College Notebook
Trojans picked to win cross country title
The Mount Olive men’s cross country team has been named the favorite to win the 2016 Conference Carolinas Men’s Cross Country Championship, the conference announced Thursday. The Trojans pulled nine first-place votes for a total of 90 points.
Mount Olive enters 2016 as a four-time defending Conference Carolinas champion, after becoming only the second team in Conference Carolinas Men’s Cross Country Championship history to record a perfect score.
The Trojans return three of eight All-Conference Carolinas performers from last year. Pol Domenech-Ferrer, Fredric Lang, Adam Craig and Jacob Urys all finished among the top 15 at the 2015 Conference Carolinas Championship.
The Trojans open their season Sept. 10 at the Furman Invitational.
Men’s Soccer
Duke: The team kicks off the season with the John Rennie Nike Invitational. The Blue Devils battled their way to a pair of ties against preseason top 10 teams in exhibition play. They tied No. 10 Georgetown 0-0 and No. 3 Clemson 2-2 last week.
N.C. State: The team officially begins the 67th season in program history Friday afternoon at the James Madison Invitational. The Wolfpack will begin tournament play against Radford at 5 p.m. and will conclude the weekend against host JMU Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
Elon: The team will begin the new campaign at the John Rennie/Nike Invitational for the fourth straight season. The Phoenix will take on UNC-Asheville to open the new year at 5 p.m. Friday. .
Women’s Soccer
Duke: The second-ranked team will hit the road this week for its first true road match as it (2-0) will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to face Arkansas (2-0) Friday. The Blue Devils will also host Coastal Carolina (1-0-1) Sunday, in the home opener at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils and Arkansas will meet for the fourth time in school history with the Blue Devils holding a 2-0-1 overall record in series.
ECU: After posting a 1-1 record on opening weekend, the Pirates will play the second of three-straight road matches when it travels to Blacksburg, Va., on Friday to face 18th-ranked Virginia Tech. The team is just one victory shy of 200 in its history. Since the inception of the program in 1994, the Pirates have averaged greater than nine victories per season.
Volleyball
N.C. State: The Wolfpack open the Linda Hampton-Keith era Friday at TCU against Northwestern State.
Duke: The team looks to extend its streak of five-straight victories in season openers, as the Blue Devils open the season with the Duke Invitational Friday and Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Their first match is set for 7:30 p.m., Friday against UNCG.
Elon: The Elon volleyball team begins its campaign this weekend at the Charlotte Invitational in Charlotte. The Phoenix is set to face host Charlotte in its season-opener on Friday, at noon before taking on Campbell on Saturday.
Mount Olive: The team has been picked ninth in the Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball preseason coaches poll in an announcement on Wednesday. The poll is voted on by head coaches of the 11 member institutions.
Field Hockey
Duke: After reaching the NCAA semifinals for the second time in three seasons last year, the Blue Devils begin the campaign ranked fourth in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll. The team will welcome William & Mary and No. 13 Liberty this weekend at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.
This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 11:30 PM with the headline "College Notebook."