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By Cole Vance Women’s Basketball Coming into Saturday’s matchup, the Lady Bulldogs held a 3–2 record and stood 2–1 in conference play. The team had started to find its rhythm in recent outings. After winning their previous games, they aimed to extend that momentum on Saturday vs conference rival Bryan college.   The Lady Bulldogs started strong, taking a 15–13 lead into the end of the first quarter. The second quarter proved costly for the Bulldogs, who went cold and shot only 3-of-10 as Bryan outscored them 26–7. At the break, the Lady Bulldogs faced a 39–22 deficit. Led by freshman guard Camryn Brown’s nine-point third quarter, the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game and cut the deficit to five heading into the fourth. But the rally stalled, and Bryan pulled away late to earn a 74–62 victory.   The Lady Bulldogs will look to bounce back in their next contest, hosting Johnson University on Tuesday, November 25.  Men’s Basketball  Saturday’s matchup with Bryan marked the home opener for the TWU men’s basketball team. Entering the game at 4–2 overall and 3–0 in conference play and riding a four-game winning streak, the Bulldogs looked to keep their momentum rolling.   TWU controlled much of the first half behind balanced guard play, as senior Charles Neverdon and junior reserve Sohn McGee each chipped in eight points. The Bulldogs carried a 34–29 advantage into the break. The second half turned into a back-and-forth battle. With 29 seconds remaining and TWU clinging to a one-possession lead, senior guard Reshaun Hampton stepped to the line and sank both free throws to extend the advantage to five. Hampton’s 12 second-half points, along with senior guard Stratton Lovvorn’s 10, proved just enough for the Bulldogs to hold on, securing a 76–71 victory over Bryan.  The men’s basketball team is off to a hot start and currently sits tied for first place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference at 4–0. The Bulldogs will look to keep their momentum going at home on Tuesday, November 25 at 7:30 p.m., when they host conference foe Johnson University.    Co-Writer: Josephine Zeoli Graphics & Photos: Jayla Lowe  Highlight Video: Kamaurian Frierson Edited: Niko Marinacci & Lucas Grana

By Rob Gordon This podcast episode features a Tennessee Wesleyan University Women’s Soccer player reflecting on the team’s conference tournament run and their preparation for the NAIA National Tournament. The episode focuses on confidence, strategy, teamwork, and the emotions that come with high-level competition. It also shows how team culture and mental preparation play a major role in postseason success.  The player begins by explaining how the team ended the regular season strong. Big wins late in the season helped build momentum going into the conference tournament (0:20–0:29). Even though Truett McConnell was undefeated going into the final, TWU felt confident based on how they had been playing (0:44–0:57).  She describes the championship win as exciting and surprising, especially because TWU controlled the match and beat a team that hadn’t lost at home since 2023 (1:07–1:26). Their game plan was to start fast, apply pressure immediately, and keep TMU out of rhythm (1:27–1:48).  Looking ahead to nationals, the player says the team feels more confident than ever and ready to test themselves on a bigger stage (1:55–2:30). She defines a successful national tournament run as going as far as possible and competing at their highest level (2:39–2:56).  Key Quotes  ● “We had a strong end to the season, and that built our momentum.”  ● “The championship win shocked a lot of people because we dominated a team that never loses at home.”  ● “We’re confident heading into nationals and ready to show what we can do.”  The player’s reflections show that postseason success comes from confidence, preparation, and emotional strength. TWU’s game plan against TMU, attacking early and applying pressure, highlights how teams must adjust and think strategically in big games. Emotionally, the championship win gave the players a boost that they used as motivation instead of distraction.  The player also shows a mature mindset by defining success not only as winning, but as competing to their full potential. This connects to sports psychology ideas about confidence, team belief, and staying focused on the process, not just the outcome.  The episode relates to topics like sports communication, leadership, and mental preparation. It shows how teams use communication to stay focused, build culture, and maintain confidence. It also ties into class discussions about strategy, teamwork, and how athletes create meaning from big moments.  This podcast gives a clear look at the mindset and preparation behind TWU Women’s Soccer’s postseason success. Their momentum, detailed game plan, and strong team culture played a major role in their championship win and their confidence going into nationals. Overall, the episode shows how a focused mindset and strong teamwork help athletes perform at their best. Interview by Kevin CampbellVideo by David BallenillaAudio by Julien WithrowPhoto by Jakov KusanovicEditoral Assistance by Olivia Miller 

Written by Dakota Caldwell The Tennessee Wesleyan Softball team swept St. Andrews in a big conference victory. It was a largely dominated game by the Bulldogs as they won the first game 11-0 and the second game 12-0.  1st game: Mackenzie Baldwin led the team in RBIs with 4 and 2 hits. The pitching effort was brought on by a clinical performance from Bailee Phillips. She pitched 5 innings and produced 4 strikeouts to help lead the shutout effort. This marks her 9th win of the season with only 3 losses on her record for the season. Her 60 pitches thrown were enough to add up to 44 strikes for the Lady Knights. 2nd: game: The Destruction of the Lady Knights continued in the next game of the series as they ran up 12 scores. It started from the beginning by putting out 5 scores in the first inning. Bailee Philips continued to put on a show for the Lady Bulldogs as she fought for 4 RBIs along with 2 runs scored. Another offensive powerhouse was the duo of Taylor Penning and Macy Chastain with 2 runs scored as well. Isabella Jenkins took care of business on the mound by only allowing 1 hit in 4 innings pitched. She passed the torch to Gracie Calton to finish the game and allowed no hits in 1 inning pitched.  A conference sweep of this stature will give the Lady Bulldogs the confidence they need to keep up the fight to climb the AAC rankings. This marks their 16th win of the season and 12 conference victory to date for the 2025 adventure. Another challenge is coming up for the Lady Bulldogs with their next double header taking place on April 14th against Union Commonwealth at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Pictures by Noah LonesEditorial Assistance by Gabe Katz

By Brant Helms In this entry of Bulldog Beat, interviewer Brant Helms sat down with Gabriel, or Gabe, Katz to ask questions about his love of soccer as well as aspirations and thoughts he has in the upcoming soccer season. In addition, Gabe gives his inner motivations for becoming a TWU Bulldog on top of the hopes he has during his studies on campus. Q: What brought you to Tennessee Wesleyan University? What was the driving factor for choosing Athens over your hometown of Knoxville? A: “Soccer is a big reason why I came to Tennessee Wesleyan. It had always been a goal of mine to play soccer in college and Tennessee Wesleyan gave me that opportunity. The two major things I wanted in a school was a personal academic experience at a school that wasn’t too big and wasn’t too far from home. UTK was far too big for me, and TWU was a decent size and a decent distance from school that allowed me to be my own person while still being close enough to home that I could go home if anything came up.” Q: What is your major and do you have any career goals in mind after graduation? A: “My major is sports communication. I started as an exercise science major but after my second of two anatomy classes, I decided that it wasn’t the route I wanted to go. With sports communication, I would like to work as a sports broadcaster or a sports journalist in some capacity. A dream job would be to call games for the Vols or to be the PA announcer or stadium production at Neyland Stadium.” Q: Why choose soccer over any other athletics, and how did you get started in the sport? A: “Ever since I was young, I was all about everything sports, hence my career path. My mom wanted to get me involved in sports early on and soccer ended up being the sport that stuck with me. I tried football, baseball, and basketball before I picked up soccer and just kinda ran with it. Basketball would have been my second choice, but I couldn’t get enough of soccer.” Q: What are some accomplishments you have made on the field with your team or individually, and what are your upcoming hopes for the next Men’s Soccer season? A: “My senior year of high school I was the district and region midfielder of the year as well as landing a spot on the all district and all region first teams. So far in my 3 years at TWU, I have been named an NAIA academic All-American twice. As far as the upcoming season goes, I just really would like to build on the standard we’ve set since I’ve been here. We won the program’s first NAIA national tournament game in November and being a part of that was something really special. Also for our new coach, I want his first season and my last season to be really memorable so that I can leave the program better than I found it.” As many have seen this semester, TWU Athletics has had a great many staffing changes and among those changes is the hiring of Codi Crippen as head coach for the Men’s Soccer Program. Any new staff changes bring a difference to a team dynamic in sports and the changing of a head coach is the largest change that could affect players. The interview concluded with Gabe’s thoughts on Codi stepping in as head coach. Q: Finally, there will be a new head coach overseeing men’s soccer. Do you have any opinions on that, and do you think this will bring good changes or results to the program? A: “I think that it was a good change for the program. The previous coach [Luke Winter] took the program to great places, and it was just time for a new guy in charge. With our assistant being promoted to head man, I’m very excited to see how he runs things and I want nothing but the best for him. I think he’ll do a great job.” Gabriel looks to be an aspiring member of TWU Athletics, and he will continue to work hard to deliver on his mission to leave the program a better place than he found it, which should be an aspiring goal for many athletes to help build their team even after graduation. Photo courtesy of Gabriel Katz

By Gabe Katz The Tennessee Wesleyan Softball team started their 2024 season with high spirits and even higher expectations. In their last two seasons the Bulldogs made an appearance at the NAIA National Tournament twice, having gone to the NAIA College World Series in 2022. The trips in 2022 and 2023 seem to have cemented the Bulldogs’ place near the top of the Appalachian Athletic Conference softball scene and set the standard for the program as National Tournament contenders. Hoping to attend their fourth NAIA Softball National Tournament since 2013, the Bulldogs came into their season poised for major success. During the team’s preseason, they were “in the gym a lot” said Sophomore In-fielder Kaley Bradley. One of the team’s more seasoned players and leaders, Junior In-fielder, Mackenzie Baldwin feels like this preseason was much “more locked in” compared to the preseason experiences in her previous two years in Athens.  As the season has progressed, the team has “developed a chemistry” that they hope to be the final piece that will secure a ring for the program. While the preseason was more stringent and there is a sense of camaraderie in the team, Baldwin feels like the team can do so much more. The season “has been rough compared to the last two years I’ve been here”. She cited the coaching staff’s lack of “confidence in us” as something that the team hopes to address in the latter stretch of the season. Up to this point in the 2024 campaign, the Bulldogs boast a record of twenty wins and eleven losses, seventeen of these wins and seven losses coming in conference play. With 4 games remaining in the regular season, the team is preparing to make another deep run into the postseason. Two road trips with games at Pikeville University and Truett-McConnell University will conclude the regular season. Truett-McConnell sits one place above the Bulldogs in the AAC standings, making that midweek series very important as the Bulldogs only mindset now is “looking for first”. Edited by Jack ShawInterview by Jonathan Powers and Corbin ShawAudio Editing by Jonathan PowersPhotos Courtesy of Adolfo Nicolas

By Matti Bray The Tennessee Wesleyan Women’s Soccer team had their most successful season this past Fall since 2019. Due to this success, they have high expectations for their 2024 spring and fall seasons.  Their spring semester has now ended after their win against King University on April 5th. King was not their only win this season, they also had their games against Tusculum, LMU, Alabama A&M, and Pellissippi making them undefeated for the spring season. The girls played in the yearly Tusculum indoor friendly tournament in which they got runner up in.  With these games the team has been training five days a week in hopes to go further in the National Tournament in the 2024 fall season. Coach Walker will also be giving the team an extensive summer workout plan, so they are in the best shape possible for the season.  Junior Madisen Hodges and Senior Matti Bray were able to sit down and answer questions about what they have been doing for the spring season and they expect the fall season to hold for the team.  Edited by Dan ThorntonInterview by Corbin Shaw and Matti BrayEditorial Assistance by Megan TippsAudio Editing by Jonathan Powers

By Jack Shaw The bulldog tennis team is one of the best in the country they have got them selves to the number two spot  in the national ranking votes from all the tennis coaches in the Naia. As of right now they only have one loss a team from Georgia who also has a decent baseball team. The men’s tennis teams looking to make it to the national champion ship again following last years tough loss getting them 2nd place. The women’s team is also very good for TWU making it no wonder that our men’s team is so good with the national ranked women’s team pushing them to win the national tournament. The men’s team here at TWU practices almost every day of the week exceot Sundays but there biggest thing that sets this bulldog team from the rest is that they go and put in the work on their own time, and this isn’t a team that you can just put together from any random pick-up game. These players are from Argentina and Brazil these young players these young men come from hundreds of miles to compete for a chance to go pro and TWU is for sure the place to be if you want to get looked at for the next level. These kids and young men are the go big or go home type of people.  These guys work hard for what there fighting for it shows with 3 years in a row being ranked one of the best teams in the country is a huge accomplishment. Interview by Jackson Lollis and Noah LonesAudio Editing by Jackson LollisPhotos Courtesy by Danielle Proulx

By Baylie Davis The legacy of the Smiths began in August of 2017 when Marjorie Smith began her volleyball career at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Marjorie, an outside hitter wearing number 3, played volleyball from 2017-2021 and graduated in December of 2021. She is one of the best volleyball players to ever come through TWU. She holds the career record for kills with a total of 1,308 career kills. She is the only volleyball player on record with over 1,000 kills and was named All-AAC Second Team twice. The legacy continued as Shante Smith began her volleyball career a year after her sister graduated. The legacy wears number 13 and is also an outside hitter as well as a right-side hitter. Shante is currently a sophomore at Tennessee Wesleyan, so her career is just getting started, but her intensity and energy on the court make her one of TWU’s most-watched players. Baylie Davis caught up with the Smith sisters courtside after the Lady Bulldogs collected a big conference win against Kentucky Christian University. Listen in to get an inside look at the Smiths’ volleyball careers and how they have influenced each other. Photos courtesy of TWU Athletics