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Liberty Athletics teams show resilience, give fans historic ‘Super Spring’

Coming off a year that many desire to forget, when spring sports came to a halt and many fall sports were delayed, Liberty University Athletics has given Flames fans worldwide a spring sports season for the ages, adding seven conference titles — and counting — to the trophy case.

In the Spring 2021 semester, all but one of Liberty’s 20 NCAA Athletics programs (football) competed as the university packed in almost a year’s worth of competition into one spring season, dubbing the busy schedule “Super Spring.”

And it was “super” in many ways. Liberty Athletics donned its highest number of ASUN Conference crowns this season, taking titles in Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, Men’s Golf, and Men’s Tennis. The Women’s Swimming & Diving team also claimed victory in the CCSA.

With so many teams dominating conference play and advancing to NCAA Tournaments, Liberty’s student-athletes have risen above the pandemic while exceling on the field and in the classroom.

 

The Women’s Swimming & Diving team won their fourth ever title and third in a row.

Women’s Swimming & Diving

On Feb. 17, the Lady Flames’ Swimming & Diving team got the party started by tying Florida Gulf Coast University with exactly 1.748.5 points — a first-time occurrence — for the 2021 CCSA Women’s  Championship. It was Liberty’s fourth title in program history and third in a row, and marked the second time the Lady Flames have hosted the meet in the Liberty Natatorium.

 

Men’s Indoor Track & Field

On Feb. 27, the Flames asserted its conference dominance by winning the 2021 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championship for the third consecutive year, with all three coming at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. Overall, it was Liberty’s 24th straight indoor conference crown, dating back to the inaugural Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships in 1998, giving Liberty the longest active championship streak in NCAA Division I men’s indoor track & field history.

On May 14, the Flames Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field teams will also compete in the ASUN Championships as they look to defend their 2019 titles. The men have won 13 straight outdoor conference titles overall, while the women’s team has won five outdoor conference titles in a row.

 

Women’s Cross Country

During the ASUN Cross Country Championships on March 5, at the Georgia Premier Cross Country Course, eight of the first 14 runners to reach the finish line were Lady Flames. That ratio was a sign of good things to come as Liberty glided to its first ASUN Women’s Cross Country team title.

Sophomore Adelyn Ackley, junior Calli Doan, and redshirt senior Grace Dwyer finished 1-2-3 as the Lady Flames matched the lowest winning score in meet history with 19 points.

 

Liberty basketball celebrates their third straight ASUN Championship.

Men’s Basketball

Liberty’s men’s basketball team became only the second team to be crowned ASUN Tournament Champions for three seasons in a row when it defeated North Alabama 79-75 in the ASUN Championship game, on March 7 at UNF Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.

Flames junior guard Darius McGhee was named the ASUN Player of the Year while senior guard/forward Elijah Cuffee earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and Head Coach Ritchie McKay was selected as Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

The Flames (23-5 overall record going into the NCAA Tournament) clinched the auto bid to the NCAA Tournament and received a No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region. Liberty led No. 4-seeded Oklahoma State at halftime of their opening-round game at Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, but were eventually eliminated by the Cowboys. McGhee was named the ASUN Tournament MVP and was also named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team along with senior guard Chris Parker and sophomore forward Kyle Rode.

 

Lady Flames goalie Melody Jayroe

Women’s Soccer

The Lady Flames soccer team experienced a storybook run through the ASUN Tournament, sliding in as a fourth seed before topping two No. 1 seeds — Lipscomb from the North Division and North Florida from the South — on its way to capturing a first-ever ASUN Championship with a 1-0 overtime thriller over Kennesaw State, the No. 2 seed from the North, on April 17.

On the big stage, Lady Flames goalie Melody Jayroe posted the 21st shutout of her career, moving into sole possession of No. 2 on Liberty’s all-time shutout list. Liberty advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and will face the University of Washington on April 27 at 7 p.m. at the Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C., with the winner taking on No. 15-seeded Saint Louis University on April 30. After a thrilling run through the ASUN Championship, Liberty had seven players earn ASUN All-Conference honors and head coach Lang Wedemeyer was named the ASUN Coach of the Year.

 

Jonathan Yaun was one of four Flames to be named to the ASUN Championship all-tournament team.

Men’s Golf

On April 20, Liberty Athletics continued its recent trend of making history when the golf team claimed its first ASUN Championship in dominating fashion, posting a winning score of 20-under par 832 (273-281-278) while recording the lowest 54-hole team score in ASUN Championship history.

Flames junior Zach Barbin, redshirt junior Kieran Vincent, and sophomore Jonathan Yaun each finished tied for fourth place with a 4-under par 209 to earn a spot on the ASUN Championship All-Tournament team.

 

Men’s Tennis

The Flames secured the 2021 ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship title on April 24, at the UNF Tennis Complex in Jacksonville, Fla., defeating Florida Gulf Coast University 4-0 in the final.

Liberty’s conference title is its first in program history, which dates back to 1987. The Flames picked up their 20th win of the season in the process, adding to a school-record total. With the victory, Liberty will begin preparing for its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Team Championships, which is this week. The Flames will take on NC State in the first round of the championship.

 

UP TO BAT:

Liberty’s softball and baseball teams will look to add two more conference titles to the already impressive collection the Flames have compiled this spring, when they conclude their respective seasons next month. The Lady Flames clinched the regular season title with a three-game sweep at Kennesaw State and have advanced to the 2021 ASUN Softball Championship semifinals, held Thursday through Saturday at Kennesaw State’s Bailey Park. Liberty, the No. 1 seed in the North Division, will take on No. 3 South Division seed Jacksonville, next Thursday at 3 p.m. The baseball team, who at one point this season won 13-straight games, has gone 5-3 against ACC competition and took two out of three against the 2017 NCAA Division I College Baseball World Series champion Coastal Carolina. With the exception of last season which was cut short due to COVID-19, the Scott Jackson-led Flames have won at least 30 games since his arrival in 2017. Liberty swept its fourth consecutive ASUN Conference series and has won 13 consecutive ASUN conference games. The Flames will host an ASUN Quarterfinal series the first weekend of the ASUN Tournament, May 21-23.

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