Catching up with some 49ers athletes ...

-- Pepperdine transfer Michael Gerrity, who is expected to start at point guard for the men’s basketball team when he becomes eligible in December, is ranked ninth among College Hoops Update’s Top 15 incoming transfers in NCAA Division I this season.
The 6-foot-180-pound sophomore averaged 14.1 points and 3.4 assists per game for Pepperdine as a freshman and was named CBSportsline.com’s rookie of the year in the West Coast Conference.
Gerrity was one of four Atlantic 10 players on the Top 15 list. Leading the way in the top position is Duquesne junior center Shawn James, a transfer from Northeastern. Duquesne junior point guard Kojo Mensah, a transfer from Siena, is ranked third. Xavier’s C.J. Anderson, a junior forward and transfer from Manhatten, is ranked fourth.

-- Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer sophomore midfielder Luke Exley was named to College Soccer News’ national team of the week for his performance against Rhode Island and Massachusetts last weekend. He is the first Charlotte player to earn national team of the week honors since goalkeeper David Martin was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com’s weekly national team in September 2006.
Exley scored the 49ers’ goal in a 1-1 double-overtime tie with Rhode Island and assisted on the winning goal in a 1-0 win against previously undefeated Massachusetts last weekend.

JIM UTTER

Guard Barnett takes elbow to nose

Charlotte 49ers freshman shooting guard Javarris Barnett became the first casualty of the preseason, taking an elbow to his nose during Tuesday's practice while practicing half court defense drills.

Upon first examination it appeared Barnett had broken his nose. He was planning to be evaluated again later Tuesday evening.

Barnett, who played at Charlotte's Victory Christian, had already made good progress and has had some unintended improvement as well. He arrived on campus measuring at 6-foot-5 and weighing about 200 pounds.

Two months into his freshman year, Barnett has had another growth spurt and strength and conditioning coach Preston Greene said the 18-year-old was already pushing 6-7. Greene was planning to take an official measurement on Wednesday.

Before his incident on Tuesday, Barnett appeared to be playing well, working hard on defense and hitting open 3-pointers when the opportunity arose.

Notable Niners in soccer

Some kudos to Charlotte 49ers soccer players this week:

-- Charlotte junior forward Nikki Dumencich was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for her performance in the 49ers' road win at Dayton on Sunday. Dumencich scored both of Charlotte's goals in its 2-1 win at Dayton.

-- Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer goalkeeper David Martin, a sophomore from Timnath, Colo., was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after his performance against Rhode Island and Massachusetts this past weekend.
Martin allowed only one goal and recorded eight saves in the 49ers' 1-1 overtime tie with Rhode Island and collected his 11th career shutout with six saves in Charlotte's 1-0 win over Massachusetts on Sunday.

Coley catches some air

Junior Charlie Coley stole the show at the UNC Charlotte Bookstore 2007 Basketball Madness, Thursday night at Halton Arena. Coley showed off his jumping ability yet again, celebrating his victory in the event's annual Slam Dunk Contest by jumping over a chair on top of a table for a memorable dunk.

-- Photo courtesy of Charlotte 49ers Sports Information Office.

Vote Ozimek for Lowe's Senior Class Award

Charlotte 49ers fans can help one of their own win a prestigious award this season.

Lindsey Ozimek, a senior midfielder on the 49ers' women's soccer team, has been named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, the nation’s premier award for NCAA senior student-athletes.

The 10 finalists are placed on the Lowe’s Senior Class Award ballot for a nationwide vote which started Wednesday and concludes Nov. 21. Fan balloting is available at the award’s official Web site, www.seniorclassaward.com. Fan votes will be combined with those from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award.

In the last year, Ozimek has been named first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, first-team All-Atlantic 10, 2006 Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team, A-10 Academic All-Conference team, NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-South region team, NSCAA All-Southeast Region second-team and Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region third-team.

The Lowe’s Senior Class Award is presented annually in eight NCAA Division I sports to senior student-athletes who have outstanding attributes in four areas: the classroom, community, character and competition. Winners will be announced during the NCAA Soccer Championships, Dec. 7-9 in College Station, Texas.

Women's freshman Sam Huecker receives soccer recognition

Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer freshman midfielder Sam Huecker was named to Soccer Buzz’s Elite Team of the Week after scoring four of Charlotte’s five goals last weekend.

She also earned Atlantic 10 Player and Rookie of the Week honors.

Huecker is the second 49er to be named to Soccer Buzz’s Elite Team of the Week this season. Senior midfielder Lindsey Ozimek was named to the team, Oct. 2.

Currently, Huecker is second on the team with 15 points (five goals and five assists) behind Ozimek’s 18 points.

Top recruit to visit B-ball Madness

Charlotte is getting an unexpected guest at Thursday's "Basketball Madness" event at Halton Arena.

Karron Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward who attends Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham and currently ranked sixth overall in the Class of 2009 by recruiting Web site rivals.com, plans to make an unofficial visit to Charlotte on Thursday, his AAU coach confirmed Tuesday night.

Johnson, who has already received offers from Virginia, Memphis and Louisiana State, is rated the No. 1 small forward among high school juniors.

Johnson, 17, hails from Richmond, Va., and has played for the Squires Richmond AAU team and coach Tony Squire since he was 13. Charlotte assistant basketball coach Chris Cheeks, a former star at Virginia Commonwealth, is friends with Squire.

"I told Karron he needs to keep his options wide open," Squire said. "I told him to go out and take a look at teams and coaches and their styles and think about what he likes and what would work for him."

Squire said his relationship with Cheeks is part of the reason he thinks the visit to Charlotte would be a smart one for Johnson.

"I've known Chris since he was up here playing at VCU. You know, for the most part, a lot of these kids don't know much about these schools when you get down to it," Squire said. "Having someone who is from the area certainly makes it easier to make a connection."

But could a player of Johnson's stature really come to Charlotte?

"Of course." Squire said. "Stranger things have happened."

Squire said Cheeks, then an assistant at West Virginia, lured away another one of Squire's players, Jonathan Hargett, in 2002.

The Richmond Squires have a long history of talented players, including Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudemire, Marco Killingsworth, among others.

Johnson had hoped to attend Georgetown's "Midnight Madness" basketball event last week, but was unable to make travel arrangements in time, Squire said.

"I know he has practice starting up this week at Mount Zion, but when we spoke today he was still planning to make the 2 1/2 drive down on Thursday," he said.