HICKORY, NC - It's been a busy year for the Bears, and things aren't slowing down anytime soon. The Bears currently have five active teams showing up in national polls, along with one individual men's golfer.
Men's Basketball - #18
The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball team is having an historic season, as they currently hold a record of 20-5 and are ranked 18th in the NABC Poll. They have now been ranked for eight consecutive weeks, shattering the previous school record of five. They sit firmly in second place in the SAC with a 17-4 conference mark, trailing only #6 Lincoln Memorial. In the first Southeast Regional Poll the Bears were under consideration, giving them a strong chance to make their first NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season.
Women's Indoor Track & Field - #11
The Bears have been tearing up the track, as they currently sit at #11 in the USTFCCCA rankings. A major part of those rankings is junior
Alexis Brown. The NCAA DII record holder in the 100m dash currently leads the nation in the 60m dash with a time of 7.26. She also ranks second in the 200m dash with a time of 23.73.
Melody Jones ran a time of 8.37 in the 60m Hurdles at the Doc Hale VT Meet, which puts her firmly in third in the nation. Also helping with the rankings is
Holly Kone in triple jump (#17) and
Mathilde Etienne in the Pentathlon (#34).
Men's Lacrosse - #4
Coming off three straight national championship game appearances, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse team currently sits at 3-0 and is ranked #4 in the country. Among those three wins are triumphs over #12 Maryville and #8 Rollins. Highlighting the season has been face-off specialist
Matthew Mancini, who has won three straight SAC Specialist of the Week awards and ranks third in DII with a .788 face-off winning percentage. The Bears continue their tough early stretch of ranked games on Saturday when they play host to #8 Indianapolis.
Baseball - #18
New head coach
Adam Skonieczki has the Bears rolling, as they are currently 10-1 and riding a seven-game winning streak. This includes home series sweeps over Trevecca Nazarene and Bloomsburg, as well as two ranked wins over Young Harris. Lenoir-Rhyne is ranked top ten in DII in triples (#1), total runs (#5), batting average (#6), total hits (#7), slugging percentage (#7), runs/game (#8), on base percentage (#8), and complete games (#8). They are set to open SAC play at home this weekend against Wingate.
Softball - #19
Fresh off an NCAA DII semi-final appearance, the Lenoir-Rhyne softball team is currently ranked #19 in NFCA Coaches Poll. The Bears opened the McCrorie Family Stadium in early February, going 3-1 in their home-opening tournament. The stadium, which is the home of
Shena Hollar Field, will play host to two more tournament this year, including the Bear Bash taking place this weekend.
Men's Golf: Holt Allison - #15
Senior
Holt Allison has been on a tear this season, as he ranks #15 individually in NCAA DII. Allison has won three of the five events he has competed in, including a big win in LR's Fall Invitational. The Conover native helped lead the Bears to their first ever NCAA Regional last season. He is ranked fourth in the Southeast Region and holds a scoring average of 69.9.
