HARROGATE, Tenn. – Once again, seven Lincoln Memorial University athletic programs will be competing this week as all five fall sports continue their 2019 journeys and men's golf and men's bowling return to their fall slate of tournaments. Men's and women's soccer will both step out of league play for mid-week matchups before hosting Catawba Saturday, while women's volleyball takes part in a non-conference tournament in Jefferson City, Tennessee, over the weekend and men's and women's cross country hit the race course in western Kentucky.
 
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
Two weeks removed from a 12th-place finish at the Cougar Invitational in Columbus, Georgia, the LMU men's golf team is back home for the State Farm Intercollegiate & South Atlantic Conference Preview at the Woodlake Golf Club in Tazewell, Tennessee. The 12-team tournament held Monday and Tuesday will feature three Railsplitter teams and 54 holes of play with 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. shotgun starts for rounds one and two on the opening day. Tuesday's final round will be a double-tee start from holes one and 10.
 
LMU will have one of its top golfers from last season's national finalist team back in junior Luke Harries competing with the 'A' team as he joins fellow junior Dan Bradbury, senior Harry Boyle, sophomore Hamish McColm and freshman Erik Fogel for the 14th-ranked Railsplitters. On the 'B' team, LMU will have sophomore Zane Potter, seniors Brady Davis, Andrew Briggs and Eli Cox, and freshman Ian Taggart competing, while freshman Ollie Handley, sophomore Sam Stedman, freshman Harry Watkins, junior Shelby Ray Chancellor and freshman Tyler Starnes make up the 'C' team.
 
Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne, Catawba, Newberry, Tusculum, Queens, UVa-Wise, Roane State Community College and Walters State Community College will all be joining the Railsplitters on the par-72, 6,746-yard course over the two days. Live scoring for the tournament can be found here and via the link at the top of the page.
 
Men's Soccer
The LMU men's soccer program took on The University of Alabama in Huntsville in mid-week non-conference play this past Wednesday at the LMU Soccer Complex. The Railsplitters' sophomore midfielder Danilo Seglio notched a goal in the 56th minute to force overtime play, however, UAH's Rafa Moreno was able to find the back of the net off of a penalty-kick opportunity to take the overtime victory with only seconds remaining in the extra period of play.
 
The Railsplitters (3-3-3, 2-1-1 SAC) were back to SAC play this past Saturday against Lenoir-Rhyne and Seglio was able to net another goal when he blew a ball through Alex Langer's hands of the Bears to get LMU on the board. In the second half of play, senior Matteo Bufalo was able to extend the lead to 2-0 with a header off a cross from graduate defender Jeroen Kokje, securing the Railsplitters' second conference victory of 2019.
 
This week, the Blue and Gray travel to Salem University for a non-conference tilt slated for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. LMU holds a 2-0 all-time record against the Tigers of Salem after claiming a 1-0 win in Harrogate last year and scoring 11 goals in a home shutout in 2007. Saturday, the Railsplitters return to the LMU Soccer Complex for a 3:30 p.m. SAC matchup with Catawba. Dating back to October of 2007, LMU is 13-2 against the Indians and boasts a perfect 8-0 mark versus Catawba in home affairs.
 
Women's Soccer
Fresh off a 1-nil victory over the 11th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, the Lady Railsplitters dig right back into competition with a pair of home matches versus Lees-McRae (0-8) at 1 p.m. Wednesday and SAC opponent Catawba (6-2-1, 2-2-1 SAC) at the same time Saturday.
 
In a series that dates back to 1994, the Bobcats have outscored the Lady Railsplitters 5-2 over four matchups. In head coach Sean Fraser's first season at LMU in 2017, he guided the women's soccer program to its first-ever win over Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, North Carolina, 2-0. This week, the Lady Railsplitters (7-2, 2-2 SAC) look for their first victory over the Bobcats at the LMU Soccer Complex (1-2-1) where they are undefeated on the season (4-0).
 
On Saturday, LMU aims to notch back-to-back SAC wins for the first time this season. Led by the league's assist leader in newcomer Thenia Zervas (8), the Lady Railsplitters welcome the Indians, who defeated Coker (3-0) this past weekend and have the week off before traveling to Harrogate. It was a thrilling 2-nil victory for visiting LMU the last time the two SAC foes met in a series Catawba has controlled, limiting the Lady Railsplitters to a 5-8-5 record since 2003.
 
Women's Volleyball
The Lady Railsplitters (4-9, 4-6 SAC) split their matches over the weekend as they returned to the friendly confines of Mary Mars Gymnasium and Harrogate following an extensive, seven-match SAC road swing. On Friday night, LMU claimed a thrilling five-set triumph over Catawba before suffering a 3-1 setback against Queens Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker posted back-to-back double-doubles with 13 kills and 14 digs Friday versus the Indians and 12 kills and 14 digs against the Royals. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Emily Walter notched 40 assists in both matches, handing out 48 assists in the win over Catawba and helping to create 41 of the Lady Railsplitters' 48 kills in Saturday's tilt.
 
Stepping out of league play for Carson-Newman's SAC vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge this weekend, LMU will take on USC Aiken at 1 p.m. Friday inside Holt Fieldhouse and Georgia College at 5 p.m. Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters face Lander at 1 p.m. before battling Augusta University at 5 p.m.
 
Of the four Peach Belt Conference opponents, USC Aiken looks to be the biggest challenge for LMU as the Pacers are 7-3 all-time versus the Lady Railsplitters and earned a straight-set win inside Mary Mars Gym to open up the Blue and Gray's 2019 campaign. LMU is seeking its first win over USC Aiken since September of 2013. Friday afternoon's matchup with the Bobcats will be just the fourth meeting between the two teams as the Lady Railsplitters have taken on Georgia College in neutral sites each of the last three years. The Bobcats won last season's meeting after LMU earned wins in the first two.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 6-6 all-time against the Bearcats of Lander with the two squads splitting the previous two matchups. After claiming a 3-0 victory over the Bearcats in 2016 on a neutral-site floor, LMU was defeated in straight sets at Lander in 2017. The Jaguars of Augusta have never beaten the Lady Railsplitters going back to Nov. 1, 2013, and LMU has yet to allow more than one set in any of the nine matches throughout the series.
 
Men's and Women's Cross Country
The LMU men's and women's cross country teams close out their respective regular seasons Saturday at the Fast Cats Classic on the Yellow Creek Park course in Owensboro, Kentucky. Race time for the men's 8K is 9 a.m. with the women's 5K following at 9:50 a.m.
 
The race will be the final tune-up for head coach Jeremy Donahue's runners before the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Championships, which are held Saturday, Oct. 26 in Wingate, North Carolina. Both teams are coming off successful races at the Upstate Invitational this past Saturday where the men finished second and the women placed fourth.
 
Senior Sam Lloyd-Perks and sophomore Michael Jakubek are again expected to lead the pack for the men with freshman Mason Johns and senior Harrison Calhoun lending support. Lloyd-Perks has strung together a series of top-20 finishes in each of his previous two races.
 
Sophomore Kiley Holmes, who has stepped into the lead position in the absence of the injured Tabea Kandlbauer, will again lead the Lady Railsplitters. The LMU women have steadily improved in each race this season and maintained a tight pack on the course. Sophomores Maria Challah, Brooke Foster and Unique Earley have been joined by freshman Ashlyn Johnson and junior Chloe Harp in keeping the pack close behind the leaders.
 
"I have seen improvement from the women each time out," said Donahue. "The women have done a good job of packing up and keeping the gaps minimal. We will look to keep that going at Fast Cats."
 
Men's Bowling
This past weekend, the LMU men's bowling crew traveled to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, for the 49th Annual Midwest College Tournament hosted by Midwest Collegiate Bowling. The Railsplitters finished in eighth place out of 40 teams at the event. Sophomore Hunter Kempton led LMU with an 11th-place overall finish as freshman Jorge Rodriguez placed 16th out of 315 total bowlers throughout the two-day event.
 
LMU will hit the lanes for the fourth-straight weekend this Saturday and Sunday when it travels to Beavercreek, Ohio, for the Orange and Black Classic hosted by University of Pikeville. Tenpin team games begin at 12:30 p.m. Saturday before play continues with 16 Baker games at 9 a.m. Sunday, followed by the championship round.
 
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.