HARROGATE, Tenn. – A total of five Lincoln Memorial University athletic programs are in action this week as the women's soccer team heads to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional and women's volleyball takes on nationally-ranked Wingate in North Carolina Tuesday night for the quarterfinal round of the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Men's and women's basketball both have a midweek non-conference tilt before heading to Wingate for their SAC openers Saturday, while women's bowling wraps up their fall schedule of tournaments this weekend in Millsboro, Delaware.
 
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.
 
Women's Volleyball
The Lady Railsplitters (11-18) went 1-1 over the past weekend, claiming a 3-0 win at Catawba Friday for their sixth straight-set victory and fourth SAC sweep of 2019. On Saturday, LMU closed out its regular season by enduring a straight-set setback at the hands of regionally-ranked Queens in Charlotte. Finishing with a 10-12 conference record, the Lady Railsplitters earned the No. 8 seed for this week's 2019 SAC Tournament.
 
LMU will take on nationally-ranked and top-seeded Wingate in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside Cuddy Arena in Wingate, North Carolina. Making their 13th-straight SAC Tournament appearance, the Lady Railsplitters will face the 24th-ranked Bulldogs for the third time this season. Wingate won both of the previous two matchups in straight sets but LMU nearly took the opening set from the Bulldogs when they visited Mary Mars Gymnasium Oct. 18.
 
The Lady Railsplitters own a 10-12 all-time record in the conference tournament and will be making their first appearance as the No. 8 seed after being seeded No. 3 five times, earning the No. 6 seed three times, the No. 4 seed twice and the No. 2 and No. 7 seed both once. Tuesday's match will be the sixth meeting between LMU and Wingate in the SAC Tournament and mark the fourth consecutive year the Lady Railsplitters have faced the Bulldogs in the league's championship event. In 2008, LMU fell 3-0 to Wingate in the title match and suffered the same result as the No. 2 seed in the 2016 SAC Tournament championship. In 2015, the Lady Railsplitters took the Bulldogs to five sets during the semifinals of the SAC Tournament before suffering a 3-0 setback to Wingate in the 2017 SAC Tournament quarterfinals. Last season, LMU reached the SAC Tournament title match for the third time in program history where it was upended in four sets by the Bulldogs. The two teams went toe-to-toe in a thrilling 41-39 second set after the Lady Railsplitters won the first, 25-17.
 
LMU is 1-30 all-time versus Wingate with its lone victory coming in five sets inside Mary Mars Gym on Oct. 28, 2016.
 
This past Friday night, the Bulldogs secured their 15th SAC regular season title and 13th in the last 14 seasons. Wingate went 21-1 in SAC play this fall with its only loss coming at Carson-Newman (3-1) on Oct. 19. The Bulldogs begin the postseason on a nine-match win streak.
 
Men's Basketball
The Railsplitters (4-1) rolled in their third weekend of play this past Saturday, picking up another dominant non-conference victory with a 40-point, 92-52 blowout of receiving-votes Christian Brothers. Two LMU players had breakout performances with junior guards Devin Whitfield and Alex Dahling combining for 40 points. Whitfield, a transfer from fellow NCAA Division II Trevecca Nazarene, scored a season-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting while adding four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Meanwhile, Dahling collected 19 points by going 7-for-10 from the field and 5-for-8 from deep.
 
This week, the Railsplitters host Johnson University (Tenn.) in non-conference action Tuesday night at 7 p.m. before beginning SAC play Saturday afternoon at Wingate. Tip-off from inside Cuddy Arena in Wingate, North Carolina, is slated for 5:30 p.m.
 
LMU will be taking on the Royals of Johnson University for the first time since 1953. Then known as Johnson Bible College, the Railsplitters went a perfect 13-0 against the Royals from 1926-53, earning an 86-45 win over Johnson in the two team's most recent meeting. The Royals have never scored more than 45 points versus LMU as the Railsplitters have defeated Johnson eight times in Harrogate.
 
Saturday's SAC opener at Wingate will serve as the 26th all-time meeting between LMU and the Bulldogs with the Railsplitters owning a 25-10 advantage in the series. LMU looks to avenge its 2018-19 season-ending loss to Wingate in the 2019 SAC Tournament quarterfinals inside Tex Turner Arena. After then freshman guard Courvoisier McCauley tied the game up at 78 with a three-pointer under 30 seconds to go, Bulldog guard Charlie Hovasse hit a layup at the buzzer to secure an 80-78 triumph. Prior to last year's postseason loss, the Railsplitters had won 15 straight against Wingate dating back to March of 2013. LMU has gone 9-5 versus the Bulldogs in Wingate, including a 67-64 win last February and a 93-65 victory in February of 2018.
 
Women's Basketball
The LMU women's basketball team looks to pick up its first win of the season as it travels to local rival King University Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. tilt with the Tornado. This will be the 29th meeting between the two schools, dating back to a 66-20 win the Lady Railsplitters in Mary Mars Gym on Feb. 7, 1974. LMU leads the all-time series 25-3.
 
The Lady Railsplitters led most of the way in their season opener last week versus Belmont Abbey but cold shooting in the fourth quarter allowed the Crusaders to sneak out of Tex Turner Arena with the 63-55 win. Freshman Lauren Flowers had an impressive collegiate debut as she scored 25 points off of 8-for-13 shooting from the field, 4-for-7 from three-point range and a perfect 5-for-5 performance at the free-throw line. She also had six rebounds and four assists. Shermeria Quarles chipped in eight points and six rebounds, while Addi Kirkpatrick had six points and three rebounds. As a team, LMU shot 14-of-15 at the free-throw line for the evening.
 
King is 1-3 on the season. After blowing out Mars Hill 90-62 in the season opener, King has lost to Tusculum and Carson-Newman twice by a combined average of 19.6 points. The Tornado are led by Trinity Lee's 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. Kiki Samuel is averaging 13.3 points a game, while Kori West has posted 10.3 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds a game.
 
This weekend the Lady Railsplitters travel to Wingate for their SAC opener, which is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip Saturday. LMU is 10-20 all-time versus the Bulldogs and is seeking its first win over Wingate since a 75-67 triumph on Dec. 15, 2018, in Harrogate. The Lady Railsplitters' 2018-19 season came to an end at the hands of Wingate in the 2019 SAC Tournament semifinals in Greenville, South Carolina (70-60), last March and LMU dropped a 75-68 decision in Wingate last February. A double-overtime 84-83 win in December of 2016 was the Lady Railsplitters' last true road victory over the Bulldogs as LMU holds a 3-11 record in Wingate.
 
Women's Soccer
Winning its seventh-straight match en route to its third and second consecutive SAC Tournament title since 2007 Sunday, the LMU women's soccer team is NCAA Division II Southeast Regional bound. The full bracket will be announced when the NCAA selection show is aired at 6 p.m. Monday on NCAA.com.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are clicking on all cylinders right now as they head into the program's third NCAA Tournament and second straight. Over the seven-match winning streak dating back to Oct. 23, LMU (16-4) has scored 20 goals and only allowed three with five shutouts.
 
Responsible for much of that offensive firepower is SAC Tournament MVP Thenia Zervas who has six assists and three goals - with 17 assists and five goals on the season - over the last six matches, while Jessica Cravero has nine goals through the seven-match winning streak and 17 overall.
 
Joining Zervas on the SAC All-Tournament Team was Ermelinda Pantaleao, Graciela Palencia and Maria Hernandez as all four helped lead the Lady Railsplitters to back-to-back SAC Tournament championships.
 
Women's Bowling
Continuing their three-tournament November, the Lady Railsplitters placed ninth in their second tournament of the month over the weekend at North Carolina A&T's inaugural Vernell Stallings Invitational in Greensboro, North Carolina. LMU went 6-7 at the three-day tournament, which featured seven of the nation's top 25 teams, collecting wins over 15th-ranked Delaware State, Texas Southern twice, receiving-votes Prairie View A&M and Howard twice.
 
Among 74 total bowlers, senior Mary-Kate Kersting finished 21st in the individual standings of the Vernell Stallings Invitational with an average score of 195.33 in six traditional team matches and a pinfall total of 1,172. Fellow senior Marisol Dodson was second-highest Lady Railsplitter as she placed 31st with a 184.0 game average and 1,104 total pins. Junior Tyra Sanchez (186.4) and freshman Sofia Colon (182.0) finished 43rd and 45th, respectively, with pinfall totals of 932 and 910.
 
This weekend, the Lady Railsplitters wrap up the fall portion of their 2019-20 season by traveling to Millsboro, Delaware, for the 2019 Hawk Classic Invitational held at the Millsboro Lanes Friday-Sunday, Nov. 22-24. The three-day tournament features an impressive 18-team field comprised of 15 top-25 teams and six of the nation's top 10 programs.
 
LMU will take on eighth-ranked North Carolina A&T, No. 14 Tulane, 20th-ranked Duquesne, No. 6 Arkansas State and St. Francis College Friday in Baker matches beginning at 9:55 a.m. Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters will face 15th-ranked Delaware State, No. 9 Fairleigh Dickinson, 23rd-ranked Youngstown State, No. 16 Saint Francis University and receiving-votes Caldwell University in traditional team matches starting at 9:55 a.m. once again. Three rounds of best 4-of-7 bracket play Baker matches will determine a tournament champion Sunday with an 8:25 a.m. opening 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.