Anchor Drop, April 20, 2023: Golf and tennis!

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

It’s SEC Championship time in the sports Vanderbilt should dominate. Men’s golf picks up the second round of the SEC Championship today after posting a 4-under on the first day, good for sixth place. Like last week’s women’s championship, this event has a three-day stroke play competition with the top 8 advancing to a match play tournament over the weekend.

Men’s tennis extended Ian Duverhage’s career by an additional day by beating last-place Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Championship yesterday; they’ll face fifth-seeded Texas A&M at 6:00 PM CT. Women’s tennis opens the tournament against Alabama at noon CT today.

Men’s basketball landed Lehigh transfer Evan Taylor, a talented wing and probably Jordan Wright’s replacement in the lineup, yesterday, which the Hustler also podcasted about (among other things.)

This isn’t really a sports thing, but Vanderbilt’s acceptance rate this year is 5.6%. I seem to recall when I applied to VU undergrad 21 years ago, it was more like in the 40-50% range. This is truly insane. How many of us would even get into Vanderbilt if we applied today? (How many of us really want to do the insane shit required to get into college today?)

Sports on TV

All times Central. SEC baseball schedule here.

• 12:30 PM: MLB: Twins at Red Sox (MLB Network)
• 2:00 PM: PGA Tour: Zurich Classic, First Round (Golf Channel)
• 3:30 PM: MLB: Angels at Yankees (MLB Network)
• 6:00 PM: NHL: Lightning at Maple Leafs, Game 2 (ESPN)
• 6:30 PM: MLB: Dodgers at Cubs or Rockies at Phillies (MLB Network)
• 6:30 PM: NBA: 76ers at Nets, Game 3 (TNT)
• 6:30 PM: NHL: Rangers at Devils, Game 2 (TBS)
• 8:30 PM: NHL: Kraken at Avalanche, Game 2 (ESPN)
• 9:00 PM: NBA: Kings at Warriors, Game 3 (TNT)
• 9:00 PM: NHL: Jets at Golden Knights, Game 2 (TBS)
• 9:30 PM: MLB: Mets at Giants or Padres at Diamondbacks (MLB Network)
• 9:30 PM: NBA: Suns at Clippers, Game 3 (NBA TV)

Scoreboard

SEC Baseball: Texas A&M 12, Prairie View 3.

MLB: Rays 8, Reds 0 ... Guardians 3, Tigers 2 ... Giants 5, Marlins 2 ... Cardinals 14, Diamondbacks 5 ... Phillies 5, White Sox 2 ... Rangers 12, Royals 3 ... Mets 5, Dodgers 3 ... Pirates 14, Rockies 3 ... Cubs 12, A’s 2 ... Brewers 5, Mariners 3 ... Padres 1, Braves 0 ... Yankees 3, Angels 2 ... Orioles 4, Nationals 0 ... Twins 10, Red Sox 4 ... Astros 8, Blue Jays 1.

NBA: Grizzlies 103, Lakers 93 (series tied, 1-1) ... Bucks 138, Heat 122 (series tied, 1-1) ... Nuggets 122, Timberwolves 113 (Nuggets lead, 2-0.)

NHL: Hurricanes 4, Islanders 3 (Hurricanes lead, 2-0) ... Panthers 6, Bruins 3 (series tied, 1-1) ... Stars 7, Wild 3 (series tied, 1-1) ... Oilers 4, Kings 2 (series tied, 1-1.)