ATLANTA – The Southern Athletic Association Championships are fast approaching, and five Stormy Petrel teams have postseason play just around the corner. It has been another achievement-filled fall season for each of these teams, and each one looks to translate that success into an even more successful finish.

The men's and women's soccer teams travel to Berry and Centre on Friday and Saturday, respectively; the men's and women's cross country teams travel to Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday; and volleyball starts postseason play on Nov. 4.

Men's Soccer

First tournament game: at Berry on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.

The Stormy Petrels finished the regular season with a 2-2 draw at Berry, earning them a return trip to Rome for their quarterfinal matchup. Oglethorpe is the No. 5 seed with a record of 5-5-5 (2-1-4 SAA) while Berry is the No. 4 seed with a record of 7-2-5 (3-2-2 SAA).

Berry has played each of its last three games at home and went undefeated with two draws in that stretch. The last one came when Tuli Mwarumba equalized in the 75th minute to eliminate the Viking lead and help Oglethorpe finish the season undefeated in its last five games.

The winner of the Berry-Oglethorpe game will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of the 1/8 matchup in Rhodes and Millsaps on Friday, Nov. 4. The highest remaining seed will host the last three games of the tournament.

Women's Soccer

First tournament game: at Centre on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m.

Oglethorpe heads into the postseason with a defense that is playing as well as any other in the league. With six cleans sheets on the year, the Petrels have allowed only four goals in the last five games and are 1-2-2 in that stretch. This helped them finish the regular season 4-7-3 (1-4-2 SAA).

In the last meeting with Centre, the Colonels scored a goal on a penalty kick late in the first half before adding two more in the second half to come away with a 3-0 home win. They were ranked No. 20 at the time but have since fallen out of the national top 25.

The winner of the Centre-Oglethorpe game will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of the 2/7 matchup in Berry and Birmingham Southern on Friday, Nov. 4. The highest remaining seed will host the last three games of the tournament. 

Men's Cross Country

SAA Championships: at Veterans Park on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 11 a.m. ET (women) and 12 p.m. ET (men)

The Stormy Petrels finished the regular season with several broken school and personal records, and the men's team is currently ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III South region. This season, the Petrels consistently finished in the top half or better at each meet.

The regular season ended at the UAB Blazer Classic, with the men taking ninth out of 18. Beck James finished 42nd, Ashton Deriso 66th, Zachary Benner 65th, and Connor Hedgpeth 76th.

James and Deriso have been leaders yet again this season, breaking several school and personal records. Deriso holds the team's best 5k time of 15:42 from the Jacksonville State Invitational, and the best 8k time of 25:25 from the Live in Lou Classic. James has finished on Deriso's heels in each race, as the pair smashed school and personal records this season. 

Deriso, James, and freshman Zachary Benner recorded the three fastest 8k times in Oglethorpe history at the Live in Lou Classic at the beginning of October, with times of 25:25, 25:52, and 25:57 respectively. 

Women's Cross Country

SAA Championships: at Veterans Park on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 11 a.m. ET (women) and 12 p.m. ET (men)

The Stormy Petrels ended the regular season at the UAB Blazer Classic, taking 12th place out of 19 teams. Riley Michaud finished 82nd, Elliott Baker took 91st, and Elina Malencea 93rd.

Michaud has been a tremendous team leader this season, breaking personal records along the way. She holds the team's best 4k time of 16:20 from the Jacksonville State Invitational, her personal best for the event, and the best 6k time of 24:54 from the UAB Blazer Classic.

Freshman Hannah Rhodes has made an impressive collegiate debut, holding the team's best 5k time of 20:34 from the Julius Johnson Invitational. Baker has also made a great debut, typically finishing races close behind Michaud and Rhodes.  

Volleyball

The Petrels are locked into the No. 4 seed after a strong finish to the SAA slate saw them move up to 13-9 (7-7 SAA). This matches their highest finish in the SAA since the inception of the league in 2012.

Oglethorpe's strong finish included winning five of the last seven matches and upsetting Birmingham Southern which was second in the league with only two losses to No. 8 Berry.

Oglethorpe has three more matches on the regular-season slate before jumping into postseason action Nov. 4-6. The tournament will be held at Berry. Times are to be announced.