 4-0 record in the state Division I tournament at Henrico High. Players include Malcolm Bell, Nick Coppola, Mitchell Ford, Charles Gill, Nick Gorski, Trey Harrison, Reid Jacoby, Tim Jones, Usman Mahmood, Reid McNally, Jordan Talley, Wilton Speight and Lionel Williams.

U-Turn 11-U team conquers the state

The U-Turn Warriors 11-U boys basketball team went 5-0, defeating Speed City (Newport News) 52-32 in the final, to capture the state AAU tournament last weekend in Hampton. The team, which earlier won a super regional, has qualified for the national tournament in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Players include Anton Anderson, Ricky DeBerry, Anthony Gaston, Gary Jennings, Marquis Johnson, Curtis Jones, Bryan Lennox, Grayson Midulla, Ryan Pearson, Jeremy Sheppard and Jonathon Williams.

A call to top high school athletes is out

Velocity Sports Performance Training Centers and NIKE are holding a search for the best high school athletes in the nation at the Nike SPARQ Training "My Better" Championship.

The Velocity Sports Center of Richmond will hold the local competition for ages 13-18 tomorrow at its facility on 2812 E. Parham Rd. Information and to register: www.sparqtraining.com.

The top 10 female and male athletes with the highest SPARQ rating will compete in a national event at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, in July. -- Fred Jeter