Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Coaches visit N.H. recruit

49ers coaches visited point guard prospect Elijah Carter at Brewster (N.H.) Academy today, according to Carter's Twitter account.

"It was good," Carter tweeted.

Coach Alan Major continues to work hard after getting verbal commitments in the past week from center Mike Thorne of Fayetteville and West Mecklenburg shooting guard Terrence Williams.

Carter was scheduled to take his official visit to Charlotte last weekend.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Cuero's goal wins it

Andres Cuero's 25-yard blast with 5:55 left in the second overtime gave Charlotte a 2-1 victory against Clemson in men's soccer Tuesday.

It was the second goal of the game for Cuero. Charlotte improves to 4-4, while the Tigers drop to 1-5-1.

Charlotte, Clemson headed to overtime

The 49ers and Clemson are tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and heading to overtime.

Charlotte had several chances late in regulation, but couldn't score. The best of the chances came from Anthony Perez, whose close-range shot was high with 7 1/2 minutes left. Five minutes later -- with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation --
Isaac Cowles' header off a corner sailed just wide of the goal.

Niners, Clemson tied at half

The 49ers and Clemson are tied 1-1 at halftime of their men's soccer game at TransAmerica Field.

Senior Andres Cuero scored Charlotte's goal at 22:15 on a nice header off a free kick by Donnie Smith. Cuero flicked it on past Tigers goalkeeper Cody Mizell.

Clemson had taken a 1-0 lead at 18:30 on a 15-yard volley by Jack Metcalf after Charlotte failed to clear a corner kick.

Charlotte outshot Clemson 16-3 in the half.

Golf finishes 6th at VCU tournament

The 49ers' 10th-ranked golf team finished sixth at the VCU Shootout in Richmond today, 12 shots behind winner UNC Wilmington.

Charlotte's Olafur Loftsson finished tied for seventh with a one-under par 215. Other 49ers finishes: Paul Ferrier and Will Golden (both tied for 23rd), Andy Sajevic (tied for 37th), Simon St-Louis (tied for 44th) and Rafael Guererro (66th).

Iowa State's Nate McCoy won the individual championship with an eight-under 208.

West Meck guard commits to 49ers

Terrence Williams, a 6-foot-4 guard from West Mecklenburg High, has verbally committed to the 49ers' men's basketball team, according to his coach Donald Kirby.

Williams averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds as a junior last season. Kirby said he chose Charlotte over Tulane, East Carolina, College of Charleston and Northeastern. Kirby also said Clemson showed some late interest in Williams.

Williams is new 49ers coach Alan Major's second freshman recruit for the 2011 season, following big man Mike Thorne of Fayetteville.

The 49ers are also in the running for point guard Elijah Carter of Brewster (N.H.) Academy, who made his official visit last weekend, and small forward E. Victor Nickerson of Norcross, Ga.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Wingo earns A-10 women's soccer honor

-- Charlotte's Macky Wingo, who had two goals and an assist in two 49ers victories over the weekend, is the Atlantic 10's women's soccer co-player of the week.

Wingo, a junior midfielder from Raleigh, had a goal and an assist in Charlotte's 4-0 victory Friday against High Point, then scored the lone goal in the 49ers' 1-0 victory against Francis Marion on Sunday.

The 49ers (7-3) open league play this weekend with games at Massachusetts (Friday) and Rhode Island (Sunday).

-- The 49ers' men's soccer team, which hasn't won since upsetting Wake Forest two weeks ago, hosts another ACC team on Tuesday when Clemson comes to Transamerica Field.

Charlotte has lost to Campbell and South Carolina by identical 1-0 scores since beating the Deacons. Charlotte hadn't lost at home since Oct. 25, 2008 before the Gamecocks' loss on Saturday. The 49ers (3-4) also are host to Furman on Saturday.

-- Charlotte's golf team -- ranked 10th in ths week's Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index -- is in Richmond, Va., today and Tuesday to play in the Verizon Wireless VCU Shootout.

Charlotte's Corey Nagy won the individual title last year at the VCU tournament.

The 49ers recently finished fourth in their season-opening Gopher Invitational in Minnesota.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Nagy, women's soccer are winners

-- Former 49ers golfer Corey Nagy took the first step toward getting to the PGA Tour on Friday, winning a pre-qualifying tournament for Q school in Valdosta, Ga.



Nagy shot an 8-under par 280 to win at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club. Nagy shot 74-67-68-71 to win by two strokes.

-- The women's soccer team beat High Point 4-0, improving to 6-3. The 49ers play Sunday at Francis Marion. Oni Bernard scored twice for the 49ers.

Trustees see new stadium renderings

The latest architectural renderings of the Charlotte 49ers' on-campus stadium were unveiled to the school's board of trustees Friday morning.


A few highlights:

-- The stadium will initially seat 15,000 and is expandable to 40,000 (seen above) or possibly to 60,000. That will presumably happen when the 49ers move from playing in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. The expansion would include an upper deck and expanded press box. Groundbreaking is set for May 2011.

-- The field will be artificial turf. Two natural-grass practice fields -- one 100 yards, the other 80 yards -- be adjacent to the stadium.

-- The scoreboard will not have a video screen at first, but there is space for it to expanded to include that.

-- The stadium will not have lights initially, but they will be added later.

-- The field house in the stadium's south end will, in addition to locker rooms, have an observation deck.

Renderings courtesy of Jenkins Peer Architects.

Click on each image below to see larger version:



Thursday, September 23, 2010

Video of Whitney Weinraub

Charlotte 49ers senior forward Whitney Weinraub needs four goals to break the school's career scoring record held by Hailey Beam and Courtney Cook. She'll get another shot at the record this weekend with games Friday at High Point and Sunday at Francis Marion. We have a profile of Weinraub in Friday's Observer and here's some game video of her shot by the 49ers' sports information office.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Duke highlights women's basketball schedule

The 49ers' women's basketball schedule was released Wednesday, with Charlotte opening its season with a home game in the Preseason Women's NIT against Iona on Nov. 13. Two weeks later, the 49ers will play host to Duke on Nov. 27.
Charlotte's Atlantic 10 season begins Jan. 7 with a home game against Temple.
The A-10 tournament is Feb. 4-7 in Lowell, Mass.

Nov. 13, Iona (Preseason WNIT); 15, 17, 21 Preseason WNIT, TBA; 23, Savannah State; 27, Duke; 30, at N.C. A&T.

Dec. 2, at UNC Wilmington; 5, East Carolina; 8, at Western Carolina; 11, Virginia Commonwealth; 19, at Arkansas State; 22, Md.-Eastern Shore; 28-29, at Tulane Classic (Old Dominion, Tulane/Nicholls State).

Jan. 2, Virginia Tech; 7, Temple; 12, Fordham; 15, at Saint Joseph's; 19, at Rhode Island; 22, Xavier; 26, at Richmond; 30, at Saint Louis.

Feb. 5, at Massachusetts; 9, George Washington; 12, Dayton; 16, at La Salle; 19, Saint Louis; 23, Duquesne; 26, at St. Bonaventure.

March 4-7, Atlantic 10 tournament (at Lowell, Mass.).

Major's 2nd freshman recruit 'still growing'

Mike Thorne, a 6-10 center who verbally committed to Charlotte's men's basketball program earlier this week, isn't close to finishing growing or developing his game, his high school coach says.

"He's one of those kids who has developed late, like most 'bigs' do," said Heath Vandevender, the coach at Fayetteville's Trinity Christian, where Thorne will be a senior this season.

Vandevender confirmed that Thorne became new 49ers coach Alan Major's second freshman recruit (following guard Luka Voncina) earlier this week after making his official visit over the weekend.

"He's taking a while to catch up with his body," said Vandevender, who said Thorne averaged 5.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks as a part-time starter as a junior last season.

"He's about 244 pounds now, so he looks skinny. But he's still growing. He might be 6-11 by the time he gets to Charlotte."

Vandevender said Thorne has a 2.9 GPA -- and size 18 shoes. He transferred to Trinity Christian after his freshman year at Fayetteville Westover.

Vandevender said Thorne had narrowed his college choices to Winthrop, Tulane, Western Carolina, Marquette and James Madison. He had already visited Winthrop, Tulane and James Madison.

Elijah Carter, a guard from Brewster (N.H.) Academy is making his official visit to Charlotte this weekend

Major has already signed guard DeMario Mayfield, a transfer from Georgia who will sit out this season. The 49ers are also in the running for shooting guard Terrence Williams of West Mecklenburg and small forward E. Victor Nickerson of Norcross, Ga.

49ers' 1st football game: Campbell

The Charlotte 49ers' first-ever football game will be at home against Campbell on Aug. 31, 2013.

The game is scheduled to be played in a new, on-campus stadium. A time for the game hasn't been set.

The Camels -- an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision program -- are the second Pioneer League team the 49ers will play in their first season. They are already scheduled to play at Morehead State later that season.

"Each day, we get closer and closer to our first football season," said 49ers athletics director Judy Rose in a statement. "Today, we have our first opponent in sight. We are thrilled to be able to get this first game scheduled and are excited to announce that it will be at home so our fans can celebrate what is sure to be an historic occasion."

The 49ers will play at Campbell, Sept. 20, 2014.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Weinraub nearing scoring record

Charlotte's Whitney Weinraub continued to close in on the school scoring record Friday, getting her 33rd career goal Friday afternoon in the 49ers' 2-1 women's soccer victory against Towson in Philadelphia. Weinraub is three goals shy of the school mark. Sam Huecker also scored for Charlotte (5-2), which plays Villanova on Sunday.

N.J. guard taking official visit

Point guard Elijah Carter will make an official visit to Charlotte on Sept. 24, according to his prep school's Twitter account.

Carter (6-foot-2), who will play this season at Brewster (N.H.) Academy, reportedly had already committed to St. Bonaventure, but backed out of that. He includes Charlotte with several other schools he's now considering, including Cincinnati and Virginia Tech. The school's tweet said he'll visit the Bearcats on Oct. 11.

Carter played in high school at Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Observations on a big soccer win

A few observations from the 49ers' convincing 2-0 men's soccer victory against No. 12 Wake Forest on Tuesday at Transamerica Field:

-- As smothering as Charlotte's attack was, the 49ers' defense obviously had just as much to do with the victory. Coach Jeremy Gunn thinks center backs Isaac Cowles and Charles Rodriguez are as good a pair as there is in the country. Charlotte hasn't allowed a goal in over two games.

-- Goalkeeper Patrick Eavinson, a former Charlotte Catholic player, got the shutout in his first start. He made a couple of crucial saves in both halves.

-- Charlotte's attack feeds off the energy of Jennings Rex, Evan James and Andres Cuero (the team's only senior). T.J. Beaulieu, Will Mayhew and Owen Darby came off the bench to add a dose of it, too.

Monday, September 13, 2010

49ers get late game in Charleston

Charlotte's men's basketball team will play George Mason at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 -- the final game of the first round of the Charleston Classic. The winner of the 49ers-Patriots game will play the winner of Thursday's 6 p.m. game between East Carolina and N.C. State at 6 p.m. Nov. 19 (Friday). The losers will play at 8:30 Nov. 19.

Other first-round games include Coastal Carolina-Georgetown (noon) and USC Upstate-Wofford (2:30 p.m.).

The tournament takes the day off Saturday, Nov. 20. The championship game is Sunday at 8 p.m., with games for seventh, fifth and third places at 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Hickory star verbally commits to women's basketball

Hillary Sigmon, a 6-0 guard from Hickory High, has verbally committed to Charlotte's women's basketball team.

Sigmon averaged 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 5 assists as a junior for the Red Tornadoes last season. Hickory is 79-9 in her three seasons. She also was a conference MVP and league tournament MVP last season.

Friday, September 10, 2010

49ers to play George Mason in Charleston

The 49ers' men's basketball team will play George Mason in the first round of the Charleston Classic Nov. 18-21. The 49ers' potential opponent in their next game would be N.C. State, which plays East Carolina in the opening round.

The tournament's bracket is expected to be released on Monday. The final two teams in the eight-team field -- Coastal Carolina and USC Upstate -- will also be officially announced then.

The other teams in the field are Georgetown and Wofford.

George Mason was 17-15 last season and lost in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament to Fairfield. The Patriots have one of the top players in the Colonial Athletic Association in guard Cam Long.

Fall baseball practice opens today

-- The 49ers' baseball team opens fall practice today at 1:30 p.m, going again Saturday at noon and Sunday at 5 p.m.

Charlotte is coming off a 39-17 record (20-7 in the Atlantic 10). The 49ers tied school records last season with 17 consecutive home victories and 29 home victories overall. They return players like pitcher Corey Roberts and infielder Justin Roland, who both made All-American teams last season.

The 49ers' pro scout day is Oct. 12 and alumni day is Oct. 23.

-- We'll probably have news over the next few days about which two teams will fill out the Charleston Classic -- the tournament the 49ers' men's basketball team is playing in November --as well as who Charlotte's first-round opponent will be.

-- The 49ers volleyball team hosts three matches today and Saturday. Although it's called the Hilton University Place Classic, it should be called the Ampersand Classic. Charlotte's opponents are William & Mary, N.C. A&T and Alabama A&M.

-- The men's soccer team is playing in a tournament in Birmingham, Ala., against Alabama-Birmingham tonight and Memphis on Saturday.

-- The women are at UNC Greensboro today and home to UNC Wilmington on Sunday. Coach John Cullen's team (3-1) then plays six straight on the road. They're not home again until Oct. 6 against St. Bonaventure.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Men's basketball schedule released

Three games against teams from college basketball's "power" conferences, as well as a return to their rivalry against Davidson, highlight the Charlotte 49ers' 2010-11 men's basketball schedule.

Charlotte opens its season Nov. 13 at Halton Arena against S.C. State. The following week it will play in the Charleston Classic, which includes teams such as N.C. State and Georgetown. Then the 49ers will play at the Pac-10's Oregon State on Nov. 24, against the SEC's Tennessee at Bobcats Arena on Dec. 17 and at the ACC's Georgia Tech on Jan. 2.

Charlotte plays Davidson for the first time since 2007 at the Wildcats' Belk Arena on Dec. 11.
Charlotte opens its Atlantic 10 season Jan 5 at Richmond.

"The schedule is challenging with teams like Tennessee, which could be a top 15 team, and going to Oregon State and to the Charleston Tournament for three games in four days where we will be tested by teams like Georgetown and N.C State," said first-year coach Alan Major. "It’s definitely a schedule that has some BCS flavor.

"You want to put yourself in position by the end of the year that you’ve seen every scenario. I think this schedule is set up that way. We have strong home and road games, a multiple-game format, a cross country trip – hopefully this will put us in the position that we have seen a lot by the time late February, early March rolls around."

Nov. 13, S.C. State; 18-21, Charleston Classic; 24, at Oregon State; 27, Radford.

Dec. 1, at East Carolina; 7, Winthrop; 11, at Davidson; 17, Tennessee (at Bobcats Arena); 22, Wright State; 30, at Mercer.

Jan. 2, at Georgia Tech; 5, at Richmond; 8, at St. Bonaventure; 15, Fordham, 19, Massachusetts; 22, at Duquesne; 26, at Temple; 29, La Salle.

Feb. 2, Xavier; 5, George Washington; 12, at Rhode Island; 16, Dayton; 19, at Saint Louis; 23, George Washington; 26, Richmond.

March 2, at Xavier; 5, Saint Joseph's; 8 (campus sites), 11-13, Atlantic 10 tournament (at Atlantic City, N.J.).
.

Labor Day weekend wrapup

Back from a long Labor Day weekend:

-- The complete men's basketball schedule might be released as early as this afternoon.

-- Charlotte's T.J. Beaulieu, who had a goal and an assist in the 49ers' two games last week, is the Atlantic 10's men's soccer player of the week. Beaulieu, a junior forward, scored Charlotte's only goal in a 1-0 victory Saturday against Elon and assisted in the 49ers' 2-1 season-opening loss against UNC Greensboro.

Charlotte's next games are this weekend in Birmingham, Ala., against Memphis and Alabama-Birmingham.

-- It was a great weekend for the volleyball and women's cross country teams. The volleyball team won the Patriot Invitational at Fairfax, Va., beating George Mason, West Virginia and Army. Charlotte, which is at Duke tonight, hosts its own tournament Friday and Saturday.

The women's cross country team won the USC Upstate Eyeopener at Spartanburg, with 42 points. Senior Keara Thomas finished second individually with a 5K time of 18:05. Laura McCary, Janet Barry and Aurora Trujillo all finished in the top 10.

-- The men's cross country team finished 4th in the same meet, with Daweet Dagnachew finishing 14th.

Both teams are back in action Sept. 17 at the Clemson Invitational.

-- The women's soccer team split weekend home games against the Pac 10's Arizona State (losing 1-0) and the Big East's Pittsburgh (a 2-1 victory). Charlotte takes a 3-1 record into games this week at UNC Greensboro on Friday and home against UNC Wilmington on Sunday.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Basketball reunion Friday

New 49ers men’s basketball coach Alan Major is having a reunion dinner Friday for former Charlotte players, managers and coaches.

The dinner will be at the south Charlotte home of Jeff Gruber, who played on Charlotte’s 1977 Final Four team.

Major got the idea for the reunion dinner from Thad Motta, his old boss at Ohio State. Major said more than 200 former Buckeyes players attended last year’s reunion in Columbus.

“There’s so much honor and tradition in our program,” said Major. “I want it to be really special for these guys. They can give me history lessons. I’m sure the scoring averages will go up 10 of 15 points with all the stories we’ll hear.”

Former stars like Curtis Withers, Lew Massey, Rodney White and George Jackson plan to attend, as does former coach Jeff Mullins. Here’s who’s planning on attending:

Jerry Anthony (‘66-69); Joe Badgett (‘85-87); Ben Basinger (‘67-70); Demon Brown (‘01-04); Todd Crowley (‘77-79); Byron Dinkins (‘86-89); Eric "Slim" Duncan (‘86-89); Tremaine Gardiner (‘96-00); Butch Gilbert (‘62-65); Jeff Gruber (‘75-78); Gary Gummerson (‘62-65); Roderick Howard (‘94-97); Lane Hurley (’67); George Jackson (‘74-75); Jimmy James (‘62-66); Kevin King (‘76-79); Jarvis Lang (‘91-95); Lew Massey (‘75-78); Jeff Mullins; Jermaine Parker (‘92-95); Daniel Plondke (‘87-88); Michael Pulley ( ‘86-87); Johnathan Shaw; Ron Stallings (‘87-91); David Taylor; T.J. Tison (’96); Michael Washington (‘86-89); Rodney White (’01); Lee Whitfield (‘77-78);
Curtis Withers (‘03-06).

Walk-on tryouts set for Sept. 15

The 49ers men's basketball team will hold tryouts for walk-ons on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. in Halton Arena.

Candidates must be full-time students at UNC Charlotte and must provide a transcript and physical to the men's basketball office by 10 a.m. Sept. 14. Sickle cell checkups will also be performed today and Sept. 8.