by Erika Plunkett | Aug 14, 2020 | COVID-19, News, News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb volleyball head coach Brandon Rosenthal was being hopeful that a season on the brink of COVID extinction would be rescued when he was interviewed recently. Now that the season has been postponed — the ASUN on Friday announced it was halting all fall sports because of the COVID epidemic and hoping to reschedule them for the spring — his and his players’ hopes have been dashed. Or at least delayed. In the interview prior to Friday’s news, Rosenthal said being “resilient” is a key factor for the team because the pandemic already had thrown the games and even practice into an uproar. At the time, possibilities being tossed around included playing only in-conference or moving the season into the spring. In making Friday’s announcement, ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart, called it “a huge disappointment.” “Anyone who follows college sports understands the dynamics that brought us to this decision, but that doesn’t mean we like it. My feelings right now? COVID stinks. If you weren’t putting my words into a public release, I might put it another way.” The postponement of competition in conference-sponsored fall semester sports includes men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. So far, the basketball seasons for men and women remain unaffected, at least in terms of scheduling games. Scheduling will be a big issue for the fall sports, though, now that they have to wait until spring, if the disease allows for play then. “We will make every effort to provide a quality competitive experience for our fall student-athletes during the spring semester,” Gumbart said in the conference press release. “We’re...
by Lumination Staff | May 15, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
By Megan Kuper, Shelby Talbert and Rose Schaddelee The Lady Bisons softball team looks for its 12th win of the 2020 season, approaching the fourth inning ahead by 10. Less than an inning later, Lipscomb defeats the Lady Tarheels due to the “mercy” run rule. The girls celebrate the big win and give hope to having the best season yet… until the unimaginable happened. The day after the Bisons big win, all winter and spring sports were brought to an end by the NCAA, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak that became a national emergency. “There’s no way that it’s over,” said Jenna Endris, a Bison whose junior season abruptly ended. “We did not see it coming at all,” she said, drawing a long, slow breath. “And it doesn’t seem real….” Hearing the season is over sprung many “Whys?” to Endris and the team: ”Why did we want to kill ourselves in the fall from conditioning and weights? And why did we go to practice for four hours every single day to not even compete for a championship?” Every day gets easier for the junior, she explained. The Lipscomb Bisons are reigning conference champions, and her positive attitude was fueled by cracking light-hearted jokes about going “back-to-pause-back (instead of “back-to-back”) conference champs” in her final season as a Lady Bison next season. Endris was not the only one feeling the impact of the season’s cancellation. “There were lots of tears and many expressed frustration, you know some having worked their whole softball careers and to have it end like this….,” said coach Kristin Ryman. “However we tried to remind...
by Lumination Staff | May 8, 2020 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
By Anica Gilbert, Ben Browning, Riley Hoag and Casey King Lipscomb men’s golf team had a lot of potential before the COVID-19 national emergency ended the season and cut those hopes short. “We were on a trajectory to the postseason,” said coach Will Brewer. “That’s what our goal was at the beginning of August and we had a great shot. “Everyone was coming together and playing well. The team was really gelling.” Brewer said.”The team was stunned as they watched a canceled match turn into a canceled season. The team had high hopes and a promising chance at continuing to the postseason.” Then came COVID-19. “They were very emotional, very shocked and a lot of disbelief,” said coach Brewer. “The best part of the season was before everything got shut down because the team was working hard and pushing each other,” said freshman Gregor Mckenzie. “We had something nice going with the team, where everybody was concerned about each other, and everyone was accountable for what they were doing.” For senior Conner McKay, relationships with his teammates were especially important, he started adding that the talks with his teammates led him to redefine his faith and relationship with God. “This year was different because of the chemistry. I started to grow in my faith and a couple of guys on the team introduced me to the Bible for the first time,” McKay said. “About a month ago I accepted Christ as my Lord and savior.” Despite the ups and downs, the team is continuing to move forward in training for next year’s matches, but with all golf courses being...
by Lumination Staff | May 7, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
By. Makena Sneed, Alex Newsome and Erika Plunkett The 2020 Lipscomb Bison baseball team was off to the best start in program history when its season — along with the rest of the country — came to a crashing halt as the coronavirus concern grew. “I don’t think any of us knew the magnitude of what was going on, and to have the season canceled at first it was like, ‘wow, that is that really what we’re doing,’” said Bisons head coach Jeff Forehand. “And then as the thing has played out a little bit more we’ve all recognized that it was probably the best decision.” While the shock of the sudden decision has faded into understanding and respect for the safety of players, coaches and fans, the pain of losing such a promising season is still fresh on the Bisons’ minds. “My heart dropped when I heard the news,” said sophomore catcher Chaz Bertolani. “It was a total letdown to hear from our coach that our season was terminated. I felt heartbroken looking at my teammates, as we sat in the bullpen in silence.” “We were just super disappointed because we knew we had a really good thing going,” said senior infielder Haddon Adams. On March 30, the NCAA made an unprecedented decision to try and ease the heartbreak from the impact of COVID-19 when it was announced that all spring athletes will receive an extra year of eligibility. The catcher said that certainly won’t hurt the team next season: “Preparation will be the same [for next season], but with all the returning and new players, our team...
by Grant Ledgister | Apr 16, 2020 | COVID-19, News Slider, Sports
Telling Lipscomb athletes that sports for the semester had ended hurt Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson as much as it hurt the athletes. “It was totally heartbreaking knowing what that meant for all of our spring sport athletes,” Hutcheson said. “When I went and told the baseball team about it, I felt like I was talking to 35 guys who had all torn their ACLs at the same time and their careers were over.” From quarantines and stay-at-home orders to school closing and everything in between, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed daily life for people across the world. For collegiate athletes and administrators, the virus has flipped their seasons upside down. In an announcement made in early March, the NCAA canceled the seasons of all spring and winter sports. This included the popular March Madness national basketball tournament. “Obviously there are many worse things going on in the world right now than not being able to play a sport,” Hutcheson said. “But for all of these students it’s very important and something they’ve worked towards for a long time. They realize that it’s not just games they’re going to miss, it’s time with their teammates and coaches.” To make up for the inability to play, the NCAA made the decision to give athletes playing spring sports an extra year of eligibility. Some athletes, however, may not be able to take advantage of this. “We know already that about half of the seniors will not be coming back,” Hutcheson said. “The rest of them – some financial decisions have to be made. Most spring sport athletes, if not all of them,...
