Volleyball
The women’s volleyball team is coming off a strong weekend, going 2-0 against conference foes Belhaven University and Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee.
On Wednesday, Sept. 20 the Lady Lions played Wesleyan at home in the Cave arena and won the match in three sets, setting the pace for their weekend wins in Tennessee.
In addition to winning all three of their three matches last week, the Lions also swept the CCS weekly award honors. Freshman Kaylee Ashcraft, sophomore Katie Hubbard, and senior libero Taylor Herrmann were all named CCS players of the week.
Ashcraft earned her second-straight “rookie of the week” award, tallying 17 aces over the three games, bringing her season total to a conference-leading 45 and ranking her sixth in the nation. Hubbard had 16 kills and two blocks in Saturday’s doubleheader sweep, and Hermann earned “defensive player of the week” honors after collecting 48 digs.
The wins give Piedmont a 5-7 record, 3-0 in the CCS. It’s been the first time since 2013 that the volleyball team has gone 3-0 to start conference play.
The Lady Lions play four games this upcoming week, hosting Bob Jones University on Tuesday and traveling to Agnes Scott on Wednesday, before heading to LaGrange to face off against Covenant and LaGrange in a CCS Tri-Match.
—Nathan Mix
Women’s Golf
The women’s golf team competed in the Montgomery Women’s Intercollegiate finishing 12th out of 15 teams.
“After last week’s win there was some momentum going into this next event,” said tournament team leader sophomore Erin Donovan.
On Sunday, Donovan had a rocky start on the back nine shooting +6. With a turn of momentum, she ended with a birdie on 18. Continuing she shot -2 on the front, with two birdies and no bogeys. Within the same round, freshman Keegan Goins shot a birdie on four, shooting an 80. Donovan led the team with a score of 76. Sophomore Caitlyn Chilito rounded out the team score with an 87 placing Piedmont at 11th at the end of the first round.
To wrap up the tournament, the Lions had eight birdies on Monday. Donovan is responsible for four birdies and shooting a 77. Junior Sarah Fox and Goins carded an 81 and birdied five.
“It definitely was not my strongest finish, but I know what not only me, but also what my team is capable of,” Donovan said.
The Lions will take a break in schedule until Oct. 16-17 coming back into play for the Pfeiffer Invitational with the B Team.
-Bailee Nolan
Men’s Soccer
With the month coming to a close, the men’s soccer team played Southern Virginia University on Friday, Sept. 22 to a 2-2 tie, following it up Saturday with a 1-1 tie against William Peace University. This brings the Lions to 2-3-3 on the season.
“It’s always a struggle playing a good team on the road,” junior forward Dylan Bodney said. “We knew what William Peace was capable of, didn’t let our heads drop, and scored a late equalizer to leave North Carolina with a draw. After a few rough losses, we are finally getting our form back and our hard work is showing even more in tough games.”
The team almost went home with a loss against William Peace, but with 15 minutes remaining, freshman Davis Knight was able to put a ball in the goal for a 1-1 score. Sophomore goalkeeper Bobby Wood also played a solid game in the net, only giving up one goal and amassing seven saves in the 90 minutes played.
The men’s soccer next game will travel to Greenville, South Carolina to take on Bob Jones University on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
—Zane Brookshire
Men’s Swimming
The Piedmont University’s men’s swimming team came out strong in its first meet of the season against Point University.
The Lions finished the meet with 177 points, well surpassing Point’s 67.
Right from the start, freshman Eddie Choi, along with returners Erick Fortner, Luke Borgmann and Ross Coppedge, earned a win in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1 minute and 37 seconds.
“It was a great feeling starting the season off how I did,” said junior Erick Fortner, who also finished in first place in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:14.46. “I put in a lot of effort over the summer, so I had high hopes for the first meet.”
Piedmont’s dominance in freestyle remained true, led by junior Leandro Forero, who won the 1000-yard (10:22.95) and 500-yard (5:01.95) events. Freshman Perry Westbrook added to the winnings by finishing in first place in the 200-yard freestyle, more than two seconds faster than his opponents (1:52.84). Ross Coppedge took the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle (22.66), with Alex Pangelinan finishing just behind him (22.78), edging out Point University’s Jasper Mpofu for second place.
To emphasize how strong the Lions are at freestyle, Luke Borgmann, Perry Westbrook, Brendan Fraher and Murphy O’Brien sealed away another win in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a 3:21:03.
“The last two years, the men have come up short in winning conference, so this year, I am focusing on the end game and how fast I can get by the end of the season,” said Fortner.
The Lions will travel to Sewanee on Saturday, Sept. 30, for another dual meet at 1 p.m.
—Paige Kluba
Women’s Swimming
The women’s swim team started their season in Tallulah Falls on Sept. 23 versus Point University, defeating them in emphatic fashion, 177-45.
“We’re feeling really good. We came out on a positive note,” said senior swimmer Gwyneth Thomas. “Everybody definitely worked hard.”
The reigning Independent South Conference champions competed in 14 events, with freshmen competing for the first time and returners picking up where they left off. The 200-yard medley saw four swimmers of three different classes involved to get the victory. Sophomore Caroline Massaro, junior Madison Nance, sophomore Tressie Polk and freshman Olivia Smith finished with a time of 2.00:28. Smith finished her split with an event low 27.04. Massaro and Thomas also finished first and second in the 200-yard backstroke.
Five freshmen accounted for 34 of the 177 team points. Freshman Kelly Mashburn and Smith finished first and second, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle event, ahead of one other freshman and five other competitors of a higher class.
“I think our freshmen are all working hard,” Thomas said. “We’re really looking forward to the new athletes coming in and the new people on our team. With the amount of people we have on our team, we have a very good chance at getting a two-peat.”
The women’s swim team continues their season on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Sewanne College in Tennessee at 2 p.m.
—Chloe Spradlin
Men’s Tennis
The Piedmont men’s tennis team faced a plethora of opponents at the ITA Regional Small College Championships in Sewanee, Tennessee. This rally-packed weekend included matches against Brevard College, Rhodes College, Emory University, Asbury University, Covenant College and Berry University.
Matches began on Friday, Sept. 22 at 8 a.m. and stretched all the way through the weekend with the final match ending on Sunday afternoon. There were four different draws to evenly match UTRs of the 150 men playing. Each draw included a main singles and doubles draw, and a consolation draw for each.
This was an experience filled tournament with lots of benefit for the Lions, as they did not attend last year. Highs and lows of the weekend were intense as the team went 18-29 overall.
Freshman Charles Parnell swung his way all the way to the semifinals of the main B draw. He won two tiebreakers after saving two consecutive match points. “Focusing on keeping my head clear and practicing hard the week before got me there,” said Parnell.
As one freshman had an incredible run, another freshman Rohan Kavali had his run cut short with a high ankle sprain in his first match as a Lion.
The doubles matches offered completely separate, yet equally challenging contests. Junior Alberto Nunez and sophomore Connor Phelps bounced back from a loss against Emory University with three straight wins to obtain the title in the main draw doubles consolation bracket.
Senior Leo Galarza partnered with Junior JC Foster and won the consolation doubles in the black draw. Senior Silas Sandles and freshman Charles Parnell collaborated to take an Emory University pairing to a tiebreak, but fell just short of the win.
“Overall, I feel like we competed hard and got a lot out of the tournament and I look forward to seeing them take the court again,” said head coach Matt Williams.
They will return behind the baseline at the Belmont Abbey Hidden Duals on Oct. 13.
—Abbey Grace Venham
