University of Mount Olive Baseball, Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, and Men's and Women's Track and Field teams are set to begin the Conference Carolinas Spring Championships this week. 

Baseball:

No. 4 seed Mount Olive (25-18 Overall, 16-10 Conference Carolinas) will open up the baseball Conference Carolinas tournament against No. 3 seed Belmont Abbey College at 11 a.m. April 28, in Burlington, N.C., in the first game of the tournament. Mount Olive split a rain-shortened two game series last weekend against Belmont Abbey. 

Mount Olive defeated the Crusaders 8-4 in the series opener Saturday afternoon. Zak Orrison broke the career stolen base record in game one with 103 and expanded his lead to 106 after the series finale.

The Trojans fell 3-2 in extra innings in the nightcap. Stephen Wallace homered and Bradley Ragan recorded an RBI groundout to tie the game in the fourth, but Mount Olive was unable to find the winning run in the bottom of the 12th and fell in game two. 

"Well we have been the No. 1 seed for the past seven years and going in at No. 4 is a bit unusual for us. It will be interesting to see how our guys respond, knowing the only way we can reach regionals is to win the conference tournament. We have had an off year, but are very capable of winning it all if we can play well over the next four days," said Head Coach Carl Lancaster.

The Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship Website can be found here.

Men's Lacrosse:

No. 6 Mount Olive (12-3 Overall, 5-1 Conference Carolinas) enters the men's lacrosse Conference Carolinas tournament as the No. 2 seed. Mount Olive will take on the No. 3 seed and No. 12 ranked Belmont Abbey College at 7 p.m. from Gaffney, S.C. April 29. 

Mount Olive defeated Belmont Abbey 12-7 back on April 2 at Amon Field. Brett Kingston led the Trojans with three goals in the contest as the Trojans outscored the Crusaders in every quarter. 

The Trojans enter the tournament ranked seventh in Division II in scoring defense with 7.53 goals per game. Ross Bowman is ranked sixth in Division II in goals-against average (7.48) and 24th in save percentage (53.4). The Trojans as a defensive unit, are ranked fourth in man-down defensive with 11 goals allowed in 63 attempts.

The Conference Carolinas Men's Lacrosse Championship Website can be found here.

Women's Lacrosse:

No. 19 Mount Olive (12-5 Overall, 7-1 Conference Carolinas) enters the women's lacrosse Conference Carolinas tournament as the No. 2 seed. Mount Olive will take on No. 3 seed Belmont Abbey Saturday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m. from Gaffney, S.C.

Mount Olive defeated Belmont Abbey 17-5 back on March 23, in Belmont, N.C. The Trojans, after leading 9-5, finished off the game on an 8-0 run. Riann Daziel, Alysha Kulka, and Saffron Snethen all collected three goals in the contest.

Mount Olive comes into the tournament riding two 20+ goal victories against Erskine and Lees-McRae. Daziel broke the single game goals in a game record with 12 in a 22-0 win over Lees-McRae. Claire Wigler also became the all-time assists leader with 67 after picking up a single game record six assists against Lees-McRae.

The Trojans are ranked fifth in Division II in scoring defense with 5.88 goals per game. Hannah Knight is ranked ninth in Division II in goals-against average (6.75) and eighth in save percentage (51.8).

"The team is ready to go. We are energized, motivated, and focused on one goal, and that is coming away from this weekend with another conference championship," said Head Coach Grant Kelam.  

The Conference Carolinas Women's Lacrosse Championship Website can be found here.

Men's Tennis:

No. 2 seed Mount Olive (12-5 Overall, 9-1 Conference Carolinas) will open up the Conference Carolinas Men's Tennis Tournament against the No. 7 seed Belmont Abbey College Friday, April 29 at 12 p.m. in Sumter, S.C.

Mount Olive defeated Belmont Abbey 6-3 on February 27 at the Walker Tennis Center. Martin Moser and Yannic Stark posted straight-set singles wins and combined for a doubles victory.

"We are very proud of our men's regular season. Our fairly young and inexperienced group had the opportunity to win the regular season. This speaks volumes of the talent and potential that our team has. We will bring the experience and lessons that we've learned to the conference tournament and hope for the best," said Assistant Coach Francesca Ceppi. 

The Conference Carolinas Men's Tennis Championship Website can be found here. 

Women's Tennis

No. 2 seed Mount Olive (10-6 Overall, 9-2 Conference Carolinas) will open up the Conference Carolinas Women's Tennis Tournament against the No. 7 seed King University Friday, April 29 at 9 a.m. in Sumter, S.C.

Mount Olive defeated King 7-2 on April 1 at the Walker Tennis Center. Stella Di Michele and Alejandra Hernandez picked up the first win in #1 doubles 8-4. Jennifer Byrd and Paulina Delgado continued by winning #2 doubles 8-6. Mulan Bartz and Nicole La Chappelle finished off doubles play with an 8-7 win.

"We are nothing but proud of our women's team. It was their hard work, focus, and dedication that led us to finish second in our regular season. With that same focus and supportive spirit we move to our conference tournament with hopes of finishing stronger," said Assistant Coach Francesca Ceppi. 

The Conference Carolinas Women's Tennis Championship Website can be found here.

Softball:

No. 3 seed Mount Olive (30-18 Overall, 16-6 Conference Carolinas) will open the Conference Carolinas Softball Tournament against No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey Thursday April, 28 at 10 a.m. from Burlington, N.C.

Mount Olive split a doubleheader against Belmont Abbey on March 19. The Trojans had an 6-5 extra inning walk-off victory in game one. Savannah Becker had the game-winning walk-off two run home run in the bottom of the eighth. 

The Trojans fell in the afternoon cap as Belmont Abbey took a 2-0 lead to start off the game. Mount Olive rallied for three runs in the third and two runs in the fourth, but The Crusaders pushed back and tied the game in the top off the fifth. Belmont Abbey plated the go ahead run in the sixth and Mount Olive was unable to recover.

"Conference tournament is an exciting time of year for any athlete. It is what each and every game up to this point has been in preparation for. I believe this team is peaking at the right time. They have found their fire and willingness to play for each other. The selflessness and enthusiasm they have shown in the last month, makes me believe we have good things to look forward to in the tournament," said Head Coach Mandy Sansbury. 

The Conference Carolinas Softball Championship Website can be found here.

Men's Track and Field:

University of Mount Olive men's and women's track and field teams look to make it three years in a row winning the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Championship. The men's and women's championship meets will take place April 29-30 at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C.

The Trojans are coming off a strong showing at the Duke Inivitational in Durham N.C. last Weekend. Four Trojans broke school records and three set NCAA Provisional Qualifying times at the meet. 

Austin Steagall broke the NCAA provisional qualifying standard by over 17 seconds in the 3000m Steeplechase and moved himself up to 4th in the nation, after his 8:58.44 mark. Adam Craig ran a 14:25.16 in the 5000m eclipsing the NCAA Provisional qualifying standard. Jacob Urys broke his own school record in the 800m with a time of 1:51.77. His run also was under the NCAA Provisional Qualifying standard. Nick Greyno improved upon his own school record in the shot put with a distance of 14.58m. 

"The men were upset by Limestone during the indoor season in a close battle that literally came down to the last event. The competition will feel the thunder of these Trojan horses, while they reveal a few surprises on their quest for retribution," said Head Coach Matt Van Lierop.

At the indoor championships the Trojans posted their highest point total in the mile run with 30 of a possible 39 points. Mount Olive took first place in the mile, along with third through seventh place. Mount Olive finished with 185 points in championship. No other team besides Mount Olive and Limestone scored more than 79 points.

The Conference Carolinas Track Championship Website can be found here.

Bailee Henry ran a 4:46.84 in the 1500m and improved her own school record. Henry also broke her own 800m school record with a time 2:18.98 to highlight the Trojans performance at the Duke Invitational.

Kelsey Valentine ran a person best 18:09.87 in the 5000m. Her mark moved her into 2nd place on the UMO all-time list. 

Shona Blades also ran a personal best in the 1500m with a time of 5:02.52. Her time moved her into 6th on UMO all-time list. Paulena Kremling moved up to 3rd on the 800m UMO all-time list with her time of 2:22.57.

"The women finished strong at the indoor championships, and have become even stronger during the outdoor season. We are looking to defend our championship title, and turn a few heads with some outstanding performances," said Head Coach Matt Van Lierop.

Mount Olive compiled 186 points to finish first out of nine teams in the indoor championship. The Trojans outpointed second place Limestone College by 58.67 points. the women's track and field team became the first women's team in school history to win three consecutive conference championships.

The Conference Carolinas Track Championship Website can be found here.