Sports roundup: Buggs, Martin earn Peach Belt honors
By Patrick Motes and Justin Gray | Sports writers
AU volleyball’s Janvier Buggs and cross-county’s Brandon Martin have earned weekly recognition from the Peach Belt Conference. Buggs, a setter from Smyrna, Tenn., was named PBC specialist of the week, while Martin was named PBC runner of the week.
Buggs had 105 assists in three matches, which included straight-set wins over Emmanuel and Francis Marion. The senior setter had 40 assists (a personal high at AU) against FMU and another 39 in a four-set loss to Lander in a battle for first place in the PBC. It was Buggs’ second specialist-of-the-week award this season. She is a transfer from Austin Peay. The Jaguars are 14-4 overall on the season and 3-1 in conference play, and they look to bounce back Tuesday, Oct. 10, when they travel to play Georgia College in Milledgeville. First serve is at 6 p.m.
The Jaguars’ Martin finished in third place in the UAH Chargers Invitational in Huntsville, Ala. His time was 24 minutes and 18.7 seconds. He led the Jaguars to a second-place finish. Teammate Avery Jaynes finished ninth. AU’s cross-country teams will compete in the PBC championships at the University of North Georgia on Oct. 21.
Elsewhere:
The AU men’s golf team finished in third place in the Bank of Tennessee Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn. Stefan Jacobs and Dawson Booth each carded 216 scores for the 54-hole event to pace the Jaguars. Ryan Klis was third for AU at 218. East Tennessee State was the champion, with UNC Charlotte in second place.
The AU men’s cross-country team climbed to No. 19 in the most recent NCAA Division II poll. The Jaguars will compete in the Peach Belt Conference championship meet at the University of Georgia on Oct. 21. Augusta is after its fifth straight PBC crown.
Former AU volleyball standout Alexis Diaz-Infante signed a contract to play professionally for Prometeo Monteverde in Rome, Italy. She will play middle blocker.
Former AU golfer Henrik Norlander finished in four-way tie for second place after a five-player playoff in the Sanderson Farms Championship on Oct. 8. Augusta resident Luke List was the winner after making a 45-foot birdie putt on the opening extra hole in Jackson, Miss.
The Jaguar softball team played scrimmages at Georgia Southern and Mercer as part of the fall training. AU will start regular-season play in February.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, in Athens, the undefeated and top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs hosted the Kentucky Wildcats in a Saturday night primet-ime game. With many questions revolving around the Bulldogs and how good are they actually compared to the past two seasons, they looked to answer some questions. The Bulldogs put up an impressive 51-13 win over the Wildcats. With another masterclass performance from Carson Beck and Brock Bowers. Beck threw for 389 yds, four TDs and one interception. Bowers had another impressive game with 132 yards receiving and a TD. He is now emerging as serious Heisman Trophy candidate. The Bulldogs look to continue this dominance next week as they travel Oct. 14 to Nashville, Tenn., to play Vanderbilt at noon on CBS.
The Atlanta Braves dropped the opening game of the NLDS to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0. Spencer Strider was dominant in the loss going seven innings allowing two runs, only one earned. However, the Braves bounced in the second game to win 5-4 as Austin Riley hit a late two-run homer and Michael Harris II made a game-saving catch in the top of the ninth at the center-field wall—which turned into a double play. Travis d’Arnaud got Atlanta out of the doldrums with a key two-run homer.
Also in college football and staying in the SEC, Alabama survived on the road at Kyle Field defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 26-20. Jalen Milrow tallied more than 300 passing yards and former UGA wide receiver Jermaine Burton had 197 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Arguably the best game of the week was the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma in Dallas. The Sooners stunned the Longhorns scoring a last minute touchdown to secure a 34-30 win. This is a monumental win for second-year coach Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners are likely to find themselves in the top 5 in the next AP Top 25 poll.
USC and Coach Lincoln Riley scraped by in another game in which they were heavily favored. USC defeated Arizona 43-41 in triple overtime and showed another display with how much of a weakness their defense is. It will be interesting to see if USC finds themselves in the top 10 after this week.
Note: Drew Wall also contributed to this story.
Sophia Cruczko puts the hammer down during AU’s tough four-set loss to Lander on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jaguars will attempt to bounce back at Georgia College on Tuesday, Sept. 10. First serve is at 6 p.m. The match will be on the Peach Belt Conference live streaming network (https://pbcsportsnetwork.com/gcbobcats/). At the top of the page, Janvier Buggs gets one of her 40 assists in the AU’s volleyball win over Francis Marion; Buggs was named PBC specialist of the week. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
