The men’s basketball team began practice for the upcoming season last Friday night. The Owls will be a young group with nine new players hitting the hardwood this year. KSU returns six players who contributed to last year’s squad, which finished 10-20 overall and 7-9 in the Atlantic Sun conference. Guards Jeff Croft and J.D. Pollack are the lone seniors on the team and will be joined by junior forwards Jonathan Whipple and Jon-Michael Nickerson. Sophomores John Allison and Kelvin McConnell are also key returnees. The Owls will tip off their season at home against North Greenville on Nov. 6.
ON THE COURT
Men’s tennis players Simon Janik and Michael Langel were eliminated in the opening round of the Wilson/ITA Men’s Southeast Regional Indoor Championships last Thursday. The doubles pair lost 8-2 to a duo from Miami (Fla.). The KSU singles players did not fare much better, with only Janik winning a set during the tournament. In addition to Janik, Langel and Lawrence Washington both fell in the opening round. With the conclusion of the Indoor Championships, the team is now done with its fall season. Spring tennis season begins on Feb. 6 with a match at Presbyterian.
The volleyball team (4-17, 3-10) ended its eight-match losing streak by winning two home matches during the past week. On Thursday, the team took three of four games from USC-Upstate to get the conference win. Chelsea Denesha and Sabrita Gulley each had double-doubles in the victory. Denesha led all players with 17 kills and 10 digs. On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Owls gained their first Atlantic Sun weekend sweep by dominating ETSU. It was the first time in school history that the team has defeated consecutive conference foes in one weekend. Gulley again put up huge numbers with 11 kills, while Ginny Frederick had 18 assists. Next Friday, the Lady Owls will travel to Campbell to face the Camels in a conference tilt.
AROUND CAMPUS
The soccer team (9-4-4, 4-2-2) won two home matches during the past week, defeating East Tennessee State on Friday and USC-Upstate on Sunday. In the 2-1 win over ETSU, Rachael Baer scored off a pass by Brittany Vining to win the game in overtime. On Sunday, the team dominated USC Upstate by a score of 4-1. Kristin Kranick scored two goals in the rout, while Yasha Blount scored her first goal of the season. The Lady Owls travel to Buies Creek, N.C., on Wednesday to take on Campbell University.
The men’s cross country team finished fourth in the Front Runner Invitational, which was held last Saturday in Chattanooga, Tenn. Scott Burley paced the team with a fifth-place overall finish. The women’s team finished second at the same meet and was led by a second-place individual finish by sophomore Mackenzie Howe. The team travels to Macon for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship meet on Nov. 1.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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