By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Sports Information Director
After Airline product Andrew Bennett posted another first-place finish Tuesday, the Centenary golf teams will host their annual home tournament, the Hal Sutton Invitational at The Golf Club at Stonebridge, next Monday and Tuesday.
Bennett tied for first and led the Gents to a sixth-place finish on Tuesday in the Fabric Solutions and Technologies Pinecrest Invitational hosted by LeTourneau University at the Pinecrest Country Club in Longview.
Bennett and three golfers finished in a four-way tie for first at 5-under par 211 before UT Dallas’ Parker McCurdy defeated LeTourneau’s Corbin Barton with a birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to claim the individual title.
Sophomore Aubrey Snell of Shreveport finished in a tie for 13th at 5-over par 221, while freshman Ryder Briggs from Blanchard shot a 15-over 231 to tie for 30th place.
Bennett now owns a trio of career outright wins, Tuesday’s tie for an individual title, 10 top-five finishes, and 13 top-10 finishes as he continues to add to his legacy as the top golfer in the Division III era of the Gents’ program. Bennett, the 2024 SCAC individual champion and Men’s Golfer of the Year, tied for sixth, tied for second, and finished first in three tournaments last fall.
STUNT: A victory over Division II Southwest Baptist highlighted another impressive weekend in a tournament in Conway, Ark.
The Ladies defeated Southwest Baptist 10-1 in their first game and followed that by posting three points on the board against D2 Southern Nazarene, who had blanked the Ladies 12-0 earlier this season, and went within two in two other routines for a 10-3 final.
Along with points on the board, the following Ladies earned 120 rounds of play: sophomore Kaitlynne Anderson, sophomore Ezmeriah Gonzalez, freshman Trinity Bustamento of Blanchard, senior Avery Cauley, freshman Bryanna Hutcherson, sophomore Alli Ledoux, and sophomore Leah Dawson from Shreveport.
Hitting 100 round of play were: sophomore J’Anna Sweat, sophomore Dalila Ramirez, sophomore Briara Thompson of Bossier City, sophomore Harleigh Doherty, and junior Jo Hoffman.
The Ladies finish the season this weekend in a tournament in Martin, Tenn.
LACROSSE: The Gents play on their home field for the first time this season today against the Point University Skyhawks in a contest set for 5 p.m. at Atkins Field.
The Gents (2-3) were edged 12-11 by the Beloit College Buccaneers last Friday in Beloit, Wisc.
Centenary has been productive on offense this season as the Maroon and White have scored 58 goals, an average of 11.6 goals per game, and have tallied 33 assists for a total of 91 points.
Six players have scored five goals or more including three Bossier City products: sophomore Ethan Hewett, freshman Gamble Harvill and sophomore Gibson Harvill.
Gamble Harvill has scored a team-high 13 goals, while Hewett and Gibson Harvill each have 10. Senior GK Dylan Miller of Shreveport has started all five games and has recorded 96 saves with a season-high 30 last week at Cornell College.
BASEBALL: The Gents defeated the Occidental College Tigers by a score of 7-3 Monday evening in the finale of a three-game non-conference series at Shehee Stadium.
The Diamond Gents (8-9) responded well after being swept in a doubleheader by the Tigers (4-9) on Sunday. Centenary returns to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at home this weekend against Schreiner. The series begins on Saturday with a twinbill at 1 and 4 p.m. and concludes on Sunday with a single game at noon.
SOFTBALL: The Ladies fell 4-1 to the nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in the finale of a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series at the Centenary Softball Complex.
The Ladies (6-8, 3-5 SCAC) were swept 6-1, 4-3 on Friday in a doubleheader by the Bulldogs (14-0, 8-0 SCAC). TLU entered the weekend ranked No. 8 in the country in the NFCA/Gorout Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches’ Poll.
Centenary goes to Concordia this weekend.
TRACK & FIELD: The outdoor season began March 1 in the Mississippi College Spring Cleaning Meet and Centenary had numerous top 10 performances.
Sophomore Christian Cormier earned a top-10 finish in the men’s 200 meters as he placed ninth in 22.63.
The Gents’ team of Dwayne Mills Jr., Cormier, Micaiah Birdlow and Obadiah Butler finished third in the 4×100 meter relay in 43.47.
Freshman Gabrielle Malagarie earned a fifth-place finish in the high jump (1.40m) and freshman Grayson Shugart finished fifth in the triple jump (9.90m).
Centenary is back in action this weekend in the McNeese Cowboy Relays “Bob Hayes LA Challenge” on Saturday in Lake Charles.
GYMNASTICS: A season-high 192.175 team score for second place on Saturday evening versus the Fisk University Bulldogs was the Ladies’ highlight in a non-conference dual meet on Senior Night inside the Gold Dome.
Fisk won the meet with a team score of 193.025 to edge Centenary in a competitive meet as the Ladies honored their 2025 senior class – Emma Lavelle, Sophie Schmitz, and Mylia Vidtor.
Centenary topped 190.00 for the first this season and its team score is the Ladies’ highest since recording a 190.325 last season against Texas Woman’s.
The Ladies earned season-best scores on vault (47.875) and bars (48.150) on Saturday, tied their season-high on floor (48.100), and recorded their second-best score on beam (48.050).
The Ladies head to Minneapolis, Minn. weekend to face the host University of Minnesota Gophers, Iowa, and LIU in a quad meet to wrap up the regular season.
The Ladies will host the annual MIC Championships on Friday, March 21
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu