Friday, Aug. 15 saw athletes from Covenant’s five fall sports, mens and womens soccer, mens and womens cross country, and womens volleyball return to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, to begin a new athletic season. All five of these teams knew full well that postseason success was within reach, both in and beyond the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS).
Two of these teams, mens cross country and womens volleyball, return from conference championships in 2024. Two others, mens soccer and womens cross, come into the season with a wealth of talent from conference runner-up squads in the 2024-25 season.
Coaches from all over the CCS noticed these factors coming into the new school year, with mens cross country and mens soccer tabbed in the CCS coaches poll to finish at the top of the conference.
This would give mens cross country back-to-back CCS conference titles as they attempt to improve from their 12th-place finish at the NCAA Regional meet the previous season.
A conference championship for the mens soccer team would give them their fourth conference championship and third national tournament appearance since 2021.
Womens cross country and volleyball both look to challenge the perceived dominance of Asbury University, the school now in their sophomore season in the CCS, as the Eagles were tabbed to finish first above both teams in the CCS preseason poll.
Beyond in-conference goals, womens cross country looks to improve from their 16th-place finish at NCAA Regionals in 2024. As well as volleyball having the chance to return to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, where in 2024 they exited in the first round to a strong Emory team.
Meanwhile, womens soccer was selected to finish fifth in the conference; the middle-of-the-road ranking could still serve as fuel for the fire, as the team can play spoiler in the seasons of strong in-conference opponents.