This spring is what many in college athletics have referred to as Super Spring. Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic and most sports shut down during the fall and winter, the spring has become home to most college teams’ seasons in 2021. For Liberty, 19 of the school’s 20 Division I programs are in competition this spring, and, if you include football going through spring practice, all of the 20 programs are in action.
We will provide weekly updates on all of Liberty’s NCAA Division I teams in action this spring, with the exception of football, men’s basketball, and baseball, as we cover those teams regularly.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (17-7, 12-4)
The Lady Flames dropped a pair on the road at No. 24 FGCU, both by double digits to conclude the regular season. Liberty finishes in 2nd place entering this week’s ASUN Tournament which is held in Kennesaw, Georgia. Liberty will face No. 7 seed Bellarmine on Thursday at 7 pm to begin play. The semifinals are on Friday with the championship game on Sunday at 2 pm. All games will be televised on ESPN+
CROSS COUNTRY
The men’s and women’s cross country ASUN Championships were held this past weekend with the women’s team claiming its first ever ASUN Conference team title, winning it in dominating fashion matching the lowest winning score in meet history with 19 points. The women’s team will also compete at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, the first Flames’ cross country team (men’s or women’s) to ever compete as a team in the event. The men finished in second place at the ASUN Championships for the third straight season.
FIELD HOCKEY (7-0, 4-0)
The Lady Flames continue their undefeated start to the season with a pair of victories over Old Dominion this past weekend. Liberty defeated ODU, 4-1, on Saturday and 2-0 on Sunday. The Lady Flames will face Connecticut this coming Saturday and Sunday for a couple of conference matches.
#16 GOLF
The Liberty golf team did not compete this past week, but that didn’t keep the Flames from moving up five spots to No. 16 in the most recent Golf Stat national rankings. Alexandre Fuchs grabbed ASUN golfer of the week honors following his impressive outing in the Seminole Intercollegiate a week ago. The Flames will hit the course March 14-16 at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
LACROSSE (2-3)
The Lady Flames knocked off former Big South foe Radford, 18-10, on Wednesday. Liberty will face Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia on Wednesday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (3-2-2, 2-1)
The Lady Flames had a couple of 1-0 victories in conference play this week, beating Kennesaw State in Georgia on Thursday and North Alabama in Lynchburg on Sunday. Liberty travels to Nashville to play Lipscomb on Thursday.
MEN’S SOCCER (5-1-1, 0-1)
After a blazing start to the season, the men suffered a heartbreaking loss in Louisville, Kentucky, 2-1, in overtime at Bellarmine to open ASUN play. The Flames get back in action Wednesday afternoon with an exhibition against the University of Lynchburg, before getting back into conference play by host Lipscomb on Saturday.
SOFTBALL (16-5)
The Lady Flames continue their roll, knocking off Radford, 8-1, on Wednesday. Liberty then swept through the Liberty Softball Invitational defeating East Carolina, 3-2, Longwood, 19-3, East Carolina, 7-6, and Longwood, 10-0. The Lady Flames then hosted the Lancers again for a double-header on Tuesday, sweeping both games to take a clean sweep in the season series against Longwood.
Dot Richardson’s squad continues their tough non-conference schedule in the Oklahoma City Tournament in Stillwater, Oklahoma this week. Liberty is scheduled to face No. 5 Oklahoma State in a double-header on Friday, with two more games on Saturday and another on Sunday. Saturday’s slate includes games against Kansas City and No. 1 Oklahoma. The Lady Flames will play Oklahoma again on Sunday. The road trip will continue on Tuesday, March 16 as the Lady Flames face Arkansas.
SWIMMING & DIVING (3-0, 3-0)
Senior Payton Keiner has been selected to compete in the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships which will be hosted March 17-20 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Freshman Maddie Freece and junior Lauren Chennault have been selected to compete in the 2021 NCAA Division I Zone Diving Championships which will also be hosted March 11-13 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
WOMEN’S TENNIS (8-2)
The Lady Flames defeated William & Mary, 5-2, on Saturday at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center. Liberty heads to South Carolina this weekend to face Charleston Southern on Friday and the College of Charleston on Saturday.
MEN’S TENNIS (8-4)
The men’s tennis team defeated Richmond, 5-2, on Thursday and Radford, 7-0, on Saturday, both in Lynchburg. The Flames are in Florida this week to face No. 36 South Florida on Wednesday and Florida Atlantic on Friday.
TRACK & FIELD
For the third consecutive year, the Liberty men’s indoor track & field squad claimed the team championship on its home track at the 2021 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Lady Flames finished second and just five points behind women’s team champion Kennesaw State.
With the 2021 indoor track & field season now complete, Liberty will now turn its attention to the outdoor campaign. The Flames and Lady Flames are currently scheduled to open the 2021 outdoor season at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational, March 19-20, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
VOLLEYBALL (2-7, 2-6)
The Lady Flames dropped a couple of matches at Kennesaw State over the weekend, losing in 3 sets on Friday and in 4 sets on Saturday. Liberty continues on the road with ASUN contests at Bellarmine in Louisville, Kentucky against Bellarmine Friday and Saturday.
