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Both mens and womens basketball traveled to the NCCAA National Tournaments in Winona Lake, In., as mens and womens tennis stayed perfect this week. Baseball, softball, mens and womens track and field fielded competition this week.

Men’s and women’s tennis

Asbury men’s tennis (7-2) and women’s tennis (8-0) traveled to Franklin, In., to take on Franklin College, and completed an overall sweep over the Bears, with the men’s team and women’s team each winning 9-0.

The Eagles have won their last 14 matches, and the Asbury women’s tennis team remains undefeated at 8-0, with the men’s team at 7-2. In the No. 1 doubles spot, Megan Moore and Martina Paillet beat their opponents 8-1. Fernanda Heredia and Ariadna Zegarra shutout the Bears in the No. 2 spot, winning 8-0. 

Ignacio Ardiles and Franco Patino took down Franklin in the No. 1 doubles, 8-6. Freshman Ben Moore took a singles victory against Franklin, 6-2 and 6-1. 

Sophomore business administration majors Ariadna Zegarra and Franco Patino led Asbury men’s tennis (8-2) and women’s tennis (8-0) to two 8-1 victories over Covenant College in Chattanooga, Tn., on Friday evening, giving the teams a combined 16 straight victories. Asbury men’s tennis moves to 8-2 after beating the reigning Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) champion, Covenant College. Asbury Athletics will become an official member of the CCS on July 1, 2024. AU women’s tennis stayed undefeated at 9-0 in the 2024 season with their 8-1 win against Covenant on Friday. Ariadna Zegarra and Fernanda Heredia took the No. 1 doubles match for AU (8-4) while Olivia Rogowski and Mikaela West held on in the No. 3 match (8-6), giving AU the doubles point. For the second straight match, Asbury men’s tennis swept all three doubles matches. Ignacio Ardiles and Franco Patino grabbed a clutch 8-7 win in the No. 1 doubles contest. 

Asbury tennis extended their combined win streak to 18 straight after sweeping LaGrange College on Saturday. AU men took their victory 9-0, only giving up one set through the singles side. The Women took their 7-0 win to move to 10-0, only giving up two sets through the entire day.The Eagles were on fire on all sides of the court on Saturday, with big wins coming from Alejandro Caceres and Ariadna Zegarra with almost complete shutouts both in the No. 1 singles spot for AU.Despite six of AU’s seven lost sets coming from doubles matches, the Eagles still swept all double matches on both sides to aid in their victory.The Eagles now combine for 18 straight wins, one of the best streaks in AU history for the program. AU men move to 9-2 and the women extend their wins to double-digits, remaining undefeated at 10-0.

Baseball

Sophomore accounting major Andrew Billington drove in four runs with three hits including a home run for Asbury baseball (7-9) on Tuesday night in Wilmore, Ky., but the Eagles came up short to Centre College (16-5), 18-11. The Eagles produced 14 hits and scored five of the final six runs of the game, but Centre’s 19 hits including a six-run fourth and seven-run fifth sealed the win for the Colonels. 

Junior marketing major Cam Weaver and freshman sport management major Aaron Beaman combined for four hits and three runs scored as Asbury baseball (8-9) beat Maranatha Baptist on Friday afternoon in Wilmore, Ky., 10-0. AU graduate student Eli Wilder took his first win of the season after 6.1 innings of no runs allowed and eight strikeouts. The Asbury offense had double-digit hits for the fifth time in six games.

Graduate student Jackson Cole went seven innings with three strikeouts on Saturday afternoon in Wilmore, Ky., but Oberlin College (8-6) used 12 hits to take game one of the series over Asbury baseball (8-10), 10-3. Oberlin scored four runs in the first inning on four hits and were then held scoreless by Cole with only three hits for the next six innings. Asbury’s offense was held under double-digit hits for only the second time in seven games, scoring two runs on the day.

Asbury MBA student Matthew Johnson collected six hits and freshman engineering mathematics major Ryan Yates grabbed his first career win as Asbury baseball (9-11) dropped game one and responded to take game two against Oberlin College (9-7) in Lexington, Ky., at the Lexington Legends Field. The Asbury offense combined for 19 hits and 19 runs on the day, slipping to Oberlin in game one (9-7), but taking a convincing game two win on the day (12-2). Oberlin’s one win on the day gave the Yoeman the series as they took the initial game of the series on Saturday afternoon. 

Softball

Asbury softball (8-9) returned home after playing three games in Elizabethtown, Ky. AU completed a season sweep over Berea (1-13) winning both games, winning game one 18-1 and game two 10-3. Asbury produced at the plate on Tuesday, contributing 30 hits over the two games, while committing just one error. The AU offense was led by Natalie Ison and Abigail Moffat in game one, who went a  combined 7-7 from the plate with five RBI, six runs, and one walk. Josie Deatherage was a force on the mound yet again for the Eagles. Deatherage gathered her fifth win on the season, tossing six strikeouts in five innings, surrendering just three hits and one run.In game two, it was again Abigail Moffat and Natalie Ison sparking the offense, each adding two hits apiece. The two combined for five RBI and each had a double. On the mound it was Taylor Enlow who threw a complete game, allowing just six hits and two ER, while striking out six on her way to collecting her third win.

Asbury softball (9-10) traveled to Bluffton, Oh. to take on Bluffton University (3-13) for a double header on Friday afternoon. Despite falling in game one 5-3, AU exploded in game two with 13 hits and two grand slams from Emily Zink and Taylor Enlow to secure a 15-6 win over the Beavers.Asbury produced at the plate on Friday, contributing 17 hits over the two games. The AU offense was led by Natalie Ison, Emily Zink, and Taylor Enlow who combined for eight hits, 12 RBIs, and two walks on the day. Josie Deatherage pitched seven innings in game one, collecting eight strikeouts, totaling her at 55 so far this season.The Eagles held an early lead in game one, with hits by Natalie Ison, Taylor Enlow, and Emalie Tackett to give them their 3-2 lead. AU fell to the Beavers late push in the bottom of the sixth, losing game one 5-3. 

Asbury retaliated in game two, scoring five runs in the top of the first. Despite giving up three runs in the third, AU would not score again until the sixth inning. The Eagles scored 10 runs in the last two innings, with major help from Emily Zink and Taylor Enlow who both recorded a grand slam, giving AU the win, 15-6.Sidney Hansen grabbed her first win of the year, allowing three ER and just one walk.

Men’s and women’s track and field

Asbury men’s and women’s track and field returned to competition on Saturday in Lexington, Ky., at the Transylvania Pioneer Invite, led by Dan Kersey with a qualifying steeplechase performance for National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) National Tournament. The Eagles men’s track and field team finished 10th of 16 teams while the AU women’s team finished 13th of 14 schools. In a photo finish of the 800m race, the top four runners finished within .54 seconds of each other. Asbury junior Luke Holton finished third in the race after his first place finish last weekend at the Asbury Outdoor Venue opening event.In his first race ever in the event, AU sophomore Dan Kersey finished fourth in the steeplechase with an NCCAA Nationals qualifying time of 10:21.49. Eagle seniors Luke Wheatley (400m) and Wes Preston (5000m) finished sixth and seventh respectively in their events. The 4x400m relay team of Wheatley, Holton, Sam Webb, and Davis Brown wrapped up the meet with a second place finish. Asbury women’s track and field were led by freshmen Bailey Gassmann and Anna Sparksm scoring points for the Eagles. Gassmann placed eighth in the 1500m run and Sparks placed fifth in the 400m dash.

Women’s basketball

Asbury women’s basketball (18-9) fell in the first round of the NCCAA National Tournament in Winona Lake, In. hosted by Grace College to Carolina University (15-8), 57-69. Haleigh Releford led AU scorers with 22 points (9-22 FG) (4-10 3PT), six rebounds and four steals. Camryn Preston added 12 points (4-8 FG), six boards, and two steals. Ma’Kiya West scored 10 points and nine rebounds. Spencer Harvey recorded seven points and eight rebounds.

After falling in day one of the national tournament to Carolina on Wednesday, #3 Asbury women’s basketball (18-10) fell to #2 Mission University (19-8) on Thursday, 66-63. Seniors Celia Pelfrey and Spencer Harvey each scored 17 points, but the efforts weren’t enough to overcome Mission’s 24 point third quarter. Haleigh Releford added 12 points and seven boards before fouling out. Camryn Preston poured in eight points (4-5 FG), four blocks, and three boards. Ma’Kiya West brought in six rebounds and came away with two steals. 

Junior Haleigh Releford’s 19 points and seven rebounds helped lift Asbury (19-10) over Redeemer University (9-15) in their season finale at the NCCAA National Tournament, 71-54. AU closes the season out in Winona Lake finishing seventh place in the tournament. 

Senior Elementary Education major Trinity Shearer was honored by Redeemer and the NCCAA with an opening basket to start off the game. Shearer’s historic AU career came to an end in the NCCAA Mideast Region Title game, suffering a knee injury that held her out the rest of the season. She leaves Asbury eclipsing over 1,100 points, becoming the all-time steals leader for a career (274) and season (90), two-time NCCAA All-American, two-time NCCAA Mideast First Team member, and 2024 finalist for the Kathy-Freese Peabody Award.

The women end the season 19-10, highlighted by an eleven-game win streak mid-season and third consecutive national tournament appearance.

Men’s basketball

Senior Caleb Wallis scored 35 points with five assists and four rebounds in the quarterfinal round of the NCCAA National Tournament on Wednesday morning at Grace College in Winona Lake, In., despite No. 7 seed Asbury men basketball (16-10) falling in double-overtime to No. 2 seed Wayland Baptist (21-10), 101-91. The Eagles led by 18 points in the first half (26-8) and outscored Wayland Baptist 37-30 in the first half, but were outscored 44-37  in the second half to send the game into overtime. Wayland Baptist scored 64 points in the paint and 29 second chance points while AU made 14 threes and went 19-21 from the line.

Asbury men’s basketball (16-11) senior forward Clayton Winter notched his 13th double-double of the season with 24 points and 17 rebounds on Thursday morning as the No. 7 Eagles fell to No. 3 Mission University, 89-80 on day two of the NCCAA National Tournament at Grace College in Winona Lake, In.

Asbury and Mission tied at 39 rebounds apiece, but the Patriots shot 53% from the field and scored 46 second half points to take the win.

Senior business administration major Caleb Wallis and senior education major Clayton Winter combined for 49 points on Friday afternoon as the No. 7 seed Asbury men’s basketball (17-11) defeated No. 4 seed Roberts Wesleyan (13-16) in the season finale at the NCCAA National Championship in Winona Lake, In., 87-73. Clayton Winter put up one his most impressive performances, scoring 20 points with 20 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. Wallis scored 29 points, going 9-19 from the field with four threes and six rebounds. AU held Roberts Wesleyan to 32 first half points and scored more than 40 in both halves to finish the 2023-24 season with a win after two close losses in the NCCAA Tournament. 

Senior Trinity Shearer was honored by Redeemer and the NCCAA with an opening basket to start off the game. Shearer’s historic AU career came to an end in the NCCAA Mideast Region Title game, suffering a knee injury that held her out the rest of the season. She leaves Asbury eclipsing over 1,100 points, becoming the all-time steals leader for a career (274) and season (90), two-time NCCAA All-American, two-time NCCAA Mideast First Team member, and 2024 finalist for the Kathy-Freese Peabody Award.