With the spring semester coming to a close, so do the spring athletic teams work their way to a finish. Below is a recap of how each team at Union faired this season and future players joining teams in this fall.
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Men’s Basketball: Union’s men’s basketball team ended their season 16-13 after having pushed to the quarterfinal match against Valdosta State University in the Gulf South Conference tournament. The Bulldogs went 11-9 in conference play but maintained a winning record at home. Looking ahead, the team looks to add freshmen Cooper Meadows and Jeremiah Littlepage to the roster.
Women’s Basketball: Putting together another impressive season, the Lady Bulldogs ended their season 27-4 after falling to Nova Southeastern in the South Region Quarterfinals. They dominated at home and continued to stay strong in the conference with a 18-2 finish. The Lady Bulldogs are expecting to have much talent in their hands in the upcoming year as they look to add Shanique Lucas, Sadie Knee, Leah Cauble and Kieli Robinson. These additions look to add high level experience with several of them having D1 experience.
Men’s Soccer: The men’s soccer team finished the fall season 5-8-3, winning their last four matches, going 3-6-2 in the Gulf South Conference. They also finished 3-1-1 for the spring season.
Women’s Soccer: After a winless 0-14-1 fall performance, the women’s soccer team bounced back with their first victory in the spring against Freed-Hardeman.
Baseball: Union’s baseball team finished the season with a win against Christian Brothers to bring their record to 16-32. Going 8-22 in conference play, the Bulldogs look to carry strength into the new year as they graduate many experienced seniors, including senior Nolen Milton who won male athlete of the year, or Mr. Top Dawg, at the inaugural Top Dawgs award ceremony.
Volleyball: Union’s volleyball team finished the season 7-26 with only three wins in conference. But things are looking bright for the lady Bulldogs, who intend to add four new players to the roster for the 2019 fall season: Sydney Sample, Emily Calhoon, Jordan Vick and Gentry Wolfe.
Softball: This was an exciting year for Union softball, as they appeared in the GSC Championship Tournament for just the second time since they became eligible in 2015. Despite an 0-2 performance in the tournament, the Bulldogs went 30-25 on the season, marking the 18th season in program history with 30 wins.
Men’s Golf: The men’s golf team took home 8th in the GSC Championship Tournament. Junior Jordan Botwinick tied for 7th, being only the third time a Union golfer has finished top ten in this tournament. Union finished the season with four top five finishes.
Women’s Golf: The women’s gold team posted a fifth place finish at the 2019 GSC Championship Tournament. Junior Alyssa Burnett finished 13th for the third best finish in program history. The team recorded six top five finishes on the season.
Men’s Cross Country: The Union University men’s cross country team finished 12th at the NCAA D2 South Region Championship. Justine Kipkoech and Ronald Ayabei both earned All-South Region honors by posting top-25 finishes. The team won the Trevecca DII showcase back in September.
Women’s Cross Country: The women’s cross country team finished their season placing 34th at the NCAA D2 National Championship meet. Amanda Leatherwood and Gabbie Stevens were selected to the all-academic team for the first time in the 2018 Fall Academic Awards.