HARROGATE, Tenn. – For the third time of the fall, a total of seven Lincoln Memorial University athletic programs will be in action this week as the Railsplitters and Lady Railsplitters begin the second month of 2019-20. With fall sports in full swing, men's and women's soccer will continue their 2019 journeys, along with women's volleyball, while the men's and women's cross country squads return to the race course after a weekend off from competition. Both women's golf and men's bowling will take part in tournament play, continuing the fall portions of their 2019-20 schedules.
 
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 Golf
The Lady Railsplitters were back in action last Monday and Tuesday at the Battle for Royalty Invitation at TPC Piper Glen in Charlotte, North Carolina. Following the two days of play, LMU placed fifth with three top-20 individual finishes from junior Harper Cherry (third), sophomore Ella Morton (T-18th) and freshman Annika Lagos (T-20th).
 
This week, the Lady Railsplitters continue fall tournament play Monday, Sept. 30 and Tuesday, Oct. 1, co-hosting the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate with fellow SAC member Lenoir-Rhyne at Panther's Run-Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. The two-day, 36-hole tournament teed off at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning as 10 total teams compete on the par-72, 5,937-yard course. Joining LMU and the Bears on Sunset Beach in North Carolina are Coker, the University of Mount Olive, Newberry, Sandhills Community College, Lander, Emmanuel college, Chowan and Tusculum.
 
Men's Soccer
The Railsplitters hosted Shaw University last Tuesday for a 3-1 victory at the LMU Soccer Complex with three different LMU players scoring. Graduate forward Aurochit Patnaik (46'), senior forward Ueslei Silva (66') and senior forward Matteo Bufalo (87') all found the back of the net throughout the 90-minute contest.
 
On Saturday, the men's soccer squad traveled to Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina, for a South Atlantic Conference matchup that led to a scoreless draw. Freshman goalkeeper Robin Hermann tallied seven saves throughout the game to hold off the Bulldogs, who entered the day tied atop the league standings. Junior forward Jorge Melgar had two shots that just brushed wide of the goal for potential go-ahead goals, along with freshman midfielder Kasimir Lauber knocking a shot off of the crossbar in the second half of play.
 
This week, the Railsplitters are back in Harrogate to host The University of Alabama in Huntsville at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the LMU Soccer Complex. LMU holds a 5-1 all-time record against the Chargers dating back to October of 2009. The last time the two teams met was in September of 2014, a match that concluded in a 3-0 victory for the Railsplitters.
 
On Saturday, Oct. 5, LMU will continue its homestay and step back into SAC play against Lenoir-Rhyne with a kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. The Railsplitters own an 8-3-1 head-to-head record against the Bears back-tracking to October of 2007. The two teams' last meeting, which was at the Moretz Complex in Hickory, North Carolina, ended in a 3-2 victory for host Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Women's Volleyball
After wrapping up an extensive, seven-match SAC road swing over the weekend, the Lady Railsplitters (3-8, 3-5 SAC) return to the friendly confines of Mary Mars Gymnasium and Harrogate this upcoming weekend. LMU will get a much needed reprieve from the road Friday, Oct. 4 when it hosts league foe Catawba at 7 p.m., prior to welcoming Queens Saturday, Oct. 5 for a 2 p.m. first serve.
 
Friday night's affair will be featured as "Poster Night" with fans receiving 2019 LMU women's volleyball posters at the door. Lady Railsplitter volleyball players will then be available to sign the posters following their match with the Indians.
 
This past Saturday afternoon, LMU snapped a five-match skid by earning a 3-1 victory at Coker in Hartsville, South Carolina. The Lady Railsplitters tallied a season-high tying 53 kills and rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the match to secure their second SAC road victory of the season. A set down and trailing 22-19 in the second, LMU fought its way back as senior outside hitter Lindsey Nartker registered a team-best 13 kills and sophomore setter Emily Walter recorded her third 40-assist match with 41.
 
The Lady Railsplitters have gone 18-12 against Catawba all-time and own a four-match win streak in the series. Having dropped only one match against the Indians since 2015, LMU has given up no more than one set in its last four meetings with the Indians. A season ago, the Lady Railsplitters swept Catawba in Salisbury, North Carolina, after handing the Indians a 3-1 loss in Harrogate. Catawba enters the match with a 3-5 overall record and a 2-5 mark in conference play, having most recently endured a straight-set loss at Tusculum this past Saturday. The Indians have defeated UVa-Wise (3-0) on the road and Coker (3-1) at home in league action.
 
Of its 17 matches with Queens, LMU has won 10 and is on a three-match win streak in the series. Owning a 5-2 record versus the Royals in Harrogate, the Lady Railsplitters claimed all three sets against Queens in Mary Mars Gym for the 2018 SAC Tournament quarterfinals after emerging as 3-1 victors in both Charlotte and at home during the regular season. Prior to last year, the Royals had defeated LMU in three-straight matches. Queens enters the week sitting in third place in the SAC standings with a 5-2 league mark and an 8-3 overall record. The Royals play at Carson-Newman Friday evening.  
 
Men's and Women's Cross Country
The LMU men's and women's cross country teams will hit the race course once again Saturday morning for the Upstate Invitational at the Milliken Research Center course in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Starting race time is set for 9 a.m.
 
Both squads are coming off of successful outings at the season-opening Zaxby's Open hosted by Tusculum and the Bulldog Stampede and are looking to build on both team and individual success in Spartanburg.
 
"I am looking for both teams to gain confidence as we move closer to the SAC and NCAA Southeast Regional meets," said head coach Jeremy Donahue.
 
The Railsplitter men are coming off a seventh-place finish at the Bulldog Stampede while the women placed 10th at the event.
 
Senior Sam Lloyd-Perks will again be at the head of the pack for the LMU men, followed by junior Michael Jakubek and freshman Mason Johns.
 
"Our plan is to have Sam at his peak for the SAC Championship," said Donahue. "Michael is working on his stamina and Mason is still developing as a collegiate runner."
 
Sophomore Kiley Holmes will be leading the women if junior Tabea Kandlbauer is not able to go.
 
"Kiley has been very consistent in her training and the first two races," Donahue commented. "Maria (Chellah, freshman) has done very well in her first two races as well. We have five or six ladies that run as a group behind Tabea. I'm very happy with the pack; we just need to move it up this week."
 
Juniors Chloe Harp and Unique Earley, along with sophomore Brooke Foster and freshman Ashlyn Johnson will be bring up the Lady Railsplitter pack.
 
Men's Bowling
The Railsplitter bowling crew traveled to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the Cardinal Classic this past Saturday and Sunday. After day one, LMU was at the top of the leaderboard with 4,758 total pins and owned a 158-pin advantage over Wright State following 24 Baker games.
 
On day two of competition, the Blue and Gray slipped into second place after the next 16 Baker games for a cumulative score of 7,536. Wright State rallied to take the tournament win with a 7,659 total pin count throughout the two-day Cardinal Classic.
 
This upcoming weekend Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5-6, Railsplitter men's bowling travels to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, for the 49th Annual Midwest Collegiate Tournament hosted by Midwest Collegiate Bowling at the AMF Bowlero. The first six-match block will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by 16 Baker games beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday.
 
Women's Soccer
With this past Saturday's two-goal loss at Wingate behind them, the Lady Railsplitters have all of their focus on unbeaten and 16th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne. Before the Bears (8-0, 3-0 SAC) visit the LMU Soccer Complex for a 1 p.m. start Saturday, they will face Carson-Newman to wrap up a three-game SAC road stretch. On the other hand, LMU (6-2, 1-2 SAC) will have a much-needed full week of rest under its boots with the goal of getting back to .500 in conference play and staying unbeaten at home.
 
In the series' 18th overall meeting, the Lady Railsplitters are looking for their third-straight victory over Lenoir-Rhyne. The previous two outings between the two teams resulted in 2-1 and 2-0 wins for LMU over the past two seasons. In 2018, the Lady Railsplitters never lost back-to-back conference games and dropped just three total as LMU aims to bounce back against the red-hot Bears in order to avoid those feats this fall.
 
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.