As is quite often the case, Furman is the Southern Conference champion in women’s golf.

Audrey Ryu, at even par, was individual medalist, and Furman (+34) won the team title by nine strokes at the Solina Golf Club in West Columbia.

The Paladins, who have won eight of the last 10 league titles and 21 overall, clinched the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, which are May 5-7.

Ryu’s victory gives Furman a league-best 20 SoCon individual medalists.  A sophomore from Dublin, Ohio, she recorded a team-high four birdies in the final round, including consecutive birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, to finish the day with a 74 and take the title by three strokes over Mikayla Dubnik (+3) of Mercer.  

A biology major with a 4.0 GPA, Ryu, who captured her first career individual win, was also honored with the SoCon Pinnacle Award, given annually to the player with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship team.

“It feels surreal to get the win, because this round was a battle all day,” said Ryu after the victory. “I tried to remain patient, but I had a whirlwind of emotions and just tried to keep my cool.

“Today felt like a marathon.  I’m so happy that my team won, and to get to see all of my teammates on the last hole was amazing.”  

Furman placed four players among the top 20, including senior Alise Knudson (+8), who finished sixth after pacing the Paladins with a 71 and three birdies, including back to back birdies on No. 14 and No. 15, in the final round.  

Freshman Jenna Madden (+12) carded a 74 with three birdies on Wednesday to place 11th, while freshman Eva Ringwald (+17) posted a 79 with a birdie on No. 6 to tie for 20th.  Sophomore Kelsi Mauzy (+26) finished 29th after scoring an 80 with birdies on Nos. 3 and 11 in round three. 

In the team competition, Chattanooga (+43) finished second, followed by Mercer (+54) in third. 

Furman’s Clark Akers (-2) tied for 15th to lead the Paladins in a highly ranked field at the Augusta Haskins Award Invite at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

A junior from Nashville, Tenn., Akers notched birdies on Nos. 4 and 8 to turn at 1-under then added an additional birdie on No. 15 to finish the round with a 2-under 70.  

Junior Harris Barth (E) fired a 3-under 69 with a team-high seven birdies.

The Paladins (-1) finished eighth behind seven top-22 teams.  No. 9 Oklahoma State (-10) and fifth-ranked Texas (-20) shared the team title, winning by five strokes over No. 12 Illinois (-15).  No. 6 North Carolina and 22nd-ranked Notre Dame (-8) tied for fourth, while 21st-ranked Texas Tech (-4) placed sixth, and No. 11 Arizona (-2) finished seventh, just one stroke ahead of Furman.

David Ford (-12) of North Carolina beat Max Herendeen (-12) of Illinois with a birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the individual title.

The Paladins compete for the Southern Conference Championship, April 20-22, in Greensboro, Ga.

Midfielder Bri Pinasco, a Columbia native and transfer from the University of South Carolina, has joined the Furman women’s soccer roster for the upcoming season.

 Pinasco joins the Paladins after playing two seasons with the Gamecocks and has two years of eligibility remaining.

A graduate of Hammond School, Pinasco led her prep team to a pair of state runner-up finishes and earned player of the year honors in 2022.

Pinasco has participated with the Argentina National Team at the U-17 and U20 levels. Her dad (Adrian) played for Boca Juniors in Argentina while her mother (Jennifer) played college soccer at Newberry. Pinasco’s grandfather (Carlos) was a member of the Argentinian National Team.

Six members of women’s tennis are on the All-Southern Conference team.

Senior Sara Snyder was selected to the All-SoCon first team for singles, while senior Ellie Schulson and sophomore Macy Hitchcock were named to the second team for singles.  In doubles, Furman captured second-team citations at flights two and three, with senior Jess Dawson and Hitchcock filling the flight two slot and seniors Alexa Griffith and Grace Thomas earning honors at flight three. 

Freshman Theophile Joly is on the Southern Conference Men’s Tennis All-Freshman Team.
Joly, a native of Paris, France, recorded four singles victories throughout his freshman campaign including two against SoCon opponents.
In doubles, Joly posted a 2-2 record playing at No. 3 with Matt Kandel.

Anna Roser and Sofija Buzelis reached the top of the Furman record book on Wednesday evening as the Paladins won their eighth consecutive home contest with a 22-11 victory over the Presbyterian College Blue Hose in Big South Conference women’s lacrosse action at Paladin Stadium.

Furman reaches the 10-win plateau for the sixth time in school history while improving to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big South. With the loss, Presbyterian drops to 4-11 on the season and 1-5 in conference play.
Roser became the Paladins’ all-time points leader in the victory while Buzelis set the new program mark for career draws. A native of Easton, Md., Roser surpassed Abby Shields’ (2016-19) old record of 237 and Buzelis, a Willowbrook, Ill., native, topped former teammate Meagan Beal’s (2020-23) school record of 185 draws.
Paige Harman also compiled a career evening after pacing Furman with a career high 11 points and seven assists to go with four goals.

Harman tied Hannah Demis’ school record for assists in a game and fell one point shy of matching teammate Lily Toole’s single-game record of 12 points. Toole and Roser both registered eight points on seven goals and one assist. Buzelis contributed five points on four goals and an assist while picking up a team high three ground balls. Andrea Fisher caused a team best four turnovers.
Freshman attack Lily Toole – there’s an awkward position title — Big South Lacrosse Freshman of the Week.
From Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Toole picks up her fifth weekly honor of the season and fourth Freshman of the Week citation. Toole matched her career high of four assists as Furman set new program records for points and assists in a game.
Toole has scored at least two goals in every game this season and currently ranks second on the team in both goals (42) and assists (15) and third in points (57).

Furman’s Dylan Schubert and Carson Williams set school records in the 10,000 meters and 3,000 Steeplechase, respectively, Wednesday at Azusa Pacific’s prestigious Bryan Clay Invitational.

Schubert, a senior from Loveland, Colo., won the 10,000 with a time of 27:45.63, knocking 42 seconds off the previous Furman record of 28:27.85, which was set by Aaron Templeton in 2019, while also establishing a new meet record. Schubert’s time leads the East Region this season.

A native of Raleigh, N.C., Williams finished sixth in the 3,000 Steeplechase with a time of 8:30.83, which ranks second in the East Region. He broke the record of 8:36.51, which Troy Reeder set in 2016, by almost six seconds.

On Friday, the Paladins will compete at the Wake Forest Invitational at Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Furman will run in the men’s 400, 800, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000, and 3,000 Steeplechase. On the women’s side, Paladins will lace up in the 800, 1,500, 5,000, and 3,000 Steeplechase.
I really enjoyed a lousy movie on Tuesday night. The flick was after Coal Miner’s Daughter, a splendid piece of work starring Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn, and was called Road to Nashville, starring Marty Robbins, Connie Smith and everybody in country music who was anybody in the 1960s.

Robbins was and Smith is two of the finest singers country music has ever produced, but it was basically an almost plotless tale of a dim-witted Hollywood emissary – surely you remember “Doodles” Weaver – attempting to sign country stars to appear in a movie, which this became.I love country music – old country music, in particular – so I enjoyed seeing a young Ralph Emery introduce singers like Lefty Frizzell doing “I Love You a Thousand Ways,” Hank Snow’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” and Robbins’ “El Paso.”

I like stupid movies about music and auto racing. Can you say Elvis Presley? They are guilty pleasures.

What can I do to get you to sample my fiction? How about a cheap sample of short stories, Longer Songs? The stories all originated in songs I’ve written. It’s been a few years since I published it. Not too long ago, I read it – before that, I merely wrote it – and, amazingly, I still thought it was pretty good. Remember, most people don’t write crap on purpose.

Most of my books are available at Amazon.