New at the Abbey…

Teaching Kitchen

(Photos courtesy of the Dining Hall)

Agora’s Poetry, Song, and Story Night

(Photos courtesy of Agora)

Go Gaston

We were excited to welcome about a hundred local high school students to the Abbey! Our guests received a welcome from our coaches, Benedict the Crusader, our top faculty, and an alumni panel. They were also treated to some fun giveaways and a tour of our beautiful campus! We look forward to Go Gaston month next October! #AbbeyLifeIsGood

Debate

Berea 2017

The Belmont Abbey Debate Team traveled to Berea, Kentucky this weekend to compete at Berea College. This tournament hosted a shortened version of several events, including both performance-based individual events and parliamentary debate. We concluded the weekend with two debate semifinalists and a second place speaker in varsity! Our major competition occurred in IPDA debate; five Belmont Abbey students competed in four preliminary rounds.

In novice, Anastasjiah McGriff went 2-2, missing elimination rounds by one ballot. Maximilian Marck won all four preliminary ballots, advancing to quarterfinals. Max won the quarterfinal round against Morehouse College on a 3-0 decision before dropping in semifinals to Berea College on a 1-2 decision.

In open debate, Mary Rose went 1-3 and Adrianna Hodges went 3-1. Due to a round with slightly lower than average speaking points, Addie missed qualification to quarterfinals; she tied for ninth place overall. Eric Swartz also won three of his preliminary ballots, advancing to elimination rounds as the second place varsity speaker. He won quarterfinals against the University of Kentucky on a 2-1 decision before dropping to a debater from Transylvania University. The cumulative record placed Belmont in the top five of 15 schools at the Berea Tournament!

Belmont Abbey Placed Eight Nationally

While the International Public Debate Association is still entering numbers for some of our recent tournaments, current varsity rankings have Belmont Abbey placed eighth nationally!

The Belmont Abbey College Debate Team also traveled to Spokane, Washington last weekend to compete in the Nationals preview competition at Whitworth University. Following preliminary rounds, Belmont Abbey was ranked third overall out of 10 schools. In novice, freshman Hunter Owen was consistently ranked well as a speaker, earning seventh place honors out of 19. Anastasjiah McGriff won two ballots, placing her a single ballot away from elimination rounds.

In the open division, Eric Swartz won four out of five rounds, which placed him as ninth seed in a field of 40 varsity debaters. Logan Torve won three of five rounds, placing him in a tie for 11th seed of the same field and securing seventh place for varsity in speaking points. Mary Rose Stepnowski rounded out the varsity team by winning two ballots, including a round with a perfect speaking points score of 40. These contributions allowed the varsity team to collectively defeat Azusa Pacific University for team rankings following preliminary rounds.

Abbey Awakening Retreat Sign-ups

Experience the first-ever Abbey Awakening retreat! January 13-15. 2018.

Current students, if you haven’t signed up already, make sure to at: https://zarchive.bac.edu/awakening/

New in Athletics…

Crusaders Compete at Mountain Bike Nationals

MISSOULA, Mont. — A pair of Belmont Abbey cyclists competed this weekend at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championship, gaining valuable experience along the way. Click here for the full story

Crusaders Sweep Past Winston-Salem State

BELMONT, N.C. — Mackenzie Chrapliwy and Lexi Henriott topped double figures in kills and Cassidy Bonito notched her third straight double-double, leading Belmont Abbey to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-19 victory over Winston-Salem State Wednesday night in women’s volleyball action. Click here for the full story

Crusaders Secure Home Field Advantage With 2-1 Win

BELMONT, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey men’s soccer team defeated the Emmanuel Lions 2-1 in their final home regular-season match, securing themselves a home game in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. With the victory the Crusaders improve to 9-4-1 with a 6-2-1 conference record, guaranteeing one of the top four seeds in the upcoming tournament. Click here for the full story

Arrowood, Elliott Tally Goals Against Lions

BELMONT, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey women’s soccer team clinched home field advantage in the first round of the Conference Carolinas tournament with a 2-1 victory over Emmanuel (Ga.) this afternoon. With the victory, The Abbey moved to 10-5-1 in 2017, with a 6-3-1 conference record. The Lions dipped to 7-7-1 overall, and 3-6-1 in conference play. Click here for the full story