Posted: Aug 30, 2017
EMORY, Va. - Emory & Henry College is coming off one of its best athletic years in recent memory in 2016-17 with five teams finishing in the top four of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, seven in the top half of the league, two reaching championship games, one team advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament and an individual swimmer qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championship meet. The Intermont Equestrian Teams posted a pair of third-place national finishes, winning two regional and one zone championship, while two riders earned individual IHSA national titles.
This year, the Wasps embark on another campaign with their sights set higher than ever. The season begins this weekend with men's & women's cross country, football, men's & women's soccer and volleyball in action.
Volleyball
Head Volleyball Coach Devyn Bayes is in her fourth season leading E&H on the court. The Wasps were picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll, mainly due to the graduation of six players who combined for nine All-ODAC selections.
Head Volleyball Coach Devyn Bayes is in her fourth season leading E&H on the court. The Wasps were picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll, mainly due to the graduation of six players who combined for nine All-ODAC selections.
Despite losing some fire power, the Wasps are reloading behind All-ODAC Second Team senior outside hitter, Ali Singleton (Mount Jackson, Va.). Last season, Singleton led the Wasps in kills, kills per set, and points. Fellow senior, Sarah Scott (Collinsville, Va.), will also be looked to for guidance and leadership, as Emory & Henry looks to improve upon their preseason prediction. The squad returns four juniors, one sophomore, and welcomes three newcomers to a team which looks to make a statement in the ODAC Tournament.
The E&H Men's Soccer Team is coming off a historic season under fifth-year Head Coach Robert Richardson. Last year, the Wasps posted a 10-8-1 record, the most victories since 1995 and posted new school records for goals (51) and points (145). Emory & Henry looks to continue its momentum from 2016 this fall.
Emory & Henry welcomes McCallie Jones-Winstead as the new Head Women's Soccer Coach, who will look to lead the Wasps to their first ODAC Tournament bid since 2012. E&H returns two of their top three goal-scorers and five of their top six point-scorers from last season. The team also returns its two goalkeepers from the 2016 campaign - a pair that combined for 132 saves.
E&H's strength should lie in its defense this fall, as four of the five seniors are at the defender and goalkeeper positions. This depth and senior leadership will help the Wasps to vastly improve on their 11th-place preseason ranking. Junior forward Gillian Hogg (Richmond, Va.) led Emory & Henry in goals in both her freshman and sophomore years, and looks to continue that trend in 2017.
Men's & Women's Cross Country
Last year saw the Wasps loaded with senior leadership and talent, but with the graduation of five runners last spring, E&H will look to a new group to take the reigns. The men's team will look to seniors Michael LoGrande (Alexandria, Va.), Buck Kirtland (Richmond, Va.), and Caleb Simpson (Richmond, Va.) for leadership on and off the course. On the women's side, sophomore Erica Grupp (Charlottesville, Va.) led the Wasps in all races as a freshman, while junior McKenna Tankersley (Big Stone Gap, Va.) finished third for the women's team at the ODAC Championship.
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