by Jeremy Keck | Oct 15, 2010 | Sports
The time has finally come for the Lipscomb Bisons men’s basketball team to officially begin practice. However, due to the Nashville Symphony using Allen Arena this weekend, the Bison will be begin practice out of town at the University of the South at Sewanee. The first practice will be held on Friday night with two to follow on Saturday. The weekend will wrap up with a practice on Sunday before the team heads back to Nashville. “I want there to be an emotional attachment among each other,” said Bisons’ coach Scott Sanderson. “That’s why on opening weekend we’re going to go out of town and practice and do some team bonding type of stuff.” Coming off of a 17-13 regular season and having won a share of the conference championship last year, many would feel that Lipscomb has accomplished a lot. However, Coach Sanderson feels differently. “In my opinion, and in the players’ opinions, we really haven’t done anything,” Sanderson said. “A lot of teams might be satisfied with winning a conference championship. Now obviously that’s exciting, but as you keep winning, your goals get higher and higher. “We have a lot of motivation and our preseason has shown that we have a lot of motivation to continue to go that one step further.” The players will be staying at a hotel on Sewanee Mountain. They will spend every moment of the weekend with each other, both on and off the...
by Hunter Patterson | Oct 12, 2010 | News Slider, Sports
MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference recently concluded its annual fall meetings of athletics directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives on the campus of Mercer University. Among the issues the membership approved were sites for future cross country and volleyball championships and format changes for the softball, soccer and tennis championships. The membership awarded future championships to Belmont, for cross country in 2011 and to Lipscomb, for volleyball, in 2011 and 2012. Belmont served as host of the 2004 Cross Country Championship and the meet returns to Nashville for the first time since Lipscomb hosted in 2007. Lipscomb will host volleyball for the first time but the event will return to Nashville for the third time since 2005. Belmont hosted in 2005 and 2006. Three tournaments will undergo changes to their respective formats. In softball, byes will be awarded to the top two seeds, beginning with the 2011 event at USC Upstate. Men’s soccer will return to a single-weekend event, to be played on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at a pre-determined location – beginning in 2011. Starting in 2012, the tennis championships will move to a Friday through Sunday format instead of the current Thursday-Saturday style. The conference announced new initiatives that will launch throughout the year, including an online store that will debut later this month, a renewed agreement with ASunPhotos.com, the creation of a new in-house marketing position, fresh championship marks and a monthly newsletter. The conference will conduct its spring meetings in Daytona Beach, Fla., from June 6-9. This release was taken...
by Jadrienne Myhre | Oct 12, 2010 | News Slider, Sports
Students who visit Bill Taylor’s office know the veteran cross country coach is proud of his job and his students. “The character of Lipscomb University, the environment, the Christian emphasis, the character of the kids is different than other schools, especially at the Division I level,” Taylor said. “And that’s by far the greatest part of coaching here: We can glorify Christ and I get good kids with good character.” Taylor, who has coached the team four years, explains that all the athletes set goals — both as individuals and as team members — to run to the best of their ability. “Our goal is to be as good as we can be, and give ourselves the chance for a conference title,” Taylor said. “We talk lightly about a conference championship, but it’s not like we have to win.” Taylor said that most girls who have been on the cross-country team for more than a year have dropped from one to three minutes off of their times on the 5K run. Jenny Randolph, a senior biology major and captain of the women’s cross-country team, said she appreciates Taylor’s coaching. “Coach Taylor knows how to structure workouts to be most beneficial to each individual and always, always pushes us to run to the best of our ability,” Randolph said. “He believes in us, even when we don’t believe in ourselves.” Randolph has been running cross-country since middle school. “On my recruiting visit, I was struck by how close the team was, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Randolph said. Randolph values the family atmosphere fostered by the members...
by Jeremy Keck | Oct 12, 2010 | Sports
The return of the Bisons’ most-honored player, a deep bench and two freshmen contending for playing time are just some of the reasons Coach Scott Sanderson is excited about the 2010-2011 basketball season. His team received a scare during the off-season, when star post and reigning A-Sun Player of the Year, Adnan Hodzic, initially declared for the NBA draft. Hodzic withdrew, and with him and 10 more players returning from last year’s team, the Bisons look to build on their 17-13 regular season, 14-6 conference records. The coach views the non-conference schedule as “a byproduct of getting us ready for league play.” Highlighting the Bison non-conference schedule this year are games against North Carolina, Memphis, Alabama, and Baylor. “We’re not going to go into any venue in our league that’s going be as tough as North Carolina, Baylor, Alabama or Memphis,” Sanderson said. “I feel like we can compete in those games. The last couple of years we have won a couple of them and have been competitive in all of them.” The Bisons will open their season against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports South. The Bisons have added three freshmen to the roster this off-season. Carter Sanderson, Coach Sanderson’s son, will be red-shirting this season as he gets familiar with the system. Robert Boyd, a point guard out of Fulton High School in Knoxville, could push for some playing time this season. “He’s a great defender,” Sanderson said. “He’s a pass first, shoot second type of point guard.” Finally Demarius “D.D.” Smith, 6-foot-4 guard from Kenwood High School in Clarksville, might also see playing time this...
by Hunter Patterson | Oct 11, 2010 | Sports
Men’s soccer swept, women’s soccer finished their home portion of the season and the volleyball team is still dominating the Atlantic Sun conference. Oh, and softball in October? It was all a part of this weekend in Lipscomb sports. The Lady Bisons softball team went 4-0 this weekend, beating Chipola twice, Milligan once and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville once. Junior Whitney Kiihnl pitched a complete game against Tennessee. Kiihnl allowed one walked batter in the first, but did not allow another base runner until the seventh-inning when a UT player reached on a bunt single. Freshman Haley Elliot homered for the Lady Bisons, giving them their only run against the Lady Vols. The Bison soccer team swept this weekend on their Florida road trip, beating Jacksonville and North Florida. Miguel DaSilva and Garrett McLaughlin,scored two goals each on the weekend. Tyler Burkhardt, Garret McLaughlin, and Andrew Chamberlain also scored for the Bisons. Lipsomb’s record is now even at 2-2-0 in the Atlantic Sun and 6-6-0 overall. The Lady Bisons Soccer team closed out the home portion of the season this weekend. But the team was also handed two losses courtesy of Jacksonville and North Florida. Danielle Bethke scored the long goal for the Lipscomb on the weekend. The Lady Bisons played Jacksonville tough on Sunday, but all three goals came from set pieces. Two came from a corner kick, the other from a penalty kick. Volleyball improved to 15-5 and 4-0 in the Atlantic Sun this weekend. The Lady Bisons defeated ETSU and USC Upstate this weekend. Lipscomb only lost one set in the two matches. Senior...
