Sports
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IJic Blue Banner — Sening the Uni\crsit\ of North (Carolina at Asheville sinee 1982
] Men fall t
By Devon Dow
STAW WKfTU »
The Winthrop Eagles soared
past the men’s basketball team (7-
16, 3-6 BSC) for the second time
this season on Saturday at the
Justice Center.
“We didn’t play the typ>e of
defense you need to play to win
games.” said head coach Eddie
Biedenbach. “We got their lead
down in the .second half, but then
we gave up two easy threes to
them that propelled them to make
a run on us.”
Bryan Smithson, junior guard,
led the Bulldogs in p>oints with 20,
his fifth time this season in the 20-
point range.
"1 think we got off to an O.K.
start,” Smithson said. “During the
middle of the second half, we
gave away too many op>en looks
from 3-point land.”
On Wednesday, the Bulldog’s
ended their two game loosing
streak, defeating Division 11 oppo-
Brevard College (8-15).
I!-, m.h players led the Bulldogs,
inj; a combined 50 points.
Matt Day dropped 12 and
snatched five boards, Reid Augst
scored 12 and Brett Warner scored
10 to lead the Bulldogs past the
Tornados.
Defensively, the Bulldogs shut
down the Tornado offense forcing
them to just 39.7 percent shooting
trom the field.
Ill Saturday’s game against the
liagles, it was a different story.
The Eagles, ranked first in the Big
South, shot 54.5 percent for three
and 53.6 percent from the field,
led by Michael Jenkins, who went
5-7 from 3-point land and scored
25 points.
"A team like Winthrop is going
to cash in on opportunities like
that,” Smithson said. “They have
been in big games before so they
are not afraid to take the big shots
if needed.”
The Bulldogs (7-16, 3-6 BSC)
exchanged leads with the Eagles
during the first half before
Winthrop took the advantage,
going on a 12-0 run with under six
minutes left to play.
“We wanted to come out to a
good start and be aggressive,”
said junior forward Vincent
James. “We got some easy .shots.
' verybody was going, and that
started around the paint tonight.”
At the half the Eagles led the
Bulldogs 38-25.
“During halftime, coach want
ed us to create a little more
0.6 in conference
Clint Lathinghouse - Staff Photographer
Bryan Smithson goes up for a layup in Saturday’s loss against Winthrop. Smithson led the Bulldogs with
20 points. The Bulldogs struggled with injuries from their big men, forcing Garrett Moles to play for 25
minutes, up from his season average of just over 14. Moles added four points for the Bulldogs.
movement in the offense, set
screens and get people open,”
James said. “He always wants
us to continue running plays on
transition and create lanes for
the guards to get better looks at
the basket.”
The Eagles shot 60 percent
from the field in the first half
while the Bulldogs shot 33 per
cent.
“They shot 12 for 23 from 3-
point land. You can’t give up that
many open 3-pointers,”
Biedenbach said.
In the second half, the
Bulldogs came out strong, cut
ting the Winthrop lead to 47-55
with just over 10 minutes left,
but the Eagles went on a 11-0 run
spearheaded by back-to-back 3-
point daggers by Jenkins and
Chris Gaynor.
Big man Phillip Willians
scored 19 points on 5-6 shooting
and grabbed nine rebounds for
Winthrop. Williams also led the
Eagles in their 42-61 win over
the Bulldogs earlier this season
at Winthrop.
“In both games against us this
year he has done well,”
Biedenbach said.
The Bulldogs outscored the
Eagles in the paint 30-28, but the
big men for the Bulldogs were
out rebounded 13-18.
“Our big guys aren’t healthy
enough to play a long period of
time,” Biedenbach said. “We’re
undermanned down in the paint.
We have had big men with
injuries and they are working
through them. We have to contin
ue to get better playing without
them. When we put our big men
in tonight, Winthrop came out
shooting jump shots versus driv
ing to the lane, and it worked for
them tonight.”
Big man C.J. Walker did not
play at all for the Bulldogs
despite suiting up, while Brett
Warner and Kenny George only
played seven and eight minutes
respectively.
“We have to practice harder,”
Biedenbach said. “We have to
have better intensity and play
with a better attitude. You don’t
prepare for the game come game
time, you prepare for the game
all week long.”
The Bulldogs face the nation’s
leading scoring team, the VMI
Keydets, in their next Big South
game.
The Bulldogs lost to the
Keydets last month 102-97 at
home. Fox Sports South will
televise the game live.
“We’ve got to get tougher,”
Smithson said. “When some
other team makes a run we have
to contain it. We have to be able
to keep our momentum going,
come back and make a run of our
own. Right now we are folding
up in the second half of our
games. Experience is some of it.
Maturity is some of it as well,
and we just have to continue to
work harder and get better as a
team.”
Two tennis players fall in final round of tournament
Correa and
Bottomley struggle
with injuries after
advancing to finals
By April Johnson
Stact Writer
I'wo members of the UNC
Asheville tennis team lost in the
tinal round after a strong start at
the Southeastern Indoor
Championship this weekend.
“It’s not about
the winning and
losing,” said
head coach
Larry Hubbard.
“At the early
stages it’s all
about making
progress, devel
oping your
game."
M a u r i c i o
Correa and
Louise-
Bottomley represented the UNC
Asheville men and women in the
finals. where
arm injuries hin
dered Correa’s
match and
forced
Bottomley to
retire.
Correa lost in
a 6-2, 6-2
match-up to No.
1 seed Ryan
Fleming. He
experienced
problems find-
ing a good offensive rhythm,
according to Correa.
“I definitely think I would have
played better without the injury,
but I don’t want to say that 1 would
have won because Ryan played
really, really well,” Correa said. “It
was really good tennis he was
showing out there.”
In the women’s finals, Bottomley
Mauricio Correa
Ix)ui.se Bottomely
played through the first set, win
ning 6-4 before her injury forced
her out of the competition.
“I started off fine, but 1 have
been injured a bit since Friday, and
it just got progressively worse,”
Bottomley said.
Bottomley said her injury affect
ed her to the point where she could
barely serve, and only hit a back
hand shot on the return.
“1 thought it was stupid to carry
on when we’ve got matches that
matter more than that did,”
Bottomley said. “We’ve got con
ference matches coming up, and I
just didn’t want to be out for a
while.”
The road to the finals
In spite of the losses in the
finals, the Bulldogs made an
impact in the first round of the
SIC, held at the Asheville Racquet
Club last weekend.
Amongst the UNC Asheville
players who entered, five of the
seven men and both women from
advanced to the quarterfinals
round, where some team members
were forced to face off against
each other.
Correa faced fellow teammate
Loic Hereson, who retired from
play with an ankle injury after a 2-
2 score in the first set.
“1 was hoping it was going to be
a really good match actually, but it
didn’t happen,” Correa said. “It
was going to be a battle, definite-
ly.”
Hereson, a senior from Abymes,
Guadeloupe, said he felt disap
pointed about not finishing the
match.
“Last season, I couldn’t really
play because I was hurt,” Hereson
said. “I had already hurt my legs,
and this season I was in pretty
good shape, and to twist my ankle
like this, I mean it’s not too good.
I mean it’s not too good for the
morality.”
Hereson said he hoped Correa
■Ac.
. . j , Clint Lathinghouse - Staff Photographer
Freshman Louise Bottomely defeated her semifinal opponent Elizabeth Heste, 6-4,6-1, but withdrew from
the finals because of arm pain m the Southeastern Indoor Championship at the Asheville Racquet Club
would arrive at the final round, a
prediction which came true as the
sophomore player faced-off and
won against UNC Asheville junior
Nicholas Thuell, in a 6-1, 6-1
drubbing.
For the women’s team,
Bottomley became the only UNC
Asheville player to advance to the
semifinals after freshman Tania
Mateva fell to Greta Anderson 6-1,
3-6, 6-3.
“Louise played one of the seed
ed juniors that was in the tourna
ment, and I believe she won the
match 6-2, 6-0, so it was great for
her to get that sense of confi
dence,” Hubbard said.
Bottomley went on to defeat
Elizabeth Hester, 6-4, 6-1 in match
play, before retiring against Amy
Dillingham in the final round.
Looking Ahead
Before the finals took place
Hubbard .said competing well and
building ties within the local tennis
circuits remains his most important
goals.
“That will be good for us, to at
least have some recognition within
the community and also an oppor
tunity for the kids to gain some
experience." Hubbard said.
With the women's team compet
ing against UNC Greensboro this
Saturday and the men’s team fac
ing East Carolina this Sunday
Hubbard said hoped the SIC
would prepare each squad for con
ference competition.
“Both will be very, very chal
lenging matches, and it will be
interesting to see if this competi
tion, as well as another week of
practice, will advance our game a
little bit,” Hubbard said.
Correa said he felt confident
about playing next weekend,
depite the setbacks in the finals.
“I think I’m going to come out
pretty good. I can’t really say any
thing about the other guys, but
from my point of view, I think
we’re going to do well,” Correa
said. “Everybody’s going to go out
there with the intention of win
ning, and that’s what’s important
Trying.”
Thursday, February 8,2007
Sports
Briefs
By Ben Smith
Sports Editor
Baseball gears
up for start
The men’s baseball team starts
their season against ACC opponent
Florida State in a three-game series
on the road from Friday to Sunday
Big South preseason polls
ranked UNC Asheville tied with
High Point in third, behind No. 1
Winthrop and No. 2 Coastal
Carolina this week.
The polls also ranked junior out
fielder Kevin Mattison second in
voting as Big South preseason
Player of the Year. Mattison batted
.317 last season with 42 RBIs and
eight homeruns.
The Bulldogs return all but three
of the players from last season’s
Big South Championship team.
Ranked dead last at the start of
the season, the Bulldogs went IS
IS in the Big South Conference in
2006 and entered the post-season
ranked sixth. In the Big South
Tournament, the Bulldogs defeated
High Point and the Liberty Flames
before facing the Rames again in
the Big South Championship
game.
Down 10-0 in the fourth inning,
the Bulldogs surmounted a come
back and scored 16 runs in the
final five innings to win the cham
pionship. Rob Vernon, senior out
fielder, led the way as the Bulldogs
gained their first ever birth in the
NCAA tournament with an eighth
inning grand slam to give them the
lead.
Student wins
$400 at game
Devon Sanchez-Ossorio, senior
management student, brought
home $400 on Saturday at the men
V. Winthrop game in the athletic
department’s $100 giveaway.
At each home basketball game,
students’ names are randomly
drawn from a bowl and called out I
until a student in attendance claims
the prize. The prize starts at $100, j
but for each game that no student
claims the money, the pot grows.
Ossorio is only the second-stu
dent to win since the contest start
ed on Jan. 4. Kate Barrow, senior
management student, won $500 on
Jan. 22.
The prize is currently at $200,
and the next chance to win is at the j
men v. High Point game on Feb.
14.
Following is the list of students
called out in the past two weeks
who missed their chance to claim |
the prize by not attending. Any stu
dent previously called out can still
win:
Christian William Johnson, Roy
Edsel Hall, Christian John
Zamarra, Mary Katherine Murray.
M^ Kathleen Bachmeyer, Fairah
Leigh Duncan, Joseph Sambraon
Carranza, Carrie Diana Peeler,
Steve Lamar Dellinger, Stewart
Charles Graham, Jennifer Ann |
Nichols and Lauren Joy Wheeler.
Freshman sets
track record
Freshmen sprinter Natalie
Pearson set her second school
record, winning the 55-meter
race at the VMI Relays on
Saturday.
Pearson added her 7.11 in the
55-meter to her 7.79 in the 60-
meter as her two records at UNC
Asheville.
Another standout performances
for the women came from Carrie
Trotter who finished third in the
high jump.
The team only brought a partial
squad, focusing on sprinters and
jumpers, while the distance squab
stayed home.
^ For the men, both Brandon
Hamilton and Omar Ahmad got
past the preliminaries and inW
the finals. Ahmad placed fifth i”
the long jump and Brandon
Hamilton took fifth place in the
55-meter with a time of 6.66 sec
onds.
The Bulldogs compete agai®
with their full squad on Thursday
at the Appalachian State Relays