HARROGATE, Tenn. – A total of seven Lincoln Memorial University athletic programs are in action this week with men's basketball beginning its 2019-20 journey at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Missouri. Men's and women's soccer, in addition to women's volleyball, continue their regular seasons as the South Atlantic Conference race heats up. Men's and women's golf wrap up their fall schedules of competition, while men's bowling returns to fall tournament play.
 
Throughout 2019-20, LMU athletics will provide a look ahead at the week's calendar of athletic events, both home and away, previewing each team's competition/s and highlighting team's news, notes, performances and more.
 
Men's Golf
Coming off its third-straight top-three finish, the LMU men's golf team wraps up its fall season at the South Region Preview in Memphis, Tennessee, Monday and Tuesday. The Railsplitters are taking their top five starters – junior Dan Bradbury, senior Harry Boyle, junior Luke Harries, freshman Erik Fogel and sophomore Hamish McColm – along with the 'B' team in seniors Eli Cox, Andrew Briggs and Brady Davis, and sophomores Zane Potter and Sam Stedman. LMU will also have three individuals as freshmen Harry Watkins and Ian Taggart and junior Shelby Ray Chancellor made the trip west.
 
The final 54-hole tournament of 2019 features 13 total teams with the 13th-ranked Railsplitters joined by No. 5 West Florida as the two teams ranked among the nation's top 25 according to the most recent Golfstat rankings. Other competing teams include host Christian Brothers, Carson-Newman, Columbus State, Miles College, Mississippi College, Newberry, North Georgia, Young Harris College, Missouri S&T and Christian Brothers' 'B' team. LMU will play its first two rounds of 36 holes Monday beginning at 8 a.m., followed by the final 18 Tuesday. Live scoring is available here and via the link at the top of the page.
 
Women's Golf
The Lady Railsplitters are coming off a two-week break in competition dating back to their appearance at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial hosted by University of North Georgia at the Achasta Golf Club Oct. 14-15.
 
On Monday and Tuesday, the LMU women's golf team will wrap up its fall season at the Jekyll Island Golf Club for the Jekyll O'Lantern Intercollegiate. The two-day, 36-hole tournament teed-off at 9 a.m. Monday morning with a shotgun and features a large 16-team field. Joining the Lady Railsplitters in Georgia on the par-72, 6,043-yard course are Barton College, North Georgia, Columbus State, North Greenville, Newberry, Belmont Abbey, Lander, Montevallo, UNC Pembroke, West Georgia, Lewis University, West Florida, Young Harris, Southern Wesleyan University and Coker.
 
Women's Volleyball
For the second consecutive week, the LMU women's volleyball team will play a trio of South Atlantic Conference matches. This past week, the Lady Railsplitters (6-16, 5-10) were outdone in all three home affairs but nearly pulled off an upset of red-hot Anderson Saturday afternoon. LMU led 2-1 but was unable to finish off the Trojans, who are just one game back from perennial powerhouse Wingate in the league standings.
 
On Tuesday, the Lady Railsplitters hit the road and travel to Mars Hill, North Carolina, for a 7 p.m. tilt before taking on Tusculum Friday evening at 7 p.m. as well in Greeneville, Tennessee. Saturday, LMU begins a three-match homestand by hosting UVa-Wise inside Mary Mars Gymnasium at 2 p.m.
 
Having not faced the Lions yet this season, the Lady Railsplitters own a 27-9 all-time record versus Mars Hill and have gone 10-4 in North Carolina. A season ago, the two teams split matches with LMU gaining a 3-1 senior night win after dropping a four-set match in Mars Hill.
 
In their past four meetings with the Pioneers, the Lady Railsplitters have not allowed a set. Back on Sept. 13, LMU opened up conference play with a straight-set victory over Tusculum in Harrogate and is looking for its second SAC series sweep of 2019. The Lady Railsplitters have won seven of their past eight matchups with the Pioneers and are 35-33 all-time and 18-7 in Greeneville.
 
LMU will have a chance to go for its third league sweep of the season Saturday against the Cavaliers after claiming a 3-0 shutout at UVa-Wise back on Sept. 14 during opening weekend of SAC competition. Holding a dominant 11-2 advantage in the series, the Lady Railsplitters have won four straight over the Cavaliers and have allowed just one set in those four meetings. In fact, LMU has not lost a set to UVa-Wise since the 1996 season when the Lady Railsplitters last hosted the Cavaliers in Harrogate. LMU is 3-1 in home affairs with UVa-Wise.
 
Men's Basketball
The Railsplitters, who have already gained national attention in the preseason by being a top-10 pick by both Street & Smith's and Division II Bulletin, begin their 2019-20 campaign this weekend at the 2019 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri. LMU takes on West Texas A&M out of the Lone Star Conference for its season opener Friday at 4:15 p.m. EST, before facing the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Davenport University Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games will be played in St. Joseph Civic Arena in downtown St. Joseph.
 
Both of this weekend's games will be firsts for the Railsplitters as LMU will be playing the Buffs and the Panthers for the first time in program history.
 
West Texas A&M was also ranked in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25 with the Buffs checking in at No. 12. Meanwhile, Davenport is the GLIAC's defending regular season champion and the Panthers have been picked as the preseason favorite to finish first in the league's south division.
 
Men's Bowling
The LMU men's bowling crew won their second-straight tournament over the past weekend at the Brandon Burns Baker Classic in Smyrna, Tennessee. The Railsplitters led the way throughout the first leg of the two-day tournament consisting of 20 total teams.
 
After the first 20 Baker games, LMU averaged 217.2 per game to tally a total score of 4,344 for first place. The Blue and Gray continued the next day of action on a roll, completing the tournament with a total score of 8,585.
 
The Railsplitters will hit the lanes again this weekend at the Southern Collegiate in Marietta, Georgia, Saturday and Sunday as the squad's second to last tournament of 2019.
 
Women's Soccer
With the final stretch of SAC play here, the Lady Railsplitters are off on the right foot. LMU needed to defeat Newberry to move up in the SAC standings, and that's exactly what it did. It was in impressive fashion, too, as Itzel Ballesteros rose to the occasion and deposited the golden goal for the overtime, 3-2, victory Sunday afternoon. The win snapped a three-match scoring drought for the senior and put the Lady Railsplitters in a three-way tie for fifth place, along with Queens, who they defeated, and Anderson. Jessica Cravero also scored two more goals, pushing her to four total on the week and 12 on the season for the most in the conference, while Thenia Zervas assisted every goal Sunday for a team and SAC-high 13.
 
LMU (11-4, 4-4) doesn't have a midweek match as it gears for its final regular-season SAC road trip to Coker (1-12, 0-8) at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Cobras are in search of their first win, and it isn't going to come easy against a Lady Railsplitter squad who has won three of their last four matches. LMU slithered by Coker last season, winning 5-nil to improve its overall record to 4-2 versus the Cobras since 2013.
 
Men's Soccer
The LMU men's soccer team had one contest this past week against Newberry Sunday. Freshman midfielder Hunter Stroble scored his first collegiate goal within the first three minutes of the afternoon to take a 1-0 lead with an assist accredited to graduate forward Aurochit Patnaik. Senior forward Joseph Sefoi was able to find Stroble once again in the closing minutes of the first half to give the Railsplitters a 2-1 lead to go into the break.
 
In the second half, a fastbreak opportunity led to senior forward Phillip Wong notching his first goal of the season for LMU (78') after a dish came from junior forward Pedro da Silva to close the game at 3-1.
 
The Railsplitters will have the week of from game action before traveling to Hartsville, South Carolina, for another SAC contest at Coker Saturday. Slated kick-off of the contest is 3:30 p.m. from the Coker Athletic Field.
 
LMU has never lost to the Cobras and owns a 3-0-4 all-time record versus Coker. Both of the last two meetings between the teams resulted in ties with a 1-1 affair last season and a 0-0 draw in 2017. From 2014-16, the Railsplitters earned three consecutive victories, including a 5-0 rout in South Carolina in 2015.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter and Lady Railsplitter athletics throughout 2019-20.