By Douglas Kidd
The William Peace athletics teams competing in the winter and spring seasons are representing WPU well.
Men’s and women’s basketball both made the conference tournament and had players win conference awards, while the men’s and women’s swim teams broke multiple school records.
Spring sports are looking to do some damage in the USA South conference with baseball looking to get back to the championship game while softball wanting to reclaim individual awards from last year and make a run for the championship.
Here’s a recap of the Pacer teams.
Men’s Basketball
The Pacers men’s basketball team concluded their season with a 14-13 overall record and an 8-6 conference record giving the Pacers a fourth-place finish in the conference standings.
The Pacers went 1-1 in the postseason beating Brevard in the quarterfinals and falling to eventual champions Mary Baldwin in the semifinals.
The Pacers racked up a few individual awards with Tim Pettiford earning first team all-conference, Beau Bryant finishing the season with second team all-conference, and Donolique Tyrell earning a spot on the all-sportsmanship team. Ryan Lominack was able to take home the rookie of the year award for the conference as well.
Bryant broke the career scoring record for the program this season as well with 1,363 career points.
“We played a particularly tough schedule,” Bryant said. “These tough games prepared us in many ways: the physicality, intensity, and playing against overall better teams helped us be more equipped during the homestretch of the season.”
Women’s Basketball
The Pacers women’s basketball team concluded their season with an 8-17 overall record and a 6-12 conference record giving the Pacers an eighth-place finish in the conference standings, qualifying them for the conference tournament.
The Pacers fell short in the conference tournament losing to eventual champions Southern Virginia in the first round.
The Pacers were able to earn a couple individual awards, with Tanesha Ellison being named first team all-conference and player of the year for the conference. Keslee Hylton earned a spot on the all-sportsmanship team as well.
Ellison also broke the single game rebound and steals record with 24 rebounds and 11 steals for the program during the season.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
The Pacer men’s and women’s swim teams both were able to earn two first place meet finishes this season.
The men’s team was also able to finish third overall as well as win three individual titles at the Independent South Swimming Championships.
The women’s swim team finished third overall as well and was able to pick up two individual awards and one relay title at the same event.
A couple of school records were broken this season as Jack Lancaster broke his own record in the 100 freestyle, while Noah Jimison also broke his own record in the 100 breaststroke.
The Pacers swim teams were both able to compete in a total of eight meets this winter, adding a second-place finish to their record as well bringing both teams to having two first place finishes, a second-place finish and one third place finish.
Baseball
The Pacers baseball team has played 16 games so far this season posting a 5-11 record against tough opponents like Virginia Wesleyan and Christopher Newport.
However, since the Pacers have only played three conference games posting a record of 1-2 so far, these tough games actually help the Pacers by giving them tougher competition than they will see in conference games.
The Pacers began their conference run on March 15 against Methodist. The series for revenge from last year’s championship game against North Carolina Wesleyan will be April 5 to April 7.
Senior day will also be April 28 against Pfeiffer before heading into the post season and competing in the conference tournament.
“The goal of the team this season is to win the conference tournament and go on to win the National Championship,” said Jake Dacunto.
The Pacers will look to do exactly that as they have plenty of seasons ahead of them.
Softball
The Pacers softball team has posted an 8-10 record so far this season. Even though the Pacers have a start to the season less than .500, they still have plenty of time until the conference starts to get to winning ways.
Conference play will start on March 23 as the Pacers face Southern Virginia. The Pacers will then have senior day on April 27 as they face Greensboro on the last day of the season before entering the conference tournament.
The Pacers have already earned some individual awards as Adanya Day was named player of the week and Cierra Lear was named rookie of the week.
“This season we are…looking forward to our Pink Game against Brevard, playing our cross-town rival Meredith and we’re looking forward to playing Greensboro on Senior Day,” Logan Ayers said.
This gives many opportunities to catch the Pacers softball team in action as they play their home games right on campus.
Men’s Lacrosse
The Pacers men’s lacrosse team has posted a 1-5 record on the season.
Conference play for the Pacers started on March 16 as the team took on Huntington in a 15-14 loss. Senior day will be played on April 20 against Pfeiffer and the last game before the conference tournament will be on April 27 against Piedmont.
The Pacers have already earned individual awards on the season as Jamar Bell was named rookie of the week.
Women’s Lacrosse
The Pacers women’s lacrosse team has posted an 0-2 record so far this season.
The Pacers look to face 11 opponents this season with six of those being played at home.
The Pacers started conference play against Brevard on March 16. Senior day will be April 20 against Huntington.
The final game of the season will be against Greensboro before conference tournament play begins.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis
The Pacers men’s tennis team has posted a record of 1-4 so far, while the women’s tennis team has a record of 1-3.
Both teams opened conference play against Mary Baldwin on March 17 and senior day will be against Pfeiffer on April 20.
The Pacers will look to challenge for the conference championship after that match as it is the last match of the season.
All information for William Peace University Athletics and USAsouth.net