The Mountain Lion Talk

The women's golf team had their second of three fall tournaments Monday and Tuesday at the King University Invitational.  In her tenth tournament in a Mountain Lion uniform, sophomore Lucy Weigert carded a 150 to finish tied for second.  Junior Connor Johnson is now tenth by herself in terms of tournaments from 2014-15 onward with her eighteenth. She finished in a tie for thirteenth at 157.  *Both Weigert and Johnson signed for opening-round 74s.  Sophomore Tamara Brito had the biggest improvement on day two, carding a score eight strokes less than her first round.  After tennis players Luciana Bejarano and Viviana Gomez tallied their first Mountain Lion appearances at the ITA Southeast Regionals, fellow freshman Mia Edmondson tallied her first appearance. Edmondson finished forty-ninth in the field. Freshman Rachel Lyons continues to show steady improvement from her first appearance two weeks ago, as her opening-round 101 was a season-best by seven strokes...

Men @ the ITA Regional Sophomore Mason Harmon   Junior Rodrigo Mendoza Senior Jamie Bixby   Junior Caleb McCurry   Women @ the ITA Regional   Freshman Luciana Bejarano (only in doubles; first appearance for the team) Sophomore Emily Bush (her second appearance at regionals and third fall tournament appearance) Freshman Viviana Gomez (first appearance of her Mountain Lion career) Sophomore Simone Mercier (second ITA regional appearance and, like Bush, her third fall tournament for the Mountain Lions) 

Junior defensive specialist Kallee McKinney extended her program record with her seventy-sixth appearance.  Junior outside hitter Chase Vaigneur appeared in her sixty-fifth game.  Junior setter Mollie Lawrence tallied her thirty-eighth appearance and can tie alumnus Jessica Beckner for tenth all-time tomorrow at Barton College.  Junior outside hitter Nicole Klucharich picked up her thirtieth appearance. 

Men Sophomore Stathis Paplomatos appeared in his twelfth game against Erskine, tying alumnus Anton Viden for seventh-most in the NCAA-era program history.  Women Junior McKenna Peaster extended her fourth-best mark with her twenty-first appearance in the Erskine game. She's just eight away from tying for third. 

One person has not yet been added to the career top tens for goalie stats: alumnus Havyn Isaac. A transfer from Georgia Military, Havyn only competed for the Mountain Lions last year, but this will make sure that her nine appearances in goal and 53 saves are not overlooked.  Here's where they stack up: GOALIE GAMES 5th Place: 17 (Kelsey Cunningham) 6th Place: 11 (Yustin Nambo) 7th Place: 9 ( Havyn Isaac /Alyssa Spridgeon/Kylie Mason) SAVES *McKenna Peaster is in sixth with 93 and counting*  7th Place: 61 (Yustin Nambo) 8th Place: 53 (Havyn Isaac)  9th Place: 34 (Alyssa Spridgeon) 

Saturday, September 16th, 2023 will be a date long remembered in the annals of Young Harris volleyball.  On this date, one of the three remaining members of the inaugural roster became the first Mountain Lion volleyballer to appear in seventy-five games.  Junior defensive specialist Kallee McKinney - who was the second volleyballer to log seventy games played- set the milestone appearing in all five sets against Belmont Abbey, which pushed her over 200 sets played for her career- she has 202 entering Wednesday's match against Southern Wesleyan. 

McKenna Peaster tallied her twentieth appearance in goal on Saturday against Emmanuel- the win was her first of the season and seventh of her career. Her first of two saves on the day was the ninetieth of her career.  Alexis Scarpinato played the full 90 against Emmanuel in what was her thirtieth career start, becoming the second this year to join the 30-career-starts club after Cassidy Campbell. 

Alexis Scarpinato tallied her third and fourth goals of the season on Saturday against Emmanuel, which were the fifteenth and sixteenth of her career. She moves past alumnus Haley Holderfield and into fourth in the program's NCAA-era history. Here's where things currently stand: 1st Place: 21 (Baylee Roach) 2nd Place: 20 (Lucero Robayo) 3rd Place: 19 (Emily Ober/Whitney Thomas) 4th Place: 16 (Alexis Scarpinato)   5th Place: 15 (Haley Holderfield) 6th Place: 13 (Amber Matthews)     

Aces With two against Converse, junior outside hitter Chase Vaigneur becomes the second Mountain Lion volleyballer in the 60-aces club, joining Joha Bernis.  Junior defensive specialist Kallee McKinney tallied the thirty-third of her career, extending her fifth-place mark. Freshman setter Lyza Thigpen tagged Converse for three on the day, giving her a double-digit season for her first year on the team (she has eleven through eight games).  Solo Blocks Junior middle hitter Sophie Bearden tallied the thirteenth of her career, meaning she needs one to tie Alex Pierre for second all-time. 

Junior defensive specialist Kallee McKinney extended her program record with her seventy-fourth appearance.  Junior defensive specialist Joha Bernis and classmate outside hitter Lily Hidalgo each appeared in their sixty-fifth game.  Junior setter Mollie Lawrence has appeared thirty-six times, which is three shy of tying Jessica Beckner for tenth. 

Sophomore midfielder Alexis Scarpinato tallied her second goal of the season and fourteenth of her career on Wednesday at Mars Hill. Where does that rank in the program's NCAA-era? 3rd Place: 19 (Emily Ober/Whitney Thomas)  4th Place: 15 (Haley Holderfield) 5th Place: 14 ( Alexis Scarpinato ) 6th Place: 13 (Amber Matthews) 

Morgan Kasel and Cassidy Campbell each now have appeared 41 times in their careers. The tenth spot for games played in women's soccer's NCAA-era history is 48 appearances, currently held by Karly Zacharias (the current program record is held by Sydney Baird, who tallied 63 appearances).  Alexis Scarpinato came in as a sub in what was her thirtieth game. 

Lucy Weigert had an impressive third round, as her 79 was the second-lowest Mountain Lion eighteen-hole score of the tournament (the lowest was her opening-round 75 yesterday).  Connor Johnson signed for her lowest round of the tournament with an 80.  Alanis Santiago Maldonado continued her consistent scoring with her second 83 of the tournament, in addition to an 81. Tamara Brito concluded her first competition since the fall of last year with an 88.  Rachel Lyons was consistent in her first Mountain Lion tournament, as the difference between her lowest score and highest score was three strokes. 

Sophomore Lucy Weigert carded the low eighteen-hole score for the Mountain Lions with a 75 in the first round and currently sits at 155 entering the final day. Sophomore Alanis Santiago Maldonado had a two-stroke improvement in the second round, with an 81 after an opening 83.  Sophomore Tamara Brito had the biggest improvement in the second round, slicing six shots off her first-round score (80 after an 86). Junior Connor Johnson kicked off her seventeenth tournament for the Mountain Lions with an 81 in the first round and enters the final day at 167. Her seventeen tournaments is tied for tenth-most since 2014-15 with Erica Andersson.  Making her Mountain Lion debut, freshman Rachel Lyons recorded a second-round score two strokes better than her first round. 

Junior McKenna Peaster tallied her eighteenth appearance in goal during the North Georgia game and is now in fourth place by herself on the team's NCAA-era list, moving past Kelsey Cunningham.  It's also worth noting that her four saves gave her 83 for her career, extending her sixth-best mark (fifth on the list is Cunningham with 97). 

SOFTBALL Pitcher/utility player Kylie Ferguson will be returning for her junior season. Let's take a look at where she stands, career records wise:  Currently seventh with 17 wins Currently eighth with 51 appearances in the circle (current assistant Sam Davis is in seventh with 55 apps)  Currently fifth with 47 starts (fourth is Katie-Jo Gentry with 53 starts)  Currently sixth with 14 complete games (recent grad Jill Dixon is fifth with 16) Currently sixth with 229.1 innings pitched  Currently tenth with 108 strikeouts (four back of ninth) 

Sophomore Stathis Paplomatos extended his eighth-place mark with his ninth appearance in the North Georgia game.  *Next on the list is Anton Viden, who picked up twelve games in goal over his career. 

The annual series between the Mountain Lions and North Georgia is, I believe, currently tied at 1-apiece, with the Mountain Lions winning the men's soccer point and North Georgia winning the women's soccer point.  Next on the calendar, the women's basketball matchup will be Saturday, November 11th and the men's basketball contest will be the following day. 

1st Place: 64 (Ilija Ilic) 2nd Place: 46 (Mikie Rowe) 3rd Place: 32 (Carlos Gomez/Khurram Shazad) 4th Place: 31 (Niall McCabe) 5th Place: 26 (Sondre Olsen) 6th Place: 25 (Lewis Hilton) 7th Place: 23 (Mikkel Goeling) 8th Place: 21 (Seba Andreassen/Marco Micaletto) 9th Place: 20 (Junior forward Saad Maziane )  10th Place: 17 (Paco Craig)

Monday Women's Golf @ Erskine College/Anderson Fall Kickoff, Day One (2023-24 season opener)  Tuesday Volleyball v. Lee University, 6p (Young Harris is 0-2 in the series but this will be the first game at YHC) Women's Golf @ Erskine College/Anderson Fall Kickoff, Day Two  Wednesday Women's Soccer @ Mars Hill, 5p (Young Harris has won both games in the series but this will be the first encounter since 2011)  Friday Volleyball v. Converse College, 6p (first Conference Carolinas game in team history)  Men's and Women's Cross Country @ Queen City Invitational, time TBD (the host site, McAlpine Creek Park, will also host next month's Conference Carolinas Championship)  Saturday Women's Soccer v. Emmanuel, 2p (first Conference Carolinas game in team history)  Volleyball v. Belmont Abbey, 2p  Men's Soccer v. Emmanuel, 4:30p (first Conference Carolinas game in team history) 

Entering the North Georgia games later today:  On the men's side, Stathis Paplomatos can extend his eighth-place mark with his ninth appearance.  On the women's side, McKenna Peaster can move into fourth by herself with her eighteenth appearance.

Junior defensive specialist JOHA BERNIS will graduate... *As the first member of the 70-aces club (September 1st v. Albany State). *As the first member of the 75-aces club (September 9th v. Saint Leo). 

Joha Bernis tallied the seventy-fifth of her career against Saint Leo- the first volleyballer to hit that mark- and added her seventy-sixth against Valdosta State, extending her own program record.  Mollie Lawrence extended her fourth-place mark with her thirty-ninth and is just one away from forty for her career.  Kallee McKinney set a milestone of her own as she moved into fifth all-time, surpassing alumnus Alex Pierre. *McKinney's thirty-first ace against Saint Leo in the first game of the day tied Pierre for fifth. *McKinney's thirty-second ace against Valdosta State in the second game is the new fifth-best mark.  Currently with twenty-four service aces, Lily Hidalgo has (at the moment) moved past Sophie Bearden for ninth on the list. 

Lorin Tidick tallied the fifth of her career v. Valdosta State in the days' final game, tying Chase Vaigneur and Nicole Klucharich for fifth.  *Fourth-most is alumnus Jessica Beckner with seven.  Lily Hidalgo moved into a tie for sixth with alumnus Hailey Hart with her fourth v. Saint Leo.  Alexa Berry tallied her second in as many days while Lyza Thigpen added the first of her career in the first game against Saint Leo. 

Junior middle hitter Sophie Bearden added her second and third of the season, giving her twelve over her career. She's now two shy of tying alumnus Alex Pierre for second place all-time.  Junior outside hitter Chase Vaigneur added the fifth of her career, tying Nicole Klucharich for fifth.  Junior outside hitter Lily Hidalgo tallied three in Friday's doubleheader against Coker and Spring Hill. Now with four for her career, she's tied alumnus Hailey Hart for sixth.  Freshman outside/right side hitter Faith Kelly and classmate middle hitter Alexa Berry tallied the first solo blocks of their careers in the Spring Hill game to close out the day. 

Junior defenders Morgan Kasel and Cassidy Campbell (who tallied her thirtieth start and first career goal in the game) each appeared in their thirty-ninth game yesterday, moving them nine back of tying alumnus Karly Zacharias for the tenth-most games played in the program's NCAA-era history.  While Kasel and Campbell are each in their fourth seasons, midfielder Vic Shanahan is making big strides in her second season. She not only tallied her inaugural two starts but has more minutes in three games in 2023 than she tallied in seven games in 2022.  Junior McKenna Peaster 's ten-save outing against Carson-Newman yesterday was the seventeenth appearance in goal of her Mountain Lion career, tying alumnus Kelsey Cunningham for fourth on the NCAA-era list. There's also the fact that her now 79 saves extends her sixth-best mark, and fifth on the list is Cunningham with 97.  Here's the current career goalie appearances chart: 1st Place: 43 (Pien Van Kampen) 2nd Place: 30 (Ari...

The season will open Friday the 22nd through Monday the 25th of this month with the ITA Regionals, but only for an as-yet-undetermined group of Mountain Lions.  *Current sophomores Emily Bush and Simone Mercier competed in the 2022 installment.  That weekend, however (Saturday the 30th and Sunday, October 1st) will be the homestanding YHC Invite, which will be the first opportunity for the entire squad to be in action. Wednesday, October 11th will be the opening dual match of the season at home against Lenoir-Rhyne, with the time to be determined. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in a little over four years, as Lenoir-Rhyne picked up a 4-1 win on October 5th, 2019 as part of the Best Western Duals.  The fall slate will conclude with the Reinhardt Invite October 21st and 22nd. 

Three newcomers will be looking to make their Mountain Lion debuts this fall: freshmen Holly Ashford , Luciana Bejarano and Viviana Gomez . 

Tamara Brito is back for her sophomore season after appearing in just one tournament in 2022-23.  Back for her junior season, Connor Johnson is the most experienced member of the 2022-23 squad- her sixteen tournaments is one back of tying for the tenth-most since the 2014-15 season.  Alanis Santiago Maldonado is a returning sophomore after appearing in seven of the eight competitions as a freshman.  Sophomore Jenna Wallace didn't appear as a freshman. Sophomore Lucy Weigert competed in all eight contests last year 

Wednesday Women's Soccer v. Carson-Newman, 5p Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page) Men's Soccer @ Carson-Newman, 6p Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page) Friday Volleyball neutral-site v. Coker College, 11:30a Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page) Volleyball neutral-site v. Spring Hill, 3:30p Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page) Saturday Volleyball neutral-site v. Saint Leo, 9a Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page)  Volleyball @ Valdosta State, 1p Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page)  Sunday Women's Soccer v. North Georgia, 4p Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page)  Men's Soccer v. North Georgia, 6:30p Eastern (stats and video links on the schedule page)  *For the first time in over a decade, this won't count towards conference win-loss records 

7th Place: 12 (Anton Viden) 8th Place: 7 ( Stathis Paplomatos /Sebastien Thomsson) 9th Place: 6 (Christian Kjellsby) 

The 0-0 draw against West Georgia on Sunday (Sep. 3) was the first appearance of the season for junior goalie McKenna Peaster . Let's see where she stacks up after an eight-save, complete-game shutout.  GAMES PLAYED 2nd Place: 30 (Arielle Charles/Taylor Erickson) 3rd Place: 29 (Nicole Medeiros) 4th Place: 17 (Kelsey Cunningham) 5th Place: 16 (McKenna Peaster) 6th Place: 11 (Yustin Nambo)  SAVES 5th Place: 97 (Kelsey Cunningham) 6th Place: 69 (McKenna Peaster) 7th Place: 61 (Yustin Nambo) SHUTOUTS 1st Place: 10 (Nicole Medeiros/Pien Van Kampen) 2nd Place: 5 ( McKenna Peaster /Kelsey Cunningham)

Emily Bush returns for her sophomore season after competing in twenty-three dual matches as a freshman. Meghna Mallath returns for her junior season with forty-three competitive dual matches under her belt.  Catarina Marcko Ferreira is a senior this year, and her sixty-one competitive dual matches are tied for fourth since 2016, alongside Ana Rodriguez- only Elin Rundcrantz, Carol Quevedo and Oriana Labaqui have more over that span.  *Catarina has an opportunity to move up another list this year as well: she has 69 total appearances between dual matches and cross country meets. Meanwhile, Jessica Beckner, another multi-sport Mountain Lion, appeared 71 times between basketball and volleyball. Catarina can graduate from Young Harris not only further up the list in competitive dual matches but with the second-most appearances as a Mountain Lion multi-sport athlete.  Simone Mercier will be back for her sophomore season with twenty-three competitive dual matches. In terms o...

Eric DelValle returns for his senior season. He's competed in forty-nine dual matches, which is the fourth-most since 2016.  Mason Harmon returns as a sophomore with nineteen competitive dual matches under his belt.  Caleb McCurry returns as a junior, also with nineteen competitive dual matches.  Rodrigo Mendoza returns for his senior season. His forty-seven competitive dual matches is currently fifth best since 2016.  Michael Schut returns as a sophomore, having tallied fourteen competitive dual matches in his career. 

The women's golfers are actually just a week away from opening 2023-24, as they will be at the Erskine College/Anderson Fall Kickoff on the 11th and 12th of this month (which is next Monday and Tuesday ).  They will then conclude their fall season with two dual matches: King University on the 25th and 26th of this month and Converse on October 30th and 31st- both of whom are Conference Carolinas members.  The spring schedule will be set at a later date but will include the Conference Carolinas championship, not the Peach Belt championship. 

Three newcomers will be looking to make their Mountain Lion debuts this fall: Freshmen Colin Henderson , John McCracken and Chris Terzian . 

The 2023-24 season will begin later this month, as the Mountain Lions will be at the King University Invite Monday the 25th and Tuesday the 26th.  They will then be in South Carolina October 9th and 10th against Limestone before concluding the fall season October 23rd and 24th with the Currahee Collegiate Invite.  *The Currahee Collegiate Invite will be the only in-state contest of the fall for Young Harris, as it will be at the Currahee Club in Toccoa. 

Junior middle hitter Sophie Bearden  tallied the tenth solo block of her career in the season opener against Albany State, becoming the third Mountain Lion volleyballer to hit that milestone after Shelby Mullins and alumnus Alex Pierre.  Bearden extends her third-place mark with the block, which is the only solo block for Young Harris after the first three games of 2023. 

Junior defensive specialist Joha Bernis became the first Mountain Lion volleyballer to tally seventy in a career with two in the season opener. With 73 as of the end of the third game, she's the career leader by a wide margin- second is Chase Vaigneur with 58.  Classmate outside hitter Lily Hidalgo tallied the twentieth of her career against West Georgia on Friday. 

Juniors Lily Hidalgo and Joha Bernis each appeared in their sixtieth game.  Fellow junior Lorin Tidick increases her hold on eighth place all-time with her forty-eighth game.  Junior Mollie Lawrence is now eleventh by herself with her thirty-first appearance, moving past alumnus Annie Messler.  Here's the current bottom two in the top ten: 9th Place: alumnus Alex Pierre (40) 10th Place: alumnus Jessica Beckner (39) Sophomore Abby Schirm picked up her fourteenth appearance- it might not sound like much but fifteenth on the list is held by alumnus Amber Cunningham with twenty. 

Volleyball Freshman middle/outside hitter Mallory Ivey made her Young Harris debut against Georgia College, appearing in one set and recording a kill, which was also the first point of her Mountain Lion career. 

Junior defensive specialist Kori Still tallied her seventieth appearance in the opener against Albany State, becoming the first Mountain Lion volleyballer to hit that milestone. With an appearance in the second game of the day, she sits at 71 appearances entering the Georgia College matchup (Saturday, Sep. 2).  Junior setter Alex Boydstone didn't appear in the second game of the day against West Georgia, but she competed against Albany State in the opener in what was her sixty-fifth appearance.  Junior middle hitter Sophie Bearden appeared in both games, including her fifty-fifth appearance in the opener against Albany State. Junior setter Mollie Lawrence had to wait until the second game to reach thirty for her career, splitting setter duties in both games. 

8th Place: 14 (Chandler Spivey, Nancy Murgor) 9th Place: 13 (Holli Abernathy, Savannah Hardin and Kristin Fuhs) 10th Place: 12 (Junior Chayil Aponte ) *Aponte, the lone returning runner on the 2023 team, had been tied for tenth with alumnus Genesis Newton entering the season with 11 meets apiece. 

Women's Cross Country Emily Baars (top Mountain Lion finisher) Caroline Bass Brianna Dalton Piper Marsingill Brinley Wilson Women's Volleyball Middle Hitter Alexa Berry : 6 Kills and 2 Digs against Albany State; 4 Kills against West Georgia  Outside/Right Side Hitter Faith Kelly : 10 Kills and 3 Digs against Albany State; 8 Kills and 4 Block Assists against West Georgia Defensive Specialist/Setter Lexie Martin : 2 Digs and a Service Ace against Albany State  Setter Lyza Thigpen : 17 Assists and 5 Digs against Albany State; 19 Assists and 6 Digs against West Georgia