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 (19-8, 12-4)

The Lady Flames have finished their season, falling to No. 1 seed FGCU in the ASUN Championship Game, 84-62. Liberty defeated No. 7 Bellarmine, 88-59, and No. 3 North Florida, 65-52, to advance to the program’s 22nd conference tournament final in the past 25 years. FGCU ended up with an 11 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, losing in the First Round.

CROSS COUNTRY

After winning the ASUN Women’s Cross Country Championship, the Lady Flames advanced to the program’s first ever appearance at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Liberty posted a 27th place finish while Adelyn Ackley (66th place) and Calli Doan (85th place) each notched top 100 individual finishes.

#6 FIELD HOCKEY (13-2, 10-2)

The Lady Flames did not play over the past week, but begins play in the Big East Field Hockey Championship held at the Villanova Field Hockey Field in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Liberty, the No. 2 seed, will face 3-seed Old Dominion in the semifinals on Thursday at 4 pm in a game which can be seen on the Big East Digital Network. No. 1 seed UConn faces No. 4 seed Temple on Thursday at 1 pm. The championship is scheduled for Saturday at 12 noon. The Lady Flames are in search of their first Big East title after finishing as the runner-up in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

#13 GOLF

No. 13 Liberty won its first ever ASUN Men’s Golf Championship this week, wrapping up the title on Tuesday afternoon at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia. The Flames finished the tournament with a 20-under par 832, 13-strokes ahead of Florida Gulf Coast who finished second. Liberty’s 832 was the lowest 54-hole team score in ASUN Championship history. Liberty’s Zach Barbin, Kieran Vincent, and Jonathan Yaun each finished tied for fourth place individually with a 4-under par to earn a spot on the ASUN Championship All-Tournament team.

This is the Flames’ first ever ASUN Championship since joining the league during the 2018-19 season and the sixth conference title in program history having won five conference titles in the Big South (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018). With the title, the Flames have clinched the ASUN’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regional which will be contested May 17-19.

Liberty, who has advanced to eight of the last nine NCAA Regionals, will learn which of the six NCAA Regional sites it will be sent to during the NCAA Regional Selection Show on May 5. The regional field will be announced via a special selection show on the Golf Channel.

Before the NCAAs, the Flames have one more event on their schedule as Liberty will compete at Ohio State’s Robert Kepler Intercollegiate this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.

LACROSSE (8-6, 1-0)

The Lady Flames celebrated its senior class with a 17-6 win over Kennesaw State in its ASUN opener on Senior Day, this past Friday at Liberty Lacrosse Field. Liberty scored 12 goals in the second half to pull away for the victory. On Sunday, the Lady Flames defeated High Point, 15-13, snapping the Panthers’ five game winning streak, the first win for Liberty High Point in the last six meetings. Eight different Liberty players scored in the contest, with multiple goal efforts from six players. Liberty is 8-0 this season when scoring 10 or more goals. This week, Liberty will head to Florida for its final three games of the regular season, playing at Stetson on Friday, at No. 11 Jacksonville on Sunday, and at Florida next Wednesday.

WOMEN’S SOCCER (7-5-5, 2-3-3)

The Liberty Flames won the 2021 ASUN Women’s Soccer Championship on Saturday in dramatic fashion as McKinley Burkett scored the Golden Goal on a penalty kick in overtime to defeat Kennesaw State, 1-0. The win secures the first ever ASUN women’s soccer championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 7th time and first time since 2016.

After 90 minutes of action in regulation, the 4 seed in the North Division, Liberty and the 2 seed in the North Division, Kennesaw State were both scoreless as the match headed to overtime. With the clock ticking under one minute remaining in the first overtime period, Meredith King drew a penalty kick. It set up Burkett, the University of Tennessee transfer, for the game winning goal.

The Lady Flames entered the ASUN Tournament having won three games all season. Liberty won four matches in the last 10 days to complete the surprising run to the championship, including wins over the 1 seed in both the North and South divisions. The previous two wins, including Saturday’s championship, came at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Owls and Lady Flames split the regular season series, with each team winning 1-0 on the road.

Liberty will face Washington (9-3-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, April 27 at the Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina at 7 pm. It will be broadcast on NCAA.com. The winner of the first round match will advance to play No. 15 Saint Louis.

MEN’S SOCCER (7-3-2, 1-2-1)

The men’s soccer team added a final match on Saturday at No. 21 Coastal Carolina with hopes of improving the team’s resume for a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. Seth Clark and Noah Holmes scored goals in the first half while Liberty’s defense limited the Chanticleers to nine shots in the contest as Liberty won, 2-1, at CCU Soccer Complex. On Monday, the NCAA revealed the field for the Tournament and the Flames were not selected.

SOFTBALL (29-12, 10-2)

For the second time this season, Liberty held an ASUN team scoreless in a complete three-game series as the Lady Flames took care of business at Lipscomb this weekend. Liberty won the first game, 2-0, as Emily Kirby struck out 10 batters. Karlie Keeney tossed a three-hit shutout on the way to a 6-0 win over the Bisons in game two of the Saturday doubleheader. Liberty completed the sweep on Sunday with a 4-0 win as Kirby tossed her ASUN leading sixth shutout of the season, as she struck out seven and walked two while allowing three hits. Liberty is currently on an eight-game win streak, its longest of the season and longest since winning 11 in a row in 2019.

The Lady Flames host Virginia on Wednesday at 4 pm before a three-game series Saturday and Sunday against Bellarmine. The series will be played at Liberty Softball Stadium beginning Saturday at 2 pm.

SWIMMING & DIVING (3-0, 3-0)

Senior Payton Keiner placed 49th in the 200 backstroke at the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Keiner also finished 54th in the 100 backstroke. Freshman Maddie Freece placed 9th in the three-meter diving on day two of the NCAA Division I Women’s Diving Zone A Championships and Junior Lauren Chennault finished 22nd.

Following a record-setting freshman season, Freece was named CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year. She is the first Liberty student-athlete to be named CCSA Women’s Diver of the year and the first freshman to be voted diver of the year since it was first awarded in 2011.

WOMEN’S TENNIS (18-6, 6-0)

The Lady Flames concluded the regular season with a 5-2 loss to Virginia Tech last Wednesday. Liberty, the No. 1 seed in the North Division, began a quest for an ASUN Championship on Saturday at the Liberty Tennis Complex. The Lady Flames defeated No. 4 seed in the North Division Bellarmine, 4-0, to advance to the semifinals.

Liberty now heads to Jacksonville, Florida to play the semifinals at the UNF Tennis Complex. The Lady Flames will face the No. 2 seed in the South Division FGCU on Friday at 2:30. The championship is scheduled for Saturday at 1 pm. In a non-conference match on Feb. 19, Liberty lost to FGCU, 5-2, in Fort Myers, Florida.

#40 MEN’S TENNIS (18-7, 6-0)

Liberty advanced to the 2021 ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship semifinals by defeating Bellarmine, 4-0 in the quarterfinals on Saturday at the Liberty Tennis Complex. The semifinals and finals of the ASUN Championship will be contested at the UNF Tennis Complex in Jacksonville, Florida. The semifinals will take place on Friday at 9 am against the No. 3 seed in the South Division Kennesaw State. This will be the first meeting between the Flames and Owls this season. The Championship is on Saturday at 10 am and will be televised on ESPN+.

TRACK & FIELD

Liberty broke six different records at the Virginia Challenge at Lannigan Field. They included two ASUN all-time records (Adelyn Ackley’s 16:10.19 5K and Chelse Igberaese’s 203-1 hammer throw), one program record (Calli Doan’s 10:25.34 steeplechase), and three Liberty freshman records (Ackley’s 5K effort, Kali Grayson’s 158-6 javelin throw, and John Hicks’ 204-1 hammer throw). That all happened just on Friday. On Saturday, Diamantae Griffin won the men’s 200 and Chelsea Igberaese won the women’s discus.

At the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic on Saturday, Jamie Anderson won the women’s 5K, Brittany Carnathan won the women’s steeplechase, and Caleb Olson won the men’s 5K. Nanah Fung Loy wom the women’s javelin, Stuart Folkerts won the men’s hammer, and Zack Weekman won the men’s 400 hurdles.

Liberty will return to Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, North Carolina for the second time in three weeks with the Aggie Classic this weekend.

VOLLEYBALL (5-9, 5-7)

Liberty’s volleyball season came to an end at the KSU Convocation Center as the Lady Flames fell to defending ASUN champion Kennesaw State, 3-0, in the ASUN Quarterfinals. Liberty has been eliminated by Kennesaw State from the ASUN tournament for the second year in a row.