PANTHER POINTS Sewell’s team was 7-9 overall and 4-5 in USA South games. Junior goalie Isaac Bohrer and junior midfielder Ben Bryan were both USA South All-Conference team selections. Freshman attacker Aidan Story led the team with 40 goals and 21 assists.
Panthers to join new conference
SOFTBALL The Panthers went 8-27 overall and 3-13 in the USA South under first-year head coach Melanie Rushing. LC had two players named to the USA South West Division second team. Junior Abbey Gardner, the designated player on the team, batted .354 and led the Panthers with three home runs and 21 RBIs. She was 5-9 pitching with a 4.65 ERA. Outfielder Maggie White led the team with a .397 batting average, 46 hits and a .470 on-base percentage. TENNIS The LaGrange men’s and women’s tennis teams had their first season under new head coach Drew Cantrell. The women were led by junior Karson Troth, who was named to the second team of the USA South West Division. During the 2021-22 athletic year, Troth played on the women’s volleyball, basketball and tennis teams. The men went 5-6 overall and 4-2 in the USA South, qualifying for the conference tournament for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. Junior Al Robertson and senior Josh Tullier were both selected to the USA South West Division second team.
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LaGrange College will join seven other members of the USA South Athletic Conference and one other institution to form the new Collegiate Conference of the South for the upcoming 2022-23 athletic season. Already approved by the NCAA, the move will bring the Panthers together with Agnes Scott College, Belhaven University, Berea College, Covenant College, Huntingdon College, Maryville College, Piedmont University and Wesleyan College to create the new conference. Under consideration for some time, the new association is a positive step for the Panthers, according to college President Susanna Baxter. “The new Collegiate Conference of the South will greatly reduce travel time for our student-athletes, thereby shrinking the amount of missed class hours,” she said. “With 19 members, the USA South is currently the largest in the nation with a huge footprint. The new CCS will reduce that significantly.” The two-conference separation strategy was endorsed by the USA South Presidents Council last year. The CCS was officially incorporated in the State of Georgia on Jan. 12, 2022, and application materials for conference membership were officially approved by the NCAA Division III Membership Committee on Thursday, Feb. 17. “We are thrilled that the NCAA has supported our application for membership,” said LaGrange College Director of Athletics and Recreation Terlynn Olds. “Now we can plan with great expectation for full competition in fall 2022.” CCS members will contend in 14 championship sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track and field for men; and basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis track and field and volleyball for women. The sports of football and lacrosse will continue to compete in the USA South as associate members. Dr. Baxter serves as vice chair of the CCS Presidents Council and Executive Committee. She is joined by Dr. Bryan F. Coker (president, Maryville College), chair; and the Rev. J. Cameron West (president, Huntingdon College), at-large representative. CCS schools are being supported in forming the new conference by Dr. Kurt Patberg, who is currently serving as CCS acting commissioner.
