Athletics

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s men’s basketball team spotted Franklin a 14-point lead Saturday, then roared back for a 76-72 win in the men’s Heartland Conference basketball tournament final at the Beck Center, grabbing the HCAC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championships. Transylvania’s women’s team outscored Hanover by 16 points in the second half Saturday and went on to claim the Heartland Conference’s automatic bid to the women’s NCAA Division III Championship with a 79-69 victory in the HCAC Championship game, also at the Beck Center. The men’s basketball team will travel to Centre for first-round NCAA Division III Championship action this weekend while the women’s squad will head to Washington University in St. Louis. The NCAA Division III Championship pairings for the men’s and women’s tournaments were announced Monday. Coach Brian Lane’s Pioneers (21-5), HCAC regular-season co-champions, will play Guilford (21-5) Friday in Danville. Coach Greg Todd’s HCAC regular season champion Pioneers (22-5) drew last year’s title-winners, Howard Payne (23-5) on Friday. On the women’s side, Washington University (21-4) is ranked second in the country and will face Capital (22-5). The winners will play Saturday. Centre’s men, who lost to Transy in this season’s first game, will meet Averett (20-8). Centre brings a 23-4 mark into tourney play. More details to follow when they become available. For more information, contact Glenn Osborne, sports information director,  at (859) 233-8284 or gosborne@transy.edu.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—For the first time since the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference began holding post-season basketball tournaments, the same school—Transylvania—will serve as host for both the men’s and women’s events Friday and Saturday. Transy’s women won the HCAC regular season outright with a win over Anderson Saturday and earned the No. 1 seed. The men also defeated Anderson and were co-champions with Franklin. The Pioneers got the top seed and the right to host the semifinal and final rounds by winning a tie-breaker. The women’s semifinals will be held at 2 and 4 p.m. on Friday at the Beck Center with Transy playing in the opener against Franklin. The men’s semifinals are set for 6 and 8 p.m. Friday with the Pioneers taking the floor in the second game against Anderson. The women’s finals are set for 5 p.m. Saturday with the men’s championship game following at 7 p.m. Anderson is the No. 2 seed in the women’s event and Franklin is the second seed for the men. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and students. For more information, contact Glenn Osborne, sports information director,  at (859) 233-8284 or gosborne@transy.edu. Friday, Feb. 27 Women’s Semifinals at the Beck Center Transylvania (20-5) vs. Franklin (15-10), 2 p.m. (Boxscore) Anderson (15-10) vs. Hanover (18-8), 4 p.m. (Boxscore) Saturday, Feb. 28 Women’s Finals, 5 p.m. (Boxscore) Friday, Feb. 27 Men’s Semifinals at the Beck Center Franklin (16-9) vs. Defiance (18-8),

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Transylvania’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships. Both teams will play on the road this year, beginning play on Friday. The women, under first-year head coach Greg Todd, earned the first NCAA berth in school history, making the 63-team field as an at-large entry. The Pioneers missed getting an automatic berth when they lost 70-69 Saturday to Manchester in the finals of the Heartland Conference Tournament. The Transy women will travel to DePauw on Friday to take on the host Tigers. Transy is 19-8, compared to 25-3 for DePauw, winners of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Denison (24-4) meets defending national champion Hope (24-3) in the other half of the bracket with the winners meeting on Saturday. Denison won the North Coast Athletic Conference’s berth while Hope represents the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Hope defeated Southern Maine in last year’s national championship game. On the men’s side, coach Brian Lane’s Pioneers will go to Wooster for a rematch with the Scots, a team Transy defeated 91-88 in a second-round game last year at the Beck Center. Centre (23-4), winners of the SCAC tournament, will meet Capital (19-8) in the other half of the bracket with winners meeting on Saturday. Capital represents the Ohio Athletic Conference. Transy’s men advanced to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament before falling to national runners-up Wittenberg. Transy is among 59 teams in the

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Michelle Manning, the former head coach at Albion College and Shenandoah University, has been named head softball coach at Transylvania, Pioneers’ athletics director Jack Ebel said Friday. Manning, a former all-conference player at Mount Union College, has also coached at Bethany College during her career. She took over a struggling Albion program two years ago and had an immediate impact, posting records of 18-18 and 20-20. At Shenandoah, the team posted the second most wins in school history under Manning’s leadership. “Michelle has demonstrated her ability to coach and recruit NCAA Division III athletes successfully,” said Ebel. “I think she will do a great job at Transylvania and we are delighted to have her join our staff.” Manning has also coached volleyball at the collegiate level. She replaces Kelley Anderson, who guided the Pioneers for nine years and posted a 231-92-4 record, including four Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season titles and an appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament in 2006. Three Albion players earned All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors last season and her team ranked in the top 10 academically. As a graduate assistant at Bethany, Manning was a member of the East Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2002 following a 32-10 record and an NCAA regional championship. Bethany was 31-8 in 2003. Transy was 32-12 last year, the fourth time in school history the Pioneers have won 30 games in a season.

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