The Tayo Bailey era of Butler women’s tennis got off to a winning start last weekend.

Bailey, a former standout at Butler, took over the program from Jason Suscha, who coached the Bulldogs for the past 13 years.

Butler started its spring season by defeating Atlantic 10 Conference rival Dayton 5-2 last Friday.

Junior Stephanie McLoughlin led the Bulldogs by winning her No. 1 singles match and No. 1 doubles match with senior partner Brittany Farmer.

Farmer, junior Caroline Hedrick and junior Laura Shull all won their singles matches as well.

Shull and sophomore Sienna Reuter won on the doubles side, capping the Bulldogs’ victory over the Flyers.

Bailey has emphasized an off-court training approach since taking over. Bailey has the Bulldogs in the weight room two to three times a week and working on conditioning five days a week.

The Bulldogs may be in better physical shape than last year, but Bailey values the mental side of the game just as highly. Bailey said her players must remain composed while also getting into opponents’ heads to be successful.

For the upcoming season, Bailey said she wants the Bulldogs to have a winning record and secure a top-five finish in the A-10.

Butler advanced to the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament and finished with a 9-15 record last year.

The Bulldogs play again Saturday at home against Western Michigan.

The new will meet the old this fall as the Butler volleyball team prepares for another season on the court.

The new is the fresh competition the Bulldogs will face in their first season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Collegian file photo

The old are the four starters returning to the team—junior middle blockers Maggie Harbison and Claire Randich and sophomore outside hitters Kelly Kyle and Belle Obert.

Also returning are sophomores Jadyn Yarling and Brooke Ruffolo, who will share time at the libero position.

Coach Sharon Clark said sophomore middle blocker Erica Stahl, a transfer from Cincinnati, is a player to watch this season for the Bulldogs.

Clark also said she expects the team’s captains, senior outside hitter Rachel Barber and junior setter Morgan Peterson, to rise into key leadership positions.

Peterson, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State, will fill the role of setter for Butler.

Members of the team and coaching staff said they are excited by the new challenges and opportunities they will face in the A-10.

Players said they are eagerly anticipating traveling to new locations and facing both new teams and previously non-conference opponents within the A-10.

Butler was ranked seventh in the A-10 preseason coaches’ poll following last season’s campaign, which saw the Bulldogs go 16-14 overall and 11-5 in Horizon League play.

Defending A-10 Conference champion Dayton was unanimously selected as this year’s preseason favorite to win the conference. Xavier was picked to finish second.

The Midwest contingent of A-10 teams—specifically Dayton, Xavier and Saint Louis—are teams that players and coaches said they are most excited to play.

“Those [matches] have a little more meaning for us personally as we have played those teams in the past,” Clark said. “Because of their location and membership in the A-10, they are built-in rivalry games for us.”

Despite the new conference, Clark said the team’s expectations are the same as they have always been.

“We have been working hard to be the best team we can be this preseason in order for us to play our best,” Clark said.

Clark said she places an emphasis on focusing on each match individually. The team’s goal to win the conference remains the same despite new competition.

The team has been busy in its preparation for the upcoming season and, with a short turnaround, has wasted no time in scouting its new competition.

Coaches assigned each player an A-10 team to scout and introduce to the rest of the Bulldogs, focusing on everything from style of play and last season’s results to school locations and mascots.

Ruffolo said she feels Butler has an advantage because some A-10 schools have not faced Butler in the past.

“My personal goal for this season is just to wow everyone,” Ruffolo said. “I don’t think teams expect a lot out of us, and we want to prove them wrong.”

The Bulldogs have their first chance to do so this Friday at the DePaul Invitational, with matches against Indiana State, Eastern Illinois and host DePaul.

The team will play its first home match on Sept. 7 against Western Illinois as it hosts the annual Butler Classic.

The Butler baseball team came from behind to beat Dayton in the team’s home opener Tuesday, winning 8-5.

The Flyers (2-8) scored four runs over the first four innings of play, taking a 4-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs (4-7) scored their first run of the game on an RBI double by junior catcher Nick Hladek in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Photo by Taylor Cox

In the next inning, Butler scored four runs to take its first lead of the day.

Senior outfielder Mike Hoscheit walked with the bases loaded, and senior Griffin Richeson was hit by a pitch in the following at-bat to bring another run home.

Junior outfielder Jack Dillon and freshman shortstop Austin Miller then recorded back-to-back singles with the bases loaded to give the Bulldogs their first lead.

“I’d say Dayton helped us out,” Butler coach Steve Farley said. “They brought in some new guys to pitch and committed some errors.”

Dayton was able to tie the game in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly, but a double by Dillon in the bottom of the inning drove in a pair of runs and gave Butler the lead for good.

The Bulldogs were able to battle back from an early deficit to take the victory three days after doing the same against Belmont.

“We’ve done that a few times this year,” Farley said. “We did that against Fresno State and in Tennessee against Belmont, and I’m impressed.

“The guys don’t quit, even in these tough games where we’re behind.”

Last weekend, the Bulldogs fell in the final game of a three-game series to Belmont, losing 8-2.

Down 2-0 after two innings, Butler junior third baseman Lucas Calderon had a run-scoring sacrifice groundout to cut the lead in half.

Butler was unable to handle the offensive attack of the Bruins (6-5) the rest of the way though.

Butler came from behind twice to beat Belmont 8-7 in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Bulldogs were down 5-1 when their bats came to life in the sixth inning.

Butler junior first baseman Jimmy Risi drove in three runs on a bases-loaded double before Hoscheit brought Risi home with a double of his own.

Junior catcher Radley Haddad singled to drive in the team’s fifth run of the inning, giving the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.

Belmont regained a 7-6 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Butler responded again in the eighth inning and secured the victory when Hoscheit hit a game-winning, two-run home run.

Butler lost to Belmont 12-4 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Bruins held a 12-0 lead before the Bulldogs tallied four runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Butler begins a four-game series at home against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday.

The Butler men’s tennis team fell just shy of earning its second victory of the season this weekend.

On Friday, the Bulldogs traveled to Dayton, where they suffered a close 4-3 loss.

Dropping the doubles point proved to be crucial for the Bulldogs (1-13).

Butler players that came away victorious in the singles play were senior Zach Ervin and freshmen Tommy Marx and Billy Weldon.

The match came down to No. 1 singles play, where Butler freshman Austin Woldmoe fell short.

On Saturday, the team went to Bloomington to face the No. 29 Indiana Hoosiers (9-3).

The Bulldogs fell 7-0 in their sixth match against a ranked opponent this season.

Butler will begin conference play on March 24, taking on Valparaiso and Illinois-Chicago the weekend after spring break.

The Butler women’s tennis team was busy over the weekend, defeating Dayton on the road Saturday after falling to Eastern Kentucky at home the day before.

The Bulldogs (1-3) picked up their first victory of the season with a 6-1 win over the Flyers (0-4).

Five of Butler’s six singles competitors won their respective matches in straight sets. Leading the way was sophomore Caroline Hedrick, who defeated Dayton sophomore Claire McNulty 6-1, 6-0 in No. 1 singles action.

The Bulldogs also received victories from sophomore Stephanie McLoughlin (No. 2), senior Cam Thompson (No. 4), sophomore Laura Shull (No. 5) and sophomore Angelina Qin (No. 6) in singles play.

Photo by Rachel Anderson

Butler was also victorious in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.

The squad’s match on Friday against Eastern Kentucky saw a different result, as the Bulldogs dropped a 7-0 decision to the Colonels (3-0).

The only Bulldog not to lose in straight sets was Thompson, who lost 6-4, 5-7 (1-0).

“[Thompson] has that ability when she is determined,” coach Jason Suscha said. “It was a really fun match to watch.”

Qin and senior Ashley Breitenbach were the only Bulldogs to pick up a win on the day, taking their No. 3 doubles match 8-6. It was the first time the two were paired together this season.

Against both Eastern Kentucky and Dayton, junior Brittany Farmer was forced out of action due to illness.

“That cost us a bit with Eastern Kentucky,” Suscha said. “They are a quality team with nice athletes.”

Butler will be back in action Saturday when the team travels to the University of Indianapolis at 5 p.m.

Butler senior kicker David Lang has been “good as gold” this season, to steal a term often used to describe Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould.

Lang drilled a game-winning, 35-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining in the game to give the Butler football team a 29-27 victory over Dayton on Saturday.

“That was a great win,” Butler head coach Jeff Voris said.

Lang nailed another 35-yard field goal earlier in the fourth quarter as well as a career-long 46-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first quarter.

The performance earned Lang the Pioneer Football League’s Special Teams Player of the Week honor, his second this season.

The Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1) needed all the points that Lang produced after blowing a 10-point advantage against the Flyers, (3-2, 1-1) the co-champion of the PFL last season.

Butler overcame Dayton’s defensive effort on its first drive of the game, moving the ball 83 yards in 11 plays.

The drive finished in the end zone with a three-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Zach Watkins from senior quarterback Andrew Huck.

Huck ended the day with 255 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

The Bulldogs had a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter thanks to Lang’s 46-yard field goal.

The Flyers rallied in the second quarter to score two consecutive touchdowns and gain a 14-10 lead.

Butler responded by putting together an 80-yard drive in the last three minutes of the first half. Huck capped the drive with a four-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jeff Larsen, giving the Bulldogs a 16-14 lead at halftime.

Photo by Mickey Shuey

“We came out really strong,” sophomore cornerback Kevin Cook said. “Dayton has always been one of our biggest rivals. We had the mentality ‘we can win’, and that’s what gave us tempo.”

The third quarter saw tight defense and one touchdown for each squad. Dayton’s failed two-point conversion after its touchdown left the Bulldogs with a 23-20 lead.

The tide turned for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter after a Butler punt was blocked and returned 42 yards, giving Dayton a 27-23 lead.

“That put us down, but we set the tempo on the next drive,” Cook said.

The Bulldogs erased part of the deficit when Lang made a 35-yard field goal, bringing the Bulldogs within one point of the Flyers with 7:52 remaining.

After the field goal, Butler’s defense held strong to give the offense another opportunity. The Bulldogs’ defense limited Dayton to 78 passing yards and 162 rushing yards while forcing three turnovers.

“[The defense] was more aggressive on the short passes, and we really wanted to press that,” Cook said.

Butler sealed the victory with Lang’s field goal with seven seconds left to go.

Cook said that beating last season’s PFL co-champs made the Butler win even sweeter.

“We don’t want to share anything with anybody,” Cook said. “If we can beat the league champs, then we can be the league champs. This win was crucial to the rest of our season.”

The Bulldogs will hit the road for their next game at Campbell Saturday.