It has been a rough first six weeks for many Mercer teams. While some have found steady success in the beginning of their seasons, others have not had as much to show for what looked to be a promising year.
Mercer football, volleyball, and men’s soccer find themselves in win to loss deficits, while men’s golf has had a shaky start in their first two tournaments. This trend cannot be attributed to a lack of talent in any of these teams.
Every one of these programs showed huge amounts of progress in previous years. Whatever the reason may be, it is still hardly mid-semester, so there is time for a much needed turnaround for Mercer sports.
Softball
The softball team came out strong in their fall season opener. They racked up four wins over the weekend against Georgia Highlands College, Wallace Community College-Dothan, East Georgia College and Georgia College & State.
Every single match was a blow out with Mercer outscoring their opponents by margins of 8-12 runs. In fairness, these teams are not regarded as major competitors.
The Bears will play their next match when they host Georgia Military College Oct. 7.
Men’s Soccer
The Bears managed to take home the win after an intense game against Georgia Southern Sept. 23. Forward, Will Bagrou, demonstrated why is SoCon male athlete of the year by scoring both of Mercer’s goals within the first 32 minutes of the game, while goalkeeper Jeremy Booth secured his 25th career win. Booth managed to secure four saves during this match.
This victory places Mercer’s record against Georgia Southern at 25-24. Mercer has managed to win seven of their last eight games against Georgia Southern.
This was an encouraging win that the team desperately needed, after having only won a single other game this season. The team’s record is 2-4-2 so far.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s team is tearing through their competitors. As of their last win against The Citadel, Friday, Sept. 22, the team has a 7-4 total record and a five game win streak. This was a great win for them to get, especially considering it being their first Southern Conference game.
Sophomore, Jasmine Spence, scored the first goal of the match in the 75th minute, and her first career goal. Her teammates, Rhette Caulian and Megan Delmonico quickly following up with two more goals to give the Bears a comfortable lead.
So far, the team has managed to consistently represent at home, winning five of their seven home games.
They will play next at home against Furman, Saturday Sept. 30.
Volleyball
It hasn’t been easy for the Women’s volleyball team so far this season. They have an overall record of 5-8 after a six game losing streak that just ended with their victory over The Citadel, Saturday, Sept. 23.
That hasn’t stopped individual players from putting on performances worth noting. In their win against The Citadel, Morgan Macgilvary and Paige Alsten managed to make 16 and 12 kills respectively.
Macgilvary and her teammate Emily Krogman both notched double-doubles with Macgilvary’s 16 kills and 11 digs and Krogman’s 11 kills and 12 digs. Krogman also scored three aces during the match.
The team’s next match will be away at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Friday, Sept. 29.
Men’s Golf
So far the team has played in two tournaments: the Sam Hall Intercollegiate and the Inverness Intercollegiate. They placed 8th/12 and 10th/13 respectively.
Coach Kirk Kayden said, "We played very well for the first 27 of today's 36 holes. We were right there with many of the Power Five teams in this tournament's field. There's probably eight or nine NCAA Regional teams in this field. We hung with them, but didn't hold on over the last nine [holes].”
Freshman Tyler Copp stood out in the last tournament, managing to stay one-under-par with 141 shots, tying him for 15th place in the tournament.
The Men’s golf team will play their next intercollegiate in Kiawah, South Carolina, Oct. 22-24.
Women’s Golf
The Women’s golf team completed their first intercollegiate tournament Wednesday, Sept. 27. The Bears finished ninth out of 18 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Colorado.
According to a press release, the women’s golf team tied a program record for their lowest single-round score with a three-under par 285. Their next tournament is the Johnie Imes Invitations, which will start Oct. 2.
