UM's cross country team. Photo courtesy of Abby Snyder. By Cady Inabinett, Editor in chief
With the fall semester in full swing, Montevallo’s fall athletics teams have been busy competing. Here’s an update on UM’s cross country, golf, soccer, volleyball and esports teams’ seasons so far, and what to expect from the start of the swimming, wrestling and basketball seasons.
Cross Country:
So far this season, Montevallo’s men’s and women’s cross country teams have competed in two races—the Foothills Invitational hosted by Jacksonville State University on Sept. 1 and the Falcon Classic hosted on Montevallo’s own cross country course on Sept. 15.
The men’s team started their season off on the right foot, placing fourth out of 28 teams at the Foothills Invitational. Senior runner Drew Roberts finished first for the Falcons—placing 10th overall with a time of 15:44.00.
Roberts led the way for the men’s team at the Falcon Classic as well, placing third with a time of 25:20.16 for the 8000m race. Overall, the men’s team finished third out of 20 teams competing in the race.
The women’s team has had similar showings so far this season. At the Foothills Invitational, the team placed seventh out of 27 teams. Senior runner Amber Fisher was the fastest runner for Montevallo, coming in at 29th place with a time of 15:25.60.
The women’s team had a stronger showing at the Falcon Classic as well, finishing third out of 17 teams. Fisher, once again, was the fastest member of the women’s team—coming in ninth place with a time of 19:00.15.
Next up for the teams is the UAH Invitational on Oct. 7.
Golf:
Montevallo’s men’s and women’s golf teams have had mixed results so far this season, with both teams finishing strong at their first competition before placing lower at tournaments on the road.
Both teams had finished strong at the Full Moon Invitational, hosted by Montevallo on Sept. 11 and 12 at the Timberline Golf Club. The women’s team placed first out of seven teams at this event, while the men’s team placed second out of eight.
Caterina Oliveri finished first overall at the women’s tournament scoring 3-over-par during the two-round event. For the men’s team, junior Eric Boutwell led the pack, achieving a tied second-place finish at 5-under-par.
However, both teams seemed to lose their footing at their next competitions. The men’s team finished sixth out of 14 teams at the Jay Jenison Cup, hosted in St. Augustine, Fla. on Sept. 25 and 26. Despite the lower overall finish, Boutwell still placed second in the tournament and tied a school record with his 10-under-par finish in the three-round event.
The women’s team, meanwhile, finished 13th out of 17 teams at the NCAA Division II South Regional Preview, hosted in Cleveland, Tenn. on Sept. 18 and 19. Oliveri had the best performance for the Falcons, with her 13-over-par finish landing her in 30th place.
The women’s team will compete again on Oct. 8 and 9 at the Golf Week Division 2 Challenge, hosted in Destin, Fla. Meanwhile, the men’s team will be competing at the Midwest Regional Tournament in St. Albans, Mo. on Oct. 9 and 10.
Soccer:
Montevallo’s men’s and women’s soccer teams could not be having more different seasons. The women’s team has a strong winning record nearly halfway through their season, while the men’s has struggled to gain wins.
Eight games into their season, the women’s team currently has a winning overall record of 5-1-2, boasting wins both at home and on the road against Kentucky Wesleyan College, Trevecca Nazarene University, University of West Alabama, Valdosta State University and Shorter University.
Seven games into the season, the men’s team currently has a losing record at 2-5—only gaining wins over Newberry College and Shorter University.
Up next for both teams are home games against University of West Florida on Oct. 6, with the men’s game set to start at 5:30 p.m. and the women’s game at 7:30 p.m.
Volleyball:
Thirteen games into the season, Montevallo’s volleyball team is off to a rocky start with a 4-9 record. However, the team has retained a winning conference record of 2-1.
So far this season, the team has competed in three volleyball tournaments—competing at the UT Tyler Invitational in Tyler, Texas, the UAH Invitational in Huntsville and Peach Belt Conference/Gulf South Crossover hosted in Augusta, Ga.—placing the team on the road often.
The team’s sole home game, against UAH on Sept. 21, resulted in a 0-3 loss for the Falcons.
The Falcons will take the home court again at their next game on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. against Lee University.
Esports:
Under new head coach Ethan Bagget, Montevallo’s esports team season is off to a to a hot-and-cold start. Their records report a loss to University of South Carolina Aiken in a Valorant tournament, followed by a win against Lander University in a Rocket League tournament.
The Esports team will compete again on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. against Florida State University Panama City in a Valorant tournament.
Swimming:
Montevallo’s men’s and women’s swimming teams will kick off their season on Oct. 7 with their annual Purple vs. Gold match. The event will begin at 9 a.m. in the Student Activity Center Natatorium.
Following this event both teams will compete again at home the following week on Oct. 14 against Millsaps College. Both the men’s and women’s teams hold a 3-0 history over Millsaps.
The rest of the teams’ October will be spent on the road, competing at a meet at Berry College on Oct. 21 and at a meet at Sewanee on Oct. 27 and 28.
Wrestling:
While Montevallo’s inaugural wrestling season is yet to begin, the team is gearing up for their debut as Montevallo’s newest athletics team under Coach Daniel Ownbey.
The team’s first meet is set for Nov. 5 at the Patriot Open, hosted by University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. The team will then compete on the road three more times before their home opener on Nov. 15, where the Falcons will face-off against Midway University.
Basketball:
Montevallo’s men’s and women’s basketball are also preparing for their seasons to start in November. For the women’s team, this season will be the inaugural season for new head coach Olivia Chapman.
The men’s team will open their season on Nov. 10 during the Gulf South Conference-Sunshine State Conference Crossover Classic hosted in Miami Shores, Fla. The team will face-off against Nova Southeastern University, before playing Barry University on Nov. 11.
Following these two games, the men’s team will take on Clark Atlanta University at their home opener on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
The women’s team will also open their season at the Gulf South Conference-Sunshine State Conference Crossover Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Nov. 10. The Falcons’ first game will be against Nova Southeastern University, followed by a game against Embry-Riddle University on Nov. 11.
The women’s home opener is set for Nov. 14, where the Falcons will take on Birmingham-Southern at 11 a.m.
Cady Inabinett is the editor in chief of The Alabamian. She’s majoring in English and double-minoring in political science and peace and justice studies. She enjoys reading, watching movies, caring for houseplants and generally just being pretentious in her free time.
