By MONTE DUTTON

Sundays are lazy days, which is one of many reasons why the National Football League is so popular.

The days leading up to it weren’t so bad. I went to Inman to watch Clinton play Chapman, but rain moved it up to Thursday. I was up till 2 a.m. working on the photos and story.

On Friday morning, I rolled out of bed and momentarily panicked when I saw the clock.

Oh, geez, I gotta get to Furman!

Hold your horses, Red Ryder. It was Friday. I had a whole day to prepare for the Paladins.

Much was going on there besides a 48-7 victory over Stetson, as usual.

The Paladin women’s and men’s cross country teams captured the team titles at the Furman Invitational on Saturday morning.

The Furman women ran as a pack and finished 2-3-4-5-6 to win the meet with 20 points.  SEC foe South Carolina placed second with 51 points, while Charleston Southern finished third with 78.   

Senior Kaylie Armitage led the Paladins with a second-place finish and a time of 20:29.9 on the 6K course.  Junior Jenna Mulhern placed third at 20:37.1, followed by junior Carly Wilkes in fourth at 20:40.4.  Senior Sierra Bower turned in a time of 21:04.8 for fifth, while senior Nicole Matysik finished sixth with a time of 21:08.6.

On the men’s side, senior Carson Williams took the individual title with a time of 17:52.2 course, leading Furman to the team victory. The Paladins scored 19 points in the 6K race. Charleston Southern finished second with 57, while UNC Asheville took third with 93.

Graduate student Evan Guzman placed third for the Paladins with a time of 17:54.7, followed by sophomore Chris Knight in fourth at 17:58.6. Junior Luke Taylor took seventh at 18:05.1, while graduate student Ethan Domitrovich finished out the Furman scoring in 10^th at 18:16.8.

The Paladins will compete at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in Madison, Wis., on Sept. 27.

Sophomore Jenny Jacobson scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season as Furman played to a 1-1 draw versus Tennessee Tech on Senior Day Sunday afternoon.

Jacobson put the Paladins in front just 31 seconds before the halftime whistle when she floated a ball towards goal from the right wing that slipped through the hands of the goalkeeper. Tennessee Tech equalized in the 57^th minute from the penalty spot. Neve Renwick was pushed down in the box to earn the spot kick and finished her chance at 56:52 for her sixth goal of the season.

The Paladins pushed forward in the final 15 minutes, but dangerous chances for Norah Roller and Nieva Gaither failed to find the back of the net. Reese DeJong, who replaced Addison Corn in net at the half, notched two saves to preserve the women’s soccer tie for Furman.

“It was disappointing to give away a penalty after we had the lead going into half,” said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. “We worked hard to get the lead back but need to do a better job of putting away the chances when they come late in the game. It was a great day to celebrate our seniors, and we are very appreciative of what they continue to contribute to our program and the support we get from their families.”

Furman finished with a 17-12 advantage in total shots and 5-3 edge in shots on goal.

The Paladins (4-4-1), unbeaten in their last four matches, open Southern Conference play on Thursday night when they travel to Macon, Ga., to face the Mercer Bears.

Furman wrapped up play at the 37th annual Debbie Southern Fall Classic Sunday at Mickel Tennis Center.  The Paladins scored three singles victories in the last day of action at the tournament, which featured some of the nation’s top women’s singles talent. 

Senior Ellie Schulson defeated N.C. State’s Jasmine Conway, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), to win the consolation draw at flight six, and senior Marissa Pennings topped Ginger Foster of Georgia Tech, 6-3, 6-0, to take third place in the flight eight draw. At flight nine, sophomore Macy Hitchcock finished second after dropping a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Kady Tannenbaum of Wake Forest. Senior Alexa Griffith concluded play at flight 10 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sophie Clayton of Clemson.

Nine of the 13 teams were ranked in the top 38 in the 2024 final ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings.

Furman competes at the ITA Carolina Regionals, Oct. 17-21, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

One Furman doubles team placed second, another third, and the Paladins picked up three singles wins Saturday in the second day on Saturday.

Jillian Gray recorded a double-double to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (21-25, 17-25, 19-25) sweep of Furman volleyball team on the final day of the Eagle Invitational at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
Furman drops to 4-4 on the season while Georgia Southern improves to 7-1.

Ashley Stein led the Paladins with 11 kills, her third straight in double digits.. Defensively, Kennedy Seekford and Brooke Scheffler both had 10 digs while Ava Augustson contributed nine. The 10 digs were a career high for Scheffler.

Furman returns to Alley Gymnasium on Wednesday to host Presbyterian at 6 p.m.

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