by Ashlan Williams | Mar 11, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
With their first weekend of conference play tucked away under their belts, the Bisons and Lady Bisons tennis teams are preparing to face the Atlantic Sun’s top competitor, East Tennessee State University on at 1 p.m. Saturday in Johnson City. After picking up wins on both the men’s and women’s side in their opening weekend of A-Sun play, head coach Andrew Harris said the teams are working to improve for ETSU this coming weekend. “Both teams are looking forward to another conference weekend,” Harris said. “After the matches against Mercer and Kennesaw State this past weekend, the teams recognize things we need to continue to work on as well as building on things we did well. Both ETSU’s men’s and women’s teams ranked first in the A-Sun preseason poll and pose a tough challenge for the Bisons and Lady Bisons this weekend. And with Spring Break just around the corner, Johnson City will be the teams’ first stop out of a series of three road matches. Harris said ETSU will bring strong competition to begin their road play. “ETSU has restructured their coaching staff similar to ours this past summer with Yaser Zaatini now overseeing both teams,” Harris said. “Their women’s program last year lost to UNF in the A-Sun finals, and their men’s program has annually been one of the more consistent teams in the country the past five years. This will be our first of three road matches over the next week, so we know we will have our work cut out for us come Saturday.” The women, coming off a successful weekend, picked up their first...
by Hunter Patterson | Mar 7, 2011 | Sports
Last night four Lipscomb seniors played in their last game ever as a member of the Bisons basketball team. Josh Slater, Adnan Hodzic, Michael Teller and Brandon Brown played their final minutes on Thursday night in Macon, Ga. in the General Brick Shale Atlantic Sun Tournament. The Bisons came in as the fourth seed, but lost to the fifth seeded Mercer Bears, who hosted the tournament for the second consecutive year. Mercer outscored the Bisons by 11 in the first half, and held on the win the game by a score of 73-63. Josh Slater led the Bisons with 18 points. Junior Jordan Burgason finished with 15. The Bisons finished the season with a 17-13...
by Ashlan Williams | Mar 4, 2011 | Sports
They’ve been training the last eight months for what will begin today, March 4. With two days of matches against Atlantic Sun foes, the weekend could set the tone for the season, for both the Bisons and Lady Bisons tennis teams. Lipscomb begins the six weeks of A-Sun conference competition by hosting Mercer University at noon Friday at the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center. For men’s and women’s head coach Andrew Harris, the most exciting part will be opening up conference play on Lipscomb’s home courts in the great outdoors. “I think the biggest thing for our program right now is being able to finally start playing outside on campus,” Harris said. “Since Jan. 10, we have been practicing inside every night and playing all of our non-conference matches indoors. “So to be able to get outside last week for practice and have our conference matches here this weekend will be a huge boost for us, just from a motivational standpoint.” Both the men’s and women’s teams will begin the toughest portion of their schedule Friday with matches against Mercer before facing A-Sun rival Kennesaw State on Saturday morning. So far this season, the Lady Bisons have posted a 1-5 non-conference record heading into Friday’s opener. Harris said the women’s enthusiasm will help them as they begin conference play. “Our ladies continue to show a lot of heart and courage by coming to practice each night and creating a standard of energy and excitement,” Harris said. “Everyone of our ladies knows that they have a tremendous opportunity this year to set the bar high for the next few years for our...
by Cooper Torrez | Mar 3, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons return to Draper Diamond on Friday for the first time since last season. They will face off against Butler to kick off the Lady Bison Classic. The Lady Bisons come in to the game after playing in the Georgia Tournament and the UAB Tournament. Compiling a 5-8 record in the two tournaments, the Lady Bisons look to get back on track. Whitney Kiihnl plans on using her leadership to help the Lady Bisons throughout the season and this weekend. “I hope the other girls see me as a leader, in that they see me more as a spiritual leader,” Kiinhl said. “God allowed me to be a part of the Lipscomb softball team for a reason, and so hopefully I am doing God’s will by being a good influence on my teammates.” “I just try to tell the younger girls to be confident and believe in themselves. I’ve learned that the mental game is a huge part of playing at the college level. Believing in yourself can go a long way.” As far as the Lady Bison Classic goes, Kiinhl says it’s simple and it will be good to play at home. “I like playing at home because it’s just a comforting feeling,” Kiinhl said. “We’re used to the training room, the locker room and the field. I enjoy seeing my friends and all our supporters at the games. “We just have to show up to play. Offensively and defensively, we have to be prepared and on our A-game.” Kiihnl’s goal for the season may be different than most teams or players, but she is sure...
by Hunter Patterson | Mar 2, 2011 | Sports
After what has been an up-and-down season, the Lady Bisons are set for their matchup against number one ranked ETSU. Lipscomb is slated to take on ETSU in the first round of the Atlantic Sun tournament today on the campus of Mercer University. The Lady Bisons saw ETSU twice earlier this season, losing both times. However, just over a week ago Lipscomb was only down by three with a few minutes left to play. “We fouled too much the second half, and that cost us the game,” assistant coach Billy Snell said. “We felt like it was a game we let get away from us. We have had success against them, we just have to finish them off.” Finishing them off will not be an easy task, though. The Lady Bisons know what it takes to win big games like this. It will take a total team effort. Coach Snell believes that the team’s effort will start underneath the basket. “We have to win the boards,” Snell said. “We have to do a better job of keeping [ETSU] off the glass and limiting their shots.” Lipscomb’s coaches do not believe that ETSU is going to just beat them simply because their record is better. Lipscomb’s strong play against the Lady Bucs in their last matchup proves to the team that the Lady Bisons have a chance of pulling off the upset today. “When we played defense and didn’t foul, we got stops,” Snell said. “We have to make them earn every one of their points.” Another key for the Lady Bisons is getting production from everyone that is on...
by Cooper Torrez | Mar 2, 2011 | Sports
The Bisons opening round matchup in the A-Sun tournament is a familiar one– the host team, the Mercer Bears. Mercer comes off a season finale win over the Bisons 68-67, but the Bisons got the better of Mercer on Dec. 4 in Allen Arena with a 77-65 win. Each team won the regular season matchup on their home court, but Coach Sanderson knows there is much more to winning than just home court advantage. “It’s more about us,” Sanderson said. “It’s not necessarily about Mercer, it’s more about what we do. I think we have won the last four times at Mercer besides our last game in which we were only beat by 1, so I think it’s more about what we do and how we prepare. “We just have to be more focused and know that we have been successful down [at Mercer] before.” Seniors Josh Slater and Adnan Hodzic get much of the attention from opposing teams, and rightfully so. Adnan leads the team in points per game (18) and rebounds (7.5). While Slater leads the team in assists per game (4.7) and is second in points per game (16.5). A big key to the game and tournament is balance. “We just need to be more balanced,” Sanderson said. “If those two guys (Hodzic and Slater) have career nights there is a chance we still may not win, so we have to have balance throughout our roster. We have to have everyone step up and do the things we ask them to do, both offensively and defensively, to take the pressure off of Adnan and Josh as...
