By T’evon Shuler

Tennessee Wesleyan University fall sports are under way. Below are updates on each of the sports, including a chat with new men’s volleyball coach Josh Branan.

Men’s Volleyball

The men’s volleyball team is new to the TWU campus this year and to the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

Women’s Volleyball

First-year head coach Kylie Whaley and first-year assistant coach Gabby Harris are having an educational debut season. Both coaches mentioned that this year has been a learning experience. However, according to Coach Whaley, both coaches have had experience with playing volleyball and coaching, so getting the team to where they need to be for the end of the season is looking good.

Coach Gabby wants to build her team’s foundation and culture, “Our favorite word is grit…that dog mentality of hustle and heart.”

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country

2nd-year head coach Michael Basuini and 1st-year assistant coach Tatyiana McClendon are excited about this year’s team. With this being “the biggest cross country team we’ve had,” according to Coach Basuini, they are looking to set a good foundation this year.

Coach McClendon plans to bring different leadership qualities to the team such as “encouragement and accountability.”

The team has its top runners coming back such as Daniel Greene, Zane Marlow, Abby Hampton, and Molly Woodby, and is also bringing in some new talented recruits such as Caleb Greene and Madison Rooker.

Women’s Soccer

Tennessee Wesleyan women’s soccer team is currently ranked 3rd in the conference with 5 wins and 3 losses.

Krista Eik Hardardottir (forward) is the top scorer on the team as she is tied 4th in the conference with 6 goals and 13 points. Jill De Waal (midfielder) is also in the top 10 in the conference as she has 4 goals and 10 points. The team has 8 more conference games left to play during this 2022 season.

On the defensive side, Laia Roch Font (goalkeeper) has the 2nd best save percentage in the conference at .818.

Men’s Soccer

Tennessee Wesleyan men’s soccer team is ranked first in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. With them winning 3 games, only losing 1, and tying 5, they are looking to win the conference over.

Billy Boag (forward) is top 7 in the conference for most points with 13 and is helping the team as well with 3 assists. They have 7 more conference games left to play during this 2022 season.

On the defensive side, Michael Garrihy (goalkeeper) is top 4 in the conference for goals against as he has only allowed 10 against the team.

Video editing by Alex Wize
Video production by Bulldog Beat Staff
Editing by Emilia Mercado