Homecoming is usually an exciting time for sports, but this is a particularly important weekend for several Union athletic teams.
On Saturday at 4 p.m., the women’s basketball team will face Rhodes College for the first homecoming game. Kelsey Risner, senior exercise science major, especially looks forward to the homecoming game because of the way that the Union student body rallies around the players.
“It’s crazy to me to think that it’s my last homecoming game,” she said. “But I’m also excited since it’s our first home game of the season.”
Following the women’s game, the men’s basketball team will play their first game of the season against Rhodes.
“If we are unselfish on offense and take pride in getting stops on defense that will be a really good indicator that we are starting off on the right track,” said David Niven, head coach of the men’s team. “I expect that we will be able to identify some areas that need improvement and hopefully get a little better by competing against someone other than ourselves.”
Niven thinks that the offense could improve their execution, and defense could do better in rebounding, but he feels optimistic about the number of capable scorers on the team.
“I anticipate that this team will be fun to watch,” he said.
The volleyball team will be playing at 7 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday. They will be looking to turn around a three-game losing streak while playing two of the top teams in the conference. After a week of rest, Deja Moorer, junior nursing major, is looking forward to playing with her team again.
“I think we need to focus on what we can control,” she said. “If we start thinking about too much how good the other teams are, the conference tournament or other things of that nature, then we will psyche ourselves out. But if we just focus on the task at hand and take things one step at a time, then we can definitely pull out two wins.”
Also on Saturday, the cross-country teams will be competing in the South Region Championship in Florida.
