Days before even the first class session of the fall was held, Spring Hill College athletic teams played their first contests as members of the NCAA Division II.
Nine of the College’s sixteen sanctioned sports are involved in fall competition.
A run-down of each of the sports in competition this fall include:
Soccer
The SHC men’s soccer team is coming into this season after having gone 12-3 in 2017 – the best record in the team’s 27-year history. Once again coached by Steve Wieczorek, the Badgers have three senior players on the roster: defender Jack Laforge, forward Tilman Schober, midfielder Haukur Bjornsson, and graduate student Nicolas Wandl, a defender.
The Badgers started the 2018 season with a 3-1 record, with initially three road wins against Flagler College (2-0), the University of Tampa (2-1) and Louisiana College (5-2). SHC dropped its home opener on Sept. 9 to Rollins College by a score of 4-0.
For the Lady Badgers, Allison Whitworth is in her third year at the helm of the team and hoping to turn around a 1-14 campaign in 2017. The Lady Badgers have two seniors on the roster: forward Gabrielle Burmaster, forward Melissa Schwartz.
Still a young squad, the SHC women have begun 2018 with a 0-3 record, with losses to Wingate University (6-1), Newberry College (3-1) and Georgia Southwestern State (2-1).
The SHC men and women play home games on Friday, Sept. 14, against Christian Brothers University, at 1 and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
Volleyball
The Lady Badgers are once again coached by Dr. Peggy Martin. Martin’s SHC teams came into 2018 with a 245-60 overall record. The 2018 Lady Badgers include three seniors: setter Grace Herrington, middle hitter Emily Greim and outside hitter Randi De’Armitt.
The Lady Badgers opened the year with exhibition matches against NCAA Division I teams at a tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss. The team has since won four of its first seven matches, with wins against Southern University of New Orleans, Valdosta State, Albany State and Lee University. They are led by the junior setter, Emmarose Neibert and freshman middle hitter Kassandra Fairley. After a road trip this weekend for a conference tournament in Ohio, the Lady Badgers return home to face rival University of Mobile on Wednesday, Sept. 19. The match will be at 6 p.m. at the Arthur Outlaw Center.
Cross-country
Coach Craig McVey enters 2018 with a roster that includes: senior Brenton Jennings, and juniors Spencer Albright, Joe Butler, Julian Sparks and David Toups. On the women’s side, SHC has two juniors: Abigail Cain, Meghan Sullivan and Lauren Fischer.
The Badgers run again Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
SHC’s runners opened their 2018 campaign at the Azalea City Classic hosted by the University of South Alabama. The Lady Badgers placed third in the 5-kilometer team competition, while the SHC men placed seventh in the 8K.
Golf
SHC’s men’s golf team enters the 2018 campaign with a team anchored by seniors Hugh Corbin and Joseph Mraz, along with juniors William Lee, Phil Later and John Carcher. For the Lady Badgers, Hodges boasts a roster that includes seniors Alexa Shelton and Hannah Vines, along with junior Savannah Ennis.
After opening the season earlier this week at the Full Moon Invitational in Calera, Ala., the SHC golf teams are set for the Carey Collegiate Classic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on Sept. 24-25, and the Don Morris Invitational in Jackson Tennessee, on Oct. 15. The SHC men face Sterling College of Kansas in New Orleans on Oct. 8. Two highlights for the Badgers include: the Gulf Shores Intercollegiate Invitational and Peninsula Golf Club in Gulf Shores on Oct. 22; and SHC’s own Badger Invitational on Feb. 25.
Rugby
The club teams of men’s and women’s rugby have full schedules for the fall. The Lady Badgers, who opened the year Sept. 8 against the Battleship Rugby Club, face Tulane at home on Sept. 23 and play Lagniappe A&B on Sept. 29. The final home match for the women is Nov. 10 in the Battleship Tournament. The SHC men opened the season Sept. 8 against Alabama-Birmingham. After traveling to face the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 22, the Badgers play home matches against Louisiana Tech (Sept. 29), Jacksonville State (Oct. 13) and Tulane (Oct. 20), before concluding their home matches in the Battleship Tournament on Nov. 10.