Women’s Soccer
Oct. 17 at Tennessee Tech
The women’s soccer team snapped a two-game skid with a 2-0 victory over Tennessee Tech Friday afternoon. With the win, the Bruins improved to 2-2-2 in conference play.
Junior Sydney Scheben scored her first goal of the season which put the Bruins on the board with 25 seconds left in the first half.
Meg Howard added the insurance goal midway through the second after capitalizing on a loose ball inside the box.
Junior Lindsey Epse recorded her fourth win with five saves in the shutout over the Golden Eagles.
Oct. 19 at Jacksonville State
Belmont’s rally in the second half against Jacksonville State fell short for the women’s soccer team in a 4-2 loss to the Gamecocks Sunday.
While the Bruins notched several shots in the opening minutes, JSU earned the first goal of the match in the 25th minute. The Gamecocks would maintain the lead heading into halftime.
JSU extended its lead with three goals in a 12-minute span to start off the second half. Despite the large deficit, the Bruins did not back down and were awarded for their efforts in the 60th minute.
Senior Taylor Smith head a pass from freshman Belicia Mendiola for Belmont’s first goal of the afternoon. Mendiola added one of her own in the 86th minute off a corner kick to score her sixth goal of the season.
However, time was too short for Belmont to complete the comeback as JSU captured the game 4-2. The Bruins held a 22-14 shot advantage with Smith leading the team with seven shots.
Belmont returns home to E.S. Rose Park Friday when it hosts UT-Martin for senior night. The match against the Skyhawks is set for 5 p.m.
Men’s Soccer
Oct. 18 v. Oakland
Men’s soccer battled tough against Horizon League leader Oakland but ultimately came up short in a 2-0 loss to the Golden Grizzlies Saturday night.
Cool temperatures and gusty winds made for harsh conditions against an already tough Oakland squad that remains unbeaten in its last six games.
Senior Joao Fonseca and junior Joonas Bask gave hope for the Bruins early on, but Oakland keeper Wes Mink kept their chances at bay.
In the 16th minute, Matt Dudley snuck behind the Bruins back line to send Joey Tinnion’s service past Grayson Rector to give the Golden Grizzlies a 1-0 lead.
A Bruins corner kick set up a great chance to equalize, but Jonas Bask’s header flew over the crossbar. Belmont earned six corner kicks in the final 10 minutes of the first half but couldn’t capitalize.
In the 85th minute, Matt Rickard netted an insurance goal when he split Belmont’s center backs and scored off a 1-v-1 opportunity against Rector. Nat Hubert hit two dangerous free kicks towards the end of the match, but one hit the crossbar and the second was headed away by an Oakland defender. Belmont returns home to face Green Bay Saturday with kickoff set for 2 p.m.
Volleyball
Oct. 17 v. Murray State
The Belmont volleyball team came up short Friday night in a three-set sweep to the Murray State Racers. The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Bruins and marks their second conference loss of the season.
The Bruins totaled a hitting percentage of .173 compared to .297 for the Racers. Belmont managed a total of 39 kills while Murray State tallied 51.
Senior Alex Martin and freshman Arianna Person delivered several kills in the opening set, briefly allowing Belmont to lead at 15-14. However, MSU pulled ahead and ultimately took the first set 25-22.
Freshman Ellie Ivanich blazed into the second set with a service ace for the Bruins on the first play. Both teams exchanged points fairly evenly, with Belmont just behind MSU one or two points for the first part of the set.
A kill from Person put the Bruins ahead at 12-11 before MSU tied the score at 12-12, forcing Belmont to call a timeout.
MSU dominated the remainder of the set, pulling ahead thanks to multiple kills and service or attack errors on Belmont’s part. The Racers decisively took set two at 25-21.
During the third set, the Bruins fought valiantly to gain ground. Martin and Person led the Bruins with a streak of kills and forcing MSU to use a timeout.
The Bruins were up 10-5 when the Racers regained momentum to tie the match at 14. MSU made three straight kills to retake the lead, forcing Belmont to call another timeout.
Belmont tried to regain its rhythm from earlier in the set, and a pair of service errors from MSU put the score at 16-18. However, despite kills from Martin, Person and senior Scarlet Gable, MSU finally took set three at 25-19, ending any chance of a Bruin comeback.
Oct. 18 v. Austin Peay
The team rebounded from its tough loss Friday to defeat Austin Peay in four sets.
The Bruins were led by freshman Arianna Person who finished with 19 kills and three service aces. Libero Emily Richards led the team in digs with 16, and Emma Price led the team in assists with 49.
Belmont fell behind 0-3 early in the first set but went on a six-point run that was capped off by two straight service aces from Person.
The Bruins won the first set 25-20 after a four-point run to close it out.
Belmont jumped out to a big lead in the second set as it scored three or four points for every APSU point.
Two kills by junior Jocelyn Youngdahl and a kill from Person ended the set in Belmont’s favor, 25-16.
Facing a two-set deficit, the Lady Governors rallied in the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and never trailing for the rest of the set. The Bruins lessened the lead down to a point, but APSU was able to hold them off to win 25-19.
After a 13-13 tie in the fourth set, the Bruins took advantage of two attack errors by APSU and a kill from Youngdahl to take a 16-13 lead, prompting an APSU timeout.
Belmont would maintain the lead for the rest of the set, and a kill by Person clinched the set and the match for the Bruins at 25-19.
By Samuel Cowan
Oct. 21 at Lipscomb
The volleyball team took a break from conference play to travel down Belmont Boulevard to face off against rival Lipscomb. However, the Bruins fell in three sets in the first meeting between the rivals since 2011.
Junior Jocelyn Youngdahl lead Belmont with six kills and a .312 hitting percentage. Libero Ellie Ivancich and setter Emma Price both finished with a team-high seven digs while Price added 23 assists. The Bruins finished with a .121 hitting percentage compared to Lipscomb’s .129. Belmont continues conference play when they travel to play UT Martin Friday at 6 p.m.
Women’s Golf
The women’s golf team posted an 11th place finish at the Blue Raider Invitational held in Murfreesboro, Tenn. over the weekend.
The Bruins finished with a team score of 306 in the 54-hole tournament hosted by Middle Tennessee State University.
Senior Evin Edens and freshman Katie Story each posted top-40 performances, Edens carded a three-round score of 227 including a 4-over-par in the final round. Story tied for 37th with a total score of 234.
The women’s golf team wraps up its fall season Oct. 27-28 at the UAB Fall Beach Blast.
Men’s Golf
In the APSU Intercollegiate, the men’s golf team tied for fourth place after posting a total team score of 842 in the 54-hole event. Junior Ashton Van Horne placed second in the individual standings.
The Bruins posted a final round score of 284 to tie with Southern Illinois for fourth. Ohio Valley Conference opponent Austin Peay took home the intercollegiate title.
Van Horne shot a 5-under-par on Tuesday in the final round to earn his consecutive runner-up finish. The junior finished four shots behind winner Logan Hogge from Morehead State.
Senior Ted Moon and junior Scott Barnhart capped off top-20 performances for Belmont with a ninth-place tie and 20th place tie respectively.
The team returns to the course Oct. 26-28 at the Intercollegiate at the Grove held in Nashville, Tenn.
Cross Country
Oct. 17 at The Crimson Classic
The Belmont men’s and women’s cross country teams competed Friday at the Crimson Classic at the University of Alabama.
More than 30 teams were in attendance for both genders, making it a highly competitive meet.
The women raced without their number one runner, junior Hannah Wittman, so freshman Keira Weems stepped up to lead the Bruins. Belmont finished 24th of 31 teams in the 5K race.
For the men, senior Marcus Bridger-Wilkinson lead the way for the first time this season. He was followed closely by classmate John Sharpe. Belmont finished 11th overall out of 31 teams.
The men still stand in a 12th place position in the South Region for a third consecutive week.
Both teams benefited from the experience of a large meet before heading into championship race season.
Belmont heads back to Alabama for the OVC Conference Championship in Oxford on Nov. 1.
Men’s Tennis
The ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships at Vanderbilt University.
In singles, junior Robin Demasse won his first round match over John Tougher of Lipscomb 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. In the second round, he fell to Igor Smelyanski from Tennessee 6-2, 6-7, 6-3
Senior Marko Lovrinovic lost his opening match to Andrew Watson from University of Memphis, but in the consolation bracket, he beat Adrian Isache of Northern Kentucky 6-0, 6-4.
In doubles, the Lovrinovic and senior Mauricio Antun duo advanced to the round of 16. In their first match, they defeated Tverjonas and Mitchell from Austin Peay 8-0 and then beat Elliott and Leonard of Ball State 8-6. They were eliminated after falling in the next round to Nunez and Ribeiro from ETSU 8-4.
Men’s tennis will finish its fall season Nov. 7-9 at the Commodore Scramble hosted by Vanderbilt.
Women’s Tennis
ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn.
A few Belmont women’s tennis players competed this weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship.
In singles, sophomore Laura Van Eeckhoudt finished 1-1 in qualifying play. She beat Ramona Costea of Miami Ohio 6-4, 6-2 in her opening match. In the second round, however, she fell to Hitomi Naito of UT-Martin in three sets 5-7, 7-5 and 6-2.
For doubles, the duo of Van Eeckhoudt and classmate Abbie Mather was the only doubles team competing. They fell in their first round match to Gerrazzi and Rajkovic 8-1 from Miami.
The tournament completes the fall season for women’s tennis. It begins its spring season Jan. 17 against Campbellsville.