Lynchburg Weekly Sports Blog – University of Lynchburg

Welcome to the Lynchburg Sports Weekly Blog, where we will give updates recapping past events and getting you ready for the upcoming slate of games on the Hornets’ schedule. We’ll get this blog out to you once a week, usually every Thursday, and keep you in the loop on all things Lynchburg athletics. 

Another week of fall competitions are in the books! The past week showcased some thrilling action for Lynchburg athletics. The No. 14 field hockey team snagged a couple wins, highlighted by a strong 5-0 conference win. The volleyball team came out with an even record at the Worthington Classic, while the men’s soccer squad earned an ODAC victory. Women’s soccer dominated in their conference opener, and the equestrian team saw an award-winning weekend of performances from Lucy Metzler. This Saturday is jam-packed with action on Shellenberger Field, including field hockey against Rowan, women’s soccer versus Roanoke, and men’s soccer hosting Randolph-Macon.

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The No. 14 Lynchburg field hockey team returned to action this past weekend with back-to-back games against No. 8 York and Susquehanna, splitting the contests. After dropping its first matchup in over a week to the Spartans, the Hornets bounced back with a solid 3-1 victory against the River Hawks. Lynchburg took the momentum right into Wednesday’s outing, scoring in the first minute of its first conference affair of the season and keeping the lead for the remainder of the game. The Hornets took down the Eagles with force on the way to a 5-0 triumph on Shellenberger Field. Across the two squad wins, Jill Pleiter, Madison Mark and Grace Peterson contributed two goals apiece. The field hockey crew hopes to ride the momentous wave into its next matchup this Saturday when it welcomes Rowan to Lynchburg at noon.

The reigning and three-time NCEA champion Lynchburg equestrian team completed its first two dual meets of the season last weekend and earned numerous awards. After being edged out by College of Charleston, the Hornets rebounded to defeat Centenary University. Lucy Metzler headlined the Lynchburg performers after receiving NCEA’s Arion Sellier Flat Rider of the Month and ODAC Flat Rider of the week. The Boulder, Colo. native was awarded the Most Outstanding Performer for flat in the No. 3 Hornets’ win against Centenary this past Sunday. The senior tied the meet’s highest score of the day with an 89 riding Caleb. She also earned a score of 80 riding Colin in Lynchburg’s meet against Charleston. Emma Schweizer also produced a standout performance for the Hornets that earned her ODAC Fences Rider of the Week. The Denville, N.J. native posted the highest score of the day for the Hornets when they took on Charleston with a score of 81 riding Kevin. In a win against Centenary, she produced a score of 82 riding Colin, which tied for the team’s highest score of the meet for fences.The next competition on the Hornets’ schedule is their IHSA event. The University of Lynchburg IHSA is set to kick off in Rustburg, Va. on Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6, each day beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday will also serve as the equestrian team’s senior day, so Hornet fans, be sure to come out to the ring and show your support for our graduating class!

The Lynchburg men’s and women’s swimming squads had their first competitions of the season with an exhibition dual meet against Liberty and the ODAC Relays, hosted by Washington & Lee. The Hornets had a strong showing for the Liberty exhibition, taking all three of the top spots in the men’s 200 butterfly and placing first in the men’s 4×50 relay, men’s 100 backstroke, and men’s 100 butterfly. At the ODAC Relays, the men’s team placed second out of eight teams and the women placed third out of 10 teams. Maximo Jacquet headlined the Lynchburg performances on the men’s side with an unofficial program record in the IM. Andrew Neculai was a standout performer in the relays, helping the unit earn first in the 400 freestyle relay and third in the 500-yard 50-100-150-200 relay. Will Kasemeyer was a significant piece in the team earning third place for the 100 freestyle relay and fifth in the 3×50-yard backstroke, 400 freestyle, 200 medley, and 200 freestyle relays. The women’s crew saw Regan Leach, Eliza Fleenor and Abigail Schneider play consequential roles in the team placing third for the 3×100 IM relay. Sienna Schmeck gave some of the quickest performances in the meet, helping the crew earn second place in the 100 freestyle, 200 IM and 200 freestyle. The other two performances that Schmeck took part in resulted in top-five finishes for the Hornets as well. Savy Borroughs played an important part in the three second-place finishes with Schmeck while also helping the team place third in the 50-100-150-200 relay and fourth in the 400 freestyle. The swim team has a break of nearly one month before their first official dual meet. Lynchburg is set to host Roanoke on Friday, October 25 at 6 p.m.

The Lynchburg men’s soccer team is picking up steam as ODAC play continues to roll on. The squad has earned four victories in its last five games, including three shutouts. After falling in a road matchup against Virginia Wesleyan last Saturday, the Hornets recovered by defeating Averett 2-0 on Wednesday. Zach Whelan score his first goal of the season in the win and Pat Figaro sealed it with a second-half goal. Thomas Viscuso earned his fourth clean sheet of the season, stopping three shots in the affair. Next up on the slate for the men’s soccer squad is a bout with Randolph-Macon on the home turf. The Hornets welcome the Yellow Jackets to Shellenberger Field on Saturday, October 5 at 7 p.m. After their weekend bout, Lynchburg will host Randolph on Wednesday, October 9 at 7 p.m.

The Lynchburg women’s volleyball team took a trip to the nation’s capital last weekend for the Worthington Classic, hosted by Gallaudet University. Lynchburg faced the likes of Catholic, Gallaudet, Bethel, and Marymount during the two-day tournament and came out with a 2-2 record. The Hornets took down both Catholic and Marymount, but fell to host Gallaudet and Bethel. Owning a 10-9 record on the season, the women’s volleyball squad is ready to host its third ODAC opponent of the year in Roanoke. The Hornets are set for a matchup on the Turner Gym hardwood against the Maroons on Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m. Following that, Lynchburg hosts another conference foe in Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, October 9 at 6 p.m.

The Lynchburg women’s soccer team competed in its first conference contest this past Saturday and earned an assertive 3-0 win when Guilford visited Shellenberger Field. Madelyn Boyce got the Hornets on the board first. Meghan Lauder and Leilianis Irigoyen followed up by netting their first goals of the season and secured the victory for Lynchburg. On Wednesday, the Hornets hosted Washington & Lee for the squad’s Code Red game in what counted on the records as a nonconference affair. The Generals took a three-goal advantage and held it until the 57th minute, when Lauder bagged her second goal in back-to-back matches. In the final two minutes, Lauren Orner put Lynchburg within one of Washington & Lee by putting a cross from Sammie Rogstad past the keeper. The Hornets kept the energy high with a couple more dangerous offensive opportunities in the final minute of action, including a long ball from Irigoyen that forced a full-extension save from the Generals’ netminder and a strike from Rogstad that reverberated the crossbar. Although Lynchburg was unable to convert, the women’s soccer squad showed tenacity and plan to keep that mentality for its next contest against Roanoke on Shellenberger Field this Saturday, October 4 at 4 p.m. The Hornets are set to follow that up with a road match at Virginia Wesleyan on Tuesday, October 8 at 6 p.m.

The Lynchburg cross country team is ready to hit the course after a brief hiatus when it travels to Bethlehem, Pa. for the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University. The 50th annual Paul Short Run presented by Asics is slated to be the greatest yet. The Paul Short Run is in honor of the late Paul Short who served as Lehigh’s Business Manager and Assistant Director of Athletics for 29 years. Last year, the Hornets participated in the Paul Short Run and saw an incredible performance from the women’s team, who placed third overall out of 43 fielded programs. Allison Dell was the top Lynchburg runner with a personal-best 21:56.7 to claim eighth overall, her first sub-22-minute effort of her collegiate career. The men’s crew showed out as well, placing 20th overall out of 43 teams in the field that comprised many Division I programs. Frank Csorba led the way in 24:34.3 with teammate Chasen Hunt just behind in a personal-best 24:36.9 to finish 28th and 34th respectively. Following this weekend’s competition, the cross country team will be back on the course for the Inter-Regional Rumble hosted by Rowan in Glassboro, N.J. on Saturday, October 19.

The Lynchburg men’s tennis team was represented by Alex Rintoul and Luca Morbioli in the ITA Division III Southeast Regional Championship last weekend. Rintoul and Morbioli both played in the championship doubles bracket. Morbioli competed in the championship singles bracket and Rintoul competed in the B1 singles bracket. The first round of doubles action saw the Lynchburg duo take on Randolph’s Jacob Martin and Pelda Ondra and lose 2-6. They played against Carnegie Mellon’s Theodore Gershon and Fernando Limon in the consolation bracket and fell, 3-6. In singles action, Morbioli dropped to Randolph’s Martin, 5-8. He moved onto the consolation bracket where he faced Muhlenberg’s Owen Dyer and won 8-5. Rintoul dropped his sole singles match, 8-1, to Johns Hopkins’ Jason Li. He was scheduled to face Stevens’ Matthew Luzzi in the consolation bracket, but withdrew due to injury. The men’s tennis squad wrapped up its fall slate and now awaits its spring schedule, which will be announced at a later date.

The Lynchburg men’s and women’s golf teams both traveled across the country to compete this past weekend. The women’s crew went up to Williamstown, Mass. for the Williams Invitational and placed 14th of 23 teams. Gabbie Hollberg highlighted the Lynchburg performance, placing 26th overall with a score of +13 over both days. Next up for Lynchburg’s women’s squad is the Carnegie Mellon Fall Invite in Farmington, Pa. at the Nemacolin Resort, taking place on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8. The men’s golf team opened its fall slate of competitions with the Gate City Invite, hosted by Greensboro, and finished with a team score of +3 to earn 13th place of 18 fielded teams. Alan Van Asch highlighted the Hornets’ performance with a -1 final result and ended in 23rd overall. Next up for the Hornets’ men’s team is the West Pines Invitational at the West Pines Golf Club, hosted by Oglethorphe from Monday, October 7 through Wednesday, October 9.

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–LYN–