There is plenty of excitement around the Lee University these days. It is a time the Lee community has been looking forward to for three long years. On Sept. 1, the Flames and Lady Flames officially became members of NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference (GSC).
The men’s soccer team will make history when it plays the first official D2 home match. The Flames will be hosting Emmanuel College in the opening round of the Olive Garden Invitational on Friday at 7 p.m. The Invitational kicks off at 4:30 p.m. when Shorter and Trevecca tangle. On Saturday Shorter will face Emmanuel at 4:30 and Lee will challenge Trevecca at 7.
A tailgate party is planned for Friday (5 p.m.-7p.m.) to celebrate the first NCAA D2 home event. Tailgating will be staged at the Soccer Field and in the Sharp/Davis dorm parking lot.
While the men’s soccer team will have the honor of playing the first NCAA home event, the women’s soccer team and the men and women’s cross country teams will also be in action this weekend.
Chris Hennessey will make his head coaching debut when he takes his Lady Flames to Columbus, Ga. (Columbus State) to take part in the CSU Collegiate Invitational.
Lee will face Rollins College (Fla.) on Friday at 4:30. Rollins won the Sunshine State Conference Tournament title last season and lost to Grand Valley State in the national championship match. The Lady Flames will be tested again on Sunday when they battle host Columbus State, ranked No. 5 in the NCAA D2 national preseason poll.
The cross country team, under the direction of coach Caleb Morgan, will be running in the annual Sewanee Invitational on Saturday morning. Both the men and women’s teams are looking forward to being in the hunt for official GSC titles.
The Lee volleyball team will wait a week before opening its season on Sept. 11. Coach Andrea Hudson’s team will be hosting the annual Lee Invitational.