HARROGATE, Tenn. – A total of four Lincoln Memorial University athletic programs are in action this week as men's and women's track and field begin their indoor seasons over the weekend in Salem, Virginia. Men's and women's basketball continue their 2019-20 campaigns, returning to the friendly confines of B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena for a pair of Lady Railsplitter games and a top-25 weekend matchup for the Railsplitters Saturday.
 
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 program's news, notes, performances and more.
 
Women's Basketball
The LMU women's basketball team returns home after nearly three weeks on the road for pair of games this week as they host Tennessee Wesleyan in non-conference action Tuesday and step back into South Atlantic Conference play with Queens University of Charlotte Friday. The Lady Railsplitters enter the week with a 2-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in league play after winning at Coker Saturday afternoon (69-64).
 
On Tuesday, LMU will face Tennessee Wesleyan for the 58th time in program history in a 6 p.m. tip-off. The two teams played for many years in the 1930's and 1940's as both were members of the Volunteer State Athletic Conference/Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference from 1979-90. The series was renewed two seasons ago. Tennessee Wesleyan enters Tuesday with a 3-5 record and the Lady Railsplitters lead the overall series, 36-21.
 
Saturday, the team gets back into SAC competition as they host Queens at 2 p.m. The Royals enter the game with 2-6 overall record but are 1-1 in SAC play with a win over Lenoir-Rhyne this past Saturday. The home tilt will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two schools with LMU leading the series, 15-4. Queens won the last meeting in Harrogate by a 73-64 score.
 
Freshman Lauren Flowers currently leads the Lady Railsplitters in scoring, averaging 12.4 points and 3.2 assists a game. Senior Shermeria Quarles is second on the team in scoring with 8.2 points per contest and leads LMU with 7.0 rebounds per game.
 
Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field
LMU men's and women's track and field will kick off its indoor season Friday and Saturday at the Bast-Cregger Invitational inside the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia. After the distance medley relay takes place Friday, the first event Saturday is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
 
LMU Director of Track & Field Rochelle Black will be bringing a small group of men and women for the inaugural event of the 2019-20 indoor season.
 
"I'm only bringing seven women and 10 men to this opener," explained coach Black. "I treat this first meet as a fancy practice. My goal is to keep everyone fresh during the long season. We'll be back in Salem with a full team January 24-25."
 
The meet marks the first time the Lady Railsplitters will have a student-athlete participate in the field events. Rogersville, Tennessee, freshman Lauren Smith will participate in the shot put and weight throw competitions. Other participants to watch are freshman sprinter Olivia Scott and sophomore distance runner Kiley Holmes.
 
Junior returner Kyle Nabe will participate in the heptathlon for the first time and coach Black is looking for him to improve in the throwing events thanks to the addition of throw coach Greta Pileckaite.
 
"Kyle has high goals and aspirations," said Black. "He will do better in the throws thanks to Greta."
 
The men will be looking for points from its distance runners, most notably seniors Sam Lloyd-Perks and Harrison Calhoun, along with sophomore Michael Jakubek.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were picked 10th in the SAC Preseason Poll, while the men were chosen to finish ninth.
 
"We feel we are better than ninth and tenth," commented Black. "Now we have to go out and prove that we are better than the preseason poll indicates."
 
Men's Basketball
The Railsplitters (8-1, 3-0 SAC) are on an eight-game winning streak, their longest since the 2017-18 season, after claiming their sixth 30-plus point victory of 2019-20 Saturday at Coker. Defeating the host Cobras by 31 points, 92-61, LMU overcame an eight-point first-half deficit and outscored Coker 48-19 in the second half after limiting the home team to just 28 points across the final 27:55 of play.
 
Last Tuesday, the Railsplitters trailed by as many as 16 in the first half at rival Carson-Newman before pulling out a gritty, 93-88 triumph inside Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City.
 
LMU will enjoy a full week off from game action before returning to the hardwood Saturday afternoon when it hosts nationally-ranked Queens inside Tex Turner Arena for a 4 p.m. tip-off. Presented by Edward Jones Investments - Marc Trantham, Saturday's men's and women's basketball doubleheader is featured as a white out. Fans and supporters of the Railsplitters and Lady Railsplitters are encouraged to wear white in order to receive FREE admission to the games. Additionally, 400 complimentary tickets are available courtesy of Marc Trantham, Edward Jones Investments. Complimentary tickets are available at both the LMU athletics office, located on the first floor of Tex Turner Arena, and Edward Jones Investments - Marc Trantham's office in Harrogate.
 
The Royals, who will enter Saturday with a 7-1 overall record and a 2-0 mark in SAC play, begin the week ranked 11th in the nation according to the D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 12 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25. Saturday's affair should be a top-15 matchup and may even be a battle between two top-10 teams as the Railsplitters begin the week ninth in both national polls. A new D2SIDA Media Poll and NABC Top 25 are released Tuesday.
 
The game will also be a display of the top two teams in the NCAA Southeast Region as LMU sits atop of the D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll with all six first-place votes and Queens is second in the region for the second consecutive week.
 
Owning a 15-6 advantage in the series, Saturday's affair will be the 22nd all-time meeting between the two teams. The Railsplitters are looking to snap a three-game skid against the Royals with their last victory over Queens coming at the 2018 SAC Tournament, a 77-75 final for the championship. LMU last defeated the Royals in Harrogate on Feb. 24, 2018 (80-65) but came out on the losing end of a 78-70 decision inside Tex Turner Arena this past February.  
 
The Railsplitters have played some pretty big games against Queens in recent years, including a 69-57 loss in the 2018 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title game in Harrogate and an 82-68 victory for the 2017 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Royals claimed a 75-72 win over LMU in the 2017 SAC Tournament championship. The previous season in 2016, the Railsplitters routed Queens 95-67 in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional semifinals inside Tex Turner Arena.
 
Prior to its 2018 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title game loss, LMU was a perfect 7-0 against the Royals in Harrogate as the Railsplitters own a 7-2 home record in the series.
 
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.