Cross Country Teams Race in Louisville

The Freed-Hardeman cross country teams competed in the Live in Louisville Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Ky. This is one of the most popular races in the country where teams from all across the country, including many NCAA Division 1 universities, come to compete at one of the best courses in the US. More than 800 male runners and more than 700 women runners ran at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park across six separate races, male and female gold, blue, and silver divisions. Both Freed-Hardeman teams raced in the blue division after competing in the lower silver division in previous years.
The men’s race started at 10:45 am, as 332 runners took their place at the starting line. This race included multiple NCAA DI schools including Murray State, Western Kentucky, Xavier, and Charlotte. Daniel Puckett led the men’s team with a 53rd place finish with a time of 25:52. Following Puckett was Bo Scott and Barrett Poe who were both able to finish in the top 100 with a 96th and 100th place respective finish. Drew Williams and Blake Brown were the next Lions to cross the finish line and round out the scoring for the men’s team. They had a team score of 550 points which was good enough for a 24th place team finish out of 30 teams. Daniel Puckett, Bo Scott, Lucas Black, Jay Hunt, and Hayden Bland all were able to set personal best times for the men.
The women’s race started after the conclusion of the men’s race at 11:15am. This race also included multiple Division 1 teams, including UT Chattanooga and Murray State among others. Mary Pearce was the first lady lion to finish in 32nd place with a time of 19:05, and Eliza Poe was right behind her with a time of 19:08 good enough for a 37th place finish. Zena Dorris was also able to finish in the top 100 with a 97th place finish in 20:07. Megan Lampley was the next finisher for the team, and Zola Dorris rounded out the top five for the Lady Lions. The team finished in 17th place out of 24 teams with 434 points. Pearce and Poe were both able to set personal best times in the 5K.
FHU women’s runner Eliza Poe believes that running earlier in the morning helped her personally, and probably many others as well. Even though it was a little warm, it was not too hot at the time they ran, and most of the course was shaded as well. The cooler weather and shaded course helped her to run a 42-second PR, but most of that is due to her being in the best shape of her career and being able to have a good mental race. “Setting a PR helped me realize I am capable of reaching my goal this season since I wasn’t far off of it. It also gave me more motivation to push even harder in the future,” Poe said. As far as the team goes, she says each girl has their own individual goals, and seeing each other do well in races helps the others to push harder during practice and races. The girls also get excited for each other’s successes which is an encouragement for each other.
The teams will have a quick turn around as they will race on this upcoming Thursday, Oct. 10. They will travel to Danville, Ala. to compete in the Warhawk Invitational at the Oakville Indian Mounds. Many of the runners are familiar with this course as it also holds the Jesse Owens Classic, a very popular high school cross country race.
Men’s tennis earns
victory over Bearcats

The Freed-Hardeman University men’s tennis team picked up a hard-fought win Oct. 5 over the Brescia (Ky.) University Bearcats 7-0.
In the doubles round the Lions (2-0) won all three matches with Merlina Bolema and Maxime Guyon pairing up to win 6-2 while Carlos Garcia and Braden Young earned victory by the same score. Nolan Laduree and Pablo Poleo swept in their victory 6-0.
In singles, two sets required a tiebreak with FHU emerging victorious over Brescia (1-2) in both. Poleo reached seven first in the first set on court No. 3 before winning the second 7-6 (3), 6-3. Young also won his singles match on court No. 5 7-6 (3), 6-3. Bolema took care of business on the No. 1 court with a 6-2, 6-4 win while Guyon won 6-4, 6-2. Laduree earned victory with a 6-1, 6-0 score with Garcia finishing the sweep on the No. 6 court with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Women’s tennis earns first dual victory

Women’s tennis earns first dual victory
After a month of competing in ITA tournaments as individuals, the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions came together as a team to defeat the Northeast Mississippi Community College Tigers 6-1.
In the doubles round, the top two courts for the Lady Lions (1-0) swept their competition 6-0 with Morgan Brown and Elise Kruzan emerging victorious while the Kennley Kirk and Hannah Pearce pairing emerged unscathed as well. Cecily Davis and Shiloh Grisham claimed victory in their match as well by a score of 6-4.
The No. 5 singles court proved to be the most competitive of the day by far with Cecily Davis falling in the opening set 6-4 before battling back to even the match with a 6-4 set victory of her own. In the first-to-10 tiebreak, the Tigers reached the mark first with Davis close on her heels to win the lone NEMCC (0-1) point 6-4, 4-6, 10-8. Kruzan was in control of the No. 1 court by defeating her opponent 6-2, 6-3 while Pearce won her singles match 6-0, 6-2. Brown was able to pick up a victory 6-2, 6-0 with Kirk sealing a victory 6-1, 6-1. Grisham rounded off the day on the No. 6 court with a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
Lions start Fall Break with Victory

Beginning a fall break week in Florida, the Freed-Hardeman University Lions got off on the right foot by defeating the Pensacola Christian (Fla.) College Eagles 4-1.
Freed-Hardeman (8-2-2) started strong with an early corner kick before Noah Setterburg struck for his fifth goal of the season before five minutes had elapsed. The celebration did not last long as the Eagles netted the equalizer less than two minutes later at 6:04. Despite the early fireworks, neither team found the back of the net again in the first half.
A corner kick in the 61st minute helped the Lions again when Hugo Luque was able to find a gap by the PCC (4-5-1) keeper to score the game-winning goal with Brandon Carrillo being credited with an assist. FHU put more goals in the net near the end of the match with Thabo Mahlaha potting his ninth of the season at 81:01 before Malachi Albrecht scored his 10th goal in the 88th minute.
Eduardo Almansa recorded two saves in the second half in the victory.
FHU falls in five to Cumberlands

The Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions came out the gates strong Saturday afternoon, but the (RV) Lady Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands rallied to take set five and win 3-2 (22-25, 28-26, 23-25, 25-19, 15-8) in the Brewer Sports Center.
FHU (11-12, 0-6 MSC) started out fast, getting out to a 13-10 lead. The Lady Patriots closed to within two before consecutive kills from Avery Harris, Alanys Ruíz Rivera, and Avery Young that sealed the set 25-22.
Cumberlands (25-3, 4-2 MSC) used its best hitting set of the match to win the second set. The Lady Lions raced out to a 22-20 lead before Cumberlands regained control of the set to win it 28-26.
The third frame was a back and forth affair with Cumberlands leading 18-16 late. The Lady Lions then got two straight kills from Cate Schroer and Ruiz Rivera to take the lead. FHU won the set 25-23 with strong defense.
The fourth set only saw the Lady Patriots with control which ended in a 25-19 win.
Cumberlands gained the victory due to a fifth set win 15-8.
The Lady Lions were led offensively by Alanys Ruíz Rivera with her career high of 23 kills and added 13 digs to her career.
Avery Young also notched 13 kills for the match.
Fulton hits milestone in conference loss

The first set saw competitive action from both teams, with Alanys Ruiz Rivera and Avery Harris going to work for Freed-Hardeman (11-11, 0-5 MSC) as the hosts opened up a 7-5 lead. Georgetown came back to gain the advantage in the match 25-20.
Five kills by five separate Lions helped FHU open a 12-9 lead in set number 2, but the Tigers (3-8, 2-3 MSC) roared back with a nine point scoring run as they ended the set 25-19.
FHU kept the ball alive throughout the third set as the Lions notched 19 total digs, led by Fulton and Audrey Otron, both with five, before the end of the set. From there, Freed-Hardeman did enough on the offensive end with nine kills for a .176 hitting percentage to win the set 25-14.
The Tigers mounted a comeback and were able to claim the fourth set win 25-19.
Harris totaled six kills against just one error for a .385 hitting percentage, while Catherine Hackett and Orton both totaled 14 kills together. Aiding FHU’s attack, Alyssa Austin raised her average with a total of 15 assists.
Fulton led the team’s defense with a total of 15 digs, followed by Autumn Howard and Orton’s 13 apiece. The Lions also totaled 12 blocks, led by Harris.