Augusta University classes started on Thursday and that means fall sports are about to ramp up for the Jaguars.
Key coaching losses, as well as athlete through graduation and transfers, will impact various teams this season.
The Augusta University volleyball team is coming off its fourth consecutive Peach Belt Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2021 but is facing challenges after losing some of its best players. Only five players from last season’s team will be returning for 2022.
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The Jaguars volleyball team biggest losses are 2021 PBC Player of the Year Chloe Allen and three All-Conference players in Kylie Martin, Alyssa Frazier and Holland Martin, all of whom have graduated. Allen was one of the best volleyball players the program has had in the school’s history, becoming the only second player to have her volleyball jersey retired at AU.
While it will be tough to overcome the losses of these key players, the Jaguars volleyball team are still led by 14-year Head Coach Sharon Quarles.
The Jaguars volleyball team will be beginning their season in Lakeland, Fla., at the FSC Volleyball Classic on Friday, August 26.
AU cross-country will have to overcome the loss of 19-year Coach Adam Ward, after he accepted a job the University of Maine.
Last season, the Jaguars men’s cross-country team won its fourth PBC title in five years, coming up just short of a trip to nationals.
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Although loss of Ward is crucial, the men do have some of their best runners returning. 2021 PBC Cross-country Runner of the Year senior Kai Brickey and senior Hans Troyer are two of the top runners returning for AU, along with a lot of younger talent that performed well last season.
As for the women, the road to success may be more difficult as Mackenzie Taylor, one of the top runners in Division II, did not return for her senior season.
No coach for the Jaguars cross-country team has been announced, but it is suspected that a former runner at AU will be announced as the new head coach in the coming days.
AU’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams will begin their seasons at the Jaguar Cross-country Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3.
AU golf will also be returning this fall season at the beginning of next month.
The men’s golf team will be led by new head coach Steven Paine after former coach Jack O’Keefe stepped down at the end of last season. The men’s golf team has struggled in recent years to get back to the top as their last appearance in the National Championship was in 2018.
While the men’s golf team does have eight returning athletes, the Jaguars will be without one of there best golfers in Alex van Wyk after he transferred to Coastal Carolina.
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The Jaguars women’s golf team is led by eight-year head coach Caroline Haase-Hegg. AU women’s golf showed promise last year with the emerge of star freshman Chloe Holder, but she has transferred to Clemson University to continue her career. The team also lost three other golfers, two seniors and a sophomore who transferred to the University of Georgia.
AU’s men’s golf team will begin their season at the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wis., on Sept. 11. The women’s first tournament will be at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 19.
Chris Rickerson is a staff reporter covering Columbia County government and general assignment topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at chris@theaugustapress.com.
