FMU golfers earn first Top-10 finish of season

Francis Marion’s next action will be at the Phoenix Invitational hosted by Elon University in Burlington, NC on October 14-15.

Neuhaus was FMU’s top finisher in the player rankings, tied for 18th with a 36-hole total of 146.

Patriot sophomore Josh Dugard shot an 81 Sunday and tied for 34th at 150. Freshman Matthew Parker carded an 80 and tied for 37th at 151 in his first collegiate tournament. He is originally from Florence and a product of Trinity Collegiate School.

Senior Xavier Schwarz shot a 78 and tied for 41st with a 152 total, while junior Landen Seiffert shot an 80 and tied for 50th at 155. Seiffert is a graduate of Florence Christian School.

As a team, Francis Marion posted a total of 314 on Sunday and placed 10th in the team standings. Drexel University won the team title by two strokes over the University of Pennsylvania.

The 36-hole event was played at The 1912 Club, with a 7,062-yard, par-70 layout.

MURFREESBORO, NC – First half goals from Juan Salazar Lopez and Edorta Cabieces lifted Francis Marion to a 2-1 road win over preseason conference favorite Chowan.

Francis Marion improves its overall record to 3-1-2 and goes to 2-0 in league play. FMU will return home to host Barton College for a conference tilt on Wednesday at 7:00 pm at Hartzler Field.

The Patriots led in shots 20-15, while the Hawks held a slight 6-4 edge in corner kicks.

Francis Marion took a 1-0 lead when Lopez scored in the bottom left corner at 6:02. The goal was assisted by striker John Osadolor. Osadolor also led FMU with five hits.

The margin doubled to 2-0 at 24:51 when forward Edorta Cabieces scored off a pass from Antonio Garda. Francis Marion outscored the Hawks 11-3 in the first 45 minutes.

FMU goalie Alberto Aragoneses Lablanca recorded five saves, while Chowan’s Chase Jansen recorded nine.

MURFREESBORO, NC – Junior forward Kristina Syragakis scored both goals for Francis Marion University in a 2-1 road win over Chowan University on Saturday afternoon for the Patriots’ second conference win of the season.

Francis Marion (2-1-2, 2-0-1) continues conference action on Wednesday (Sept. 25) afternoon as they host Barton College. The start will take place at 16:30 at Hartzler Field.

Including 13 shots in the frame, the Patriots outscored the Hawks 19-5. Syragakis led the way with six hits and senior forward Ashley Jordan followed with four hits of her own.

FMU’s first goal came just 2:18 into the first period when sophomore defender Joy Brockmann served a ball right in front of Syragakis. With plenty of space around her defender, Syragakis shot from five yards out and gave the Patriots their first goal as it landed in the top left corner of the goal.

Francis Marion held the 1-0 lead for the rest of the first half and into the second half. At 67:12, sophomore midfielder Chloe Pfaff fed a pass to Francis Marion, sent a volley to Syragakis, who was then put past the Chowan keeper for a 2-0 lead. Syragakis leads FMU with five goals this season.

The Hawks (1-4-0, 0-2-0) cut the lead to 2-1 at the 72:41 mark when Jayda Dubeck scored.

FMU sophomore goalkeeper Erin Grabeel played the entire game, making one save. The save came on a potential tying attempt with 5:53 left. Chowan’s Kirsten Petersen recorded 11 saves in goal.

FLORENCE – The Francis Marion University volleyball team fell 25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17.

The Patriots open conference play against Barton College on Wednesday. First service is set for 6:00 PM in Wilson, NC

FMU senior outside hitter Kara Walker recorded her fourth double-double of the season and second in as many matches with a career-high-tying 18 kills and 13 digs. Outside hitter Madilyn Gartner also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs.

Junior setter Mya Mendoza had a game-high 46 assists, while junior libero Katie Floyd recorded 19 digs.

With three blocks, freshman middle blocker Ella Curbow pushed Francis Marion defensively at the net, while senior middle blocker Kaytlin Smart added two more blocks to go along with 12 kills and a .313 hitting percentage.

Francis Marion threatened to take Newberry to a fifth set as they won the third set and continued to keep the game close throughout the fourth set. The Wolves had several runs late in the game that kept the Patriots behind and unable to take the lead.

SPARTANBURG — Sophomore Ethan Hickey and Rowan Hearn led Francis Marion in pitching for Converse University. The Patriot men finished 21st in a large field that included three nationally ranked teams and two NCAA Division I teams.

Hickey finished the 8,000-meter course in 29:35.113 to place 146th. Freshman Landon Morris was FMU’s second runner as he finished 179th in a time of 30:55.013.

Other Francis Marion runners were freshman Caleb Gary (31:36.873) in 185th, senior Tyson Jackson (33:27.853) in 201st, sophomore CJ Applegate (35:06.653) in 209th, freshman Race Shird (40 :11.083) and 201st. freshman Klay Baker (40:11.173) 221st.

The FMU women finished 18th in the team standings. Hearn completed the 6,000-meter course in 28:27.343 and placed 151st. Freshman Alia Turcios, running in her first collegiate race, was the next Patriot finisher, placing 157th in 29:03.923. Other FMU finishers included sophomore Meri Ellen Johnson (30:06.293) in 171st, freshman Katelynn Roberts (30:27.703) in 175th, junior MacKinley Perry (30:32.273) in 177th and sophomore Emily Gaines (position 382:2) .

Also sophomore Jordyn Perry (31:22.813) 183rd, sophomore Leigh Detalo (31:25.083) 185th, freshman Emma Steen (33:05.893) 195th and freshman Natalie Rose (35 :17.7963) in 1st place.

FLORENCE — Despite a double-double from senior Kara Walker, the Patriots lost 21-25, 25-15, 25-17, 17-25, 15-12.

Walker tallied 12 kills, 12 digs and three service aces to pace FMU. Kaytlin Smart added nine kills and four blocks, while Madilyn Gartner added seven kills and freshman Ella Curbow seven kills and five blocks.

Junior setter Mya Mendoza dished out 28 assists, while sophomore setter Ella Martinez added 12 assists and 10 digs for her first career double-double. Sophomore libero Ella Quiring shared the team lead with 12 digs.

Right-handed hitter Camryn Carlton paced Georgia College (4-5) with 15 hits and a .423 hitting percentage.