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.
#24 SOFTBALL (44-15, 16-2)
Liberty softball advanced to the 2021 NCAA Softball Championships where the Lady Flames competed as the No. 2 seed in the Knoxville, Tennessee Regional. After losing to No. 3 seed James Madison in 10 innings in the first game of the regional, Liberty responded with wins over Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee in elimination games to advance to the Regional Final. Liberty build a 3-1 lead against JMU in the regional final game before the Dukes struck for a five-run fifth inning on the way to an 8-5 win.
Liberty set a program record with 14 games against nationally-ranked teams this season, including three in the Knoxville Regional, going 3-11 against Top 25 teams. The three top 25 wins this year are tied for the most in a single season in program history.
Amber Bishop-Riley finishes her Liberty career as the program’s career record holder in games played and started (274), at bats (894), runs scored (199), hits (333), home runs (68), RBIs (222), and total bases (605). Her twin sister Autumn Bishop finishes her career as the program record holder in career doubles (74), walks (108), and sacrifice flies (16).
#16 GOLF
Following the program’s first-ever ASUN Championship and sixth conference title, Liberty made another trip to the NCAA Regionals where the Flames were the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The Flames finished fourth in the three day 54-hole event at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club in the program’s 11th appearance at an NCAA Men’s Golf Regional and ninth in the last 10 seasons. This coming weekend, Liberty will compete in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Grahawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
TRACK & FIELD
For the second time in as many appearances at the ASUN Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Liberty swept the men’s and women’s team titles. The Flames won 20 of the 42 total events at the two-day meet in Jacksonville. Liberty’s women defeated second-place Kennesaw State 227.5 to 182.5 to successfully defend its crown from 2019 and capture its sixth consecutive outdoor conference title overall. The men’s squad defeated runner-up Kennesaw State 266-183. The Flames have now won all five ASUN men’s track & field titles they have competed for, including the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Overall, Liberty has captured 14 straight men’s outdoor conference titles and has been victorious at each of its last 29 men’s indoor and outdoor conference championship appearances, a streak that began at the 2007 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Now, a group of 22 Liberty track & field athletes will return to Jacksonville, Florida for the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet. The four-day event, which will determine the qualifiers to the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, is slated for Wednesday through Saturday this week. The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 9-12 in Eugene, Oregon.
LACROSSE (10-9, 2-1)
The Lady Flames defeated No. 3 seed Kennesaw State, 23-11, in the ASUN Semifinals to advance to the third conference finals in school history. No. 2 seed Liberty was edged by No. 1 seed Jacksonville, 13-8, in the final on Saturday afternoon at Kennesaw State’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium, to bring the season to a close. Liberty used a 4-0 run spanning the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to draw within one, 7-6, with 24:20 left to play. The Dolphins responded with a 6-1 run to take a 13-7 lead in the waning minutes.
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.
#8 FIELD HOCKEY (13-3, 10-2)
The Lady Flames were edged by No. 16 Old Dominion in the Big East championship semifinals, 2-1. Liberty saw its four game winning streak snapped and dreams of making a run on the national stage come to an end. ODU took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break while Liberty responded with a goal early in the fourth quarter. Over the final 12 minutes, the Lady Flames drew one penalty corner and recorded one shot on goal but was unable to score the equalizer. The NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship field was announced and Liberty did not make the cut in the 12-team tournament that includes nine automatic bids and three at large teams.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (7-6-5, 2-3-3)
For the first time since 2016, the Liberty Lady Flames soccer team advanced to the NCAA College Cup, but the stay was brief as Liberty fell to No. 24 Washington, 3-0, at the Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina. Under ASUN Coach of the Year Lang Wedemer, in his fourth season at Liberty, the Lady Flames finish the season at 7-6-5. Liberty falls to 0-7 all-time in the first round of the NCAA College Cup, and has only scored one goal in the seven games, scoring against Wake Forest in 2000.
The loss brings to an end Liberty’s season which was capped by an impressive four game run to the ASUN women’s soccer championship, the first conference championship for the program since 2016 when Liberty won the Big South. The Lady Flames entered the ASUN Tournament having won three games all season, yet Liberty won four matches in 10 days to complete the surprising run to the championship, including wins over the 1 seed in both the North and South divisions.
MEN’S SOCCER (7-3-2, 1-2-1)
The men’s soccer team added a final match 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. The NCAA revealed the field for the Tournament and the Flames were not selected as the season has come to an end.
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 (18-7, 6-0)
The Lady Flames were edged by FGCU, 4-3, in the semifinals of the 2021 ASUN Women’s Tennis Championship on Friday afternoon at the UNF Tennis Complex. The Lady Flames, the top seed in the ASUN North Division, finish the season with 18 victories which is tied for its second most in a season in program history.
#48 MEN’S TENNIS (20-7, 6-0)
Liberty secured the 2021 ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship title at the UNF Tennis Complex, sweeping FGCU 4-0 for the championship. It’s the first conference championship in program history, while picking up the 20th win of the season, as the Flames continue to add to its school record win total. The Flames now advance to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship and will face NC State in the first round on Friday at South Carolina.
Unfortunately, it was announced the Flames would have to withdraw from the NCAA Championships due to contact tracing from COVID.
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.
