I am about to take off of a brief holiday break but before I do I wanted to give thanks for the men’s teams victory over Wake Forest last night. Obviously this isn’t the same Wake Forest team we have seen in the past. They are picked last in the ACC but anytime a mid-major wins a game on a major conference team’s home court it is a good win.
The Eagles played very well last night getting in transition and pushing the tempo. Robbie Dreher looked like he had missed playing the last four games and tried to fit four games of scoring into one. Reggie Middleton was close to a triple-double. I love that he is getting into the rebounding mix.
Also the women picked up a victory over Davidson last night. A much needed win for a young team. This team has the makings of a good team, they just need some people to get healthy and provide some depth.
Volleyball season ended with a heartbreaking five-set loss to Liberty. Those who were here and there were a lot of fans, all said it was one of the most exciting matches in a long time. The atmosphere was incredible; I just wish the ladies could have pulled out a win. So, the fall is complete with women’s soccer winning a regular-season trophy. Volleyball finished fourth and men’s soccer sixth.
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and we will see you on Saturday as the men and women both face Lander.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Volleyball Tournament- Day 2
The 2010 edition of the Big South Volleyball Tournament began on Thursday with unprecedented results. For the first time in the 25 year history of the tournament, all four matches were decided in three sets. #2 High Point rolled over #7 Radford, #6 Charleston Southern upset #3 UNC Asheville, #1 Liberty had no problem with #8 Gardner-Webb and #4 Winthrop defeated #5 Coastal Carolina.
Semifinal day pits two teams who are looking for their first finals appearances in over 20 years and the two teams who have been to more finals than anyone else. High Point has never been to the Big South Championship match in volleyball and is making just its second semifinal appearance in school history. The Panthers face a Charleston Southern team who has not been to the finals since it last won the tournament in 1989. This is CSU’s second straight semifinal appearance after an 18-year absence from the semis. Winthrop and Liberty are both tied for the most conference championships (5) and finals appearances (9); one school will set a new conference mark for Finals appearances with a win tonight. Liberty is 9-5 all-time in the semifinals with two semifinal victories over Winthrop while Winthrop is 9-4 all-time in the semis but has never beaten Liberty in this round. Liberty has played in each of the last three Big South Championship games and is trying to make Karyl Bacon the first player in school history to play in four-straight Championship Matches. Winthrop on the other hand has won 16-straight sets at the Coliseum and is the only Big South team to defeat Liberty this season.
So something has to give, in both matches. Charleston Southern and High Point trying to reach heights neither school has reached and Winthrop and Liberty trying to take a step above the other. It should be exciting. Remember you can catch both matches on the Big South Network beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Semifinal day pits two teams who are looking for their first finals appearances in over 20 years and the two teams who have been to more finals than anyone else. High Point has never been to the Big South Championship match in volleyball and is making just its second semifinal appearance in school history. The Panthers face a Charleston Southern team who has not been to the finals since it last won the tournament in 1989. This is CSU’s second straight semifinal appearance after an 18-year absence from the semis. Winthrop and Liberty are both tied for the most conference championships (5) and finals appearances (9); one school will set a new conference mark for Finals appearances with a win tonight. Liberty is 9-5 all-time in the semifinals with two semifinal victories over Winthrop while Winthrop is 9-4 all-time in the semis but has never beaten Liberty in this round. Liberty has played in each of the last three Big South Championship games and is trying to make Karyl Bacon the first player in school history to play in four-straight Championship Matches. Winthrop on the other hand has won 16-straight sets at the Coliseum and is the only Big South team to defeat Liberty this season.
So something has to give, in both matches. Charleston Southern and High Point trying to reach heights neither school has reached and Winthrop and Liberty trying to take a step above the other. It should be exciting. Remember you can catch both matches on the Big South Network beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Volleyball Tournament Week Day 1
Well here we are just two days from the start of the Big South Volleyball Tournament and now it is time to see what we got right and what we screwed up on our pre-season rankings. Let’s review; I had Coastal, High Point, Winthrop, Liberty, UNC Asheville, Charleston Southern, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb, and Radford. The conference poll was pretty similar with Coastal, Liberty, Winthrop, High Point, UNCA, CSU, PC, GWU, and Radford.
Now I remember saying I thought Liberty was too high at number two because they had to replace three All-Conference players. Turns out, I was wrong, they were too low. The Flames breezed through the league at 14-2 behind Karyl Bacon who should be the Big South Player of the Year. I was correct about High Point. They had a great season led by two terrific outside hitters in Megan Smith and Audie Gonzalez. UNC Asheville and Winthrop flip flopped; Asheville led by its outsides Kelsey Benorden and Cindi Miller. Winthrop easily the best middles in the league with Becca Toor and Sara Felts. Asheville and Winthrop split their two meetings and are both right where they should be.
Coastal Carolina turned out to be the biggest disappointment in the league this season. With Kelsey Kimes and Meagan Bickford this is a much better than a fifth place team but as I warned at the beginning, they are not consistent. Too many times they lose to teams they should beat. But don’t sleep on this team, they were the four seed last year and won the thing. They are talented and could make another run.
Charleston Southern and PC, both feel into the trap. They had the best teams they have had in years but the league was just too good this year. CSU places sixth and will face UNC Asheville in an interesting quarterfinal. PC does not qualify for the tournament so they get skipped over in the tournament seedings.
Radford played very well at the end of the season. This is a team that improved the most from start to finish. The record may not be impressive but the improvement is. They took teams to the wire and pulled off some upsets the second time through the league. The Highlanders will be dangerous for High Point in the Quarterfinals, they won’t win, but it will be a better match than you think.
Gardner-Webb really never had a chance. A young Bulldog team was hit with injuries and although they played alright at home they simply did not have enough fire power on offense. I am impressed with Presley Mabrey, she deserves 2nd team all-conference honors but it will be a short tournament for the Bulldogs I am afraid.
I will make more predictions tomorrow. I will tell you who should be all-conference and who will win.
Now I remember saying I thought Liberty was too high at number two because they had to replace three All-Conference players. Turns out, I was wrong, they were too low. The Flames breezed through the league at 14-2 behind Karyl Bacon who should be the Big South Player of the Year. I was correct about High Point. They had a great season led by two terrific outside hitters in Megan Smith and Audie Gonzalez. UNC Asheville and Winthrop flip flopped; Asheville led by its outsides Kelsey Benorden and Cindi Miller. Winthrop easily the best middles in the league with Becca Toor and Sara Felts. Asheville and Winthrop split their two meetings and are both right where they should be.
Coastal Carolina turned out to be the biggest disappointment in the league this season. With Kelsey Kimes and Meagan Bickford this is a much better than a fifth place team but as I warned at the beginning, they are not consistent. Too many times they lose to teams they should beat. But don’t sleep on this team, they were the four seed last year and won the thing. They are talented and could make another run.
Charleston Southern and PC, both feel into the trap. They had the best teams they have had in years but the league was just too good this year. CSU places sixth and will face UNC Asheville in an interesting quarterfinal. PC does not qualify for the tournament so they get skipped over in the tournament seedings.
Radford played very well at the end of the season. This is a team that improved the most from start to finish. The record may not be impressive but the improvement is. They took teams to the wire and pulled off some upsets the second time through the league. The Highlanders will be dangerous for High Point in the Quarterfinals, they won’t win, but it will be a better match than you think.
Gardner-Webb really never had a chance. A young Bulldog team was hit with injuries and although they played alright at home they simply did not have enough fire power on offense. I am impressed with Presley Mabrey, she deserves 2nd team all-conference honors but it will be a short tournament for the Bulldogs I am afraid.
I will make more predictions tomorrow. I will tell you who should be all-conference and who will win.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Good News for Women's Soccer
The Big South announced its postseason honors on Tuesday and the Winthrop Women's team is well represented. The complete release can be found here... It turns out all of politicking paid off as Coach Spenser Smith was named Big South Coach of the Year. Of course when I wrote that blog the Eagles were in fourth place, they of course finished in a five-way tie for first and grabbed the top-seed. The award was deserved before they got the top-seed but it must have been unanimous afterwards.
Courtney Durbin, Allie VandeWater and Katie Perkinson all are well deserved of first-team honors. Durbin scored six goals in nine conference games after beginning the season as a defender. Four of her goals were game-winners. Hard to argue with any of the picks on the All-Conference Teams, Che Brown of Radford and Marky Boyce of CSU certainly were deserving of their honors.
Now for the tournament which begins tomorrow in Radford. The top seed has not won the event since 1997. Last season, the top four seeds all lost in the quarterfinals. This tournament has not been kind to high seeds in recent years. What is interesting is the top five teams are all seemingly the same. Obviously with five co-champions there is no clear cut favorite. This should make for an exciting tournament.
Remember all matches will be video streamed on the Big South Network. If you want to listen at work for FREE, you can do that here. And of course you can follow Winthrop athletics on Facebook and twitter to get updates as well. Also look for video highlights after the match as well as thoughts from Coach Smith on Youtube and Winthropeagles.com.
Courtney Durbin, Allie VandeWater and Katie Perkinson all are well deserved of first-team honors. Durbin scored six goals in nine conference games after beginning the season as a defender. Four of her goals were game-winners. Hard to argue with any of the picks on the All-Conference Teams, Che Brown of Radford and Marky Boyce of CSU certainly were deserving of their honors.
Now for the tournament which begins tomorrow in Radford. The top seed has not won the event since 1997. Last season, the top four seeds all lost in the quarterfinals. This tournament has not been kind to high seeds in recent years. What is interesting is the top five teams are all seemingly the same. Obviously with five co-champions there is no clear cut favorite. This should make for an exciting tournament.
Remember all matches will be video streamed on the Big South Network. If you want to listen at work for FREE, you can do that here. And of course you can follow Winthrop athletics on Facebook and twitter to get updates as well. Also look for video highlights after the match as well as thoughts from Coach Smith on Youtube and Winthropeagles.com.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Your Source for WU Women's Soccer
The Winthrop Women's soccer is the top seed in this week's Big South Tournament which will be held at Radford Thursday thru Sunday. We will be making the trip to follow the Lady Eagles in their quest for their first ever NCAA bid. All Winthrop games will be available two ways. 1. FOR FREE via and audio only feed from Winthropeagles.com and 2. Pay per view via the Big South Network on bigsouthsports.com. Also check in each night to get a recap of the day's action and comments from Coach Smith and key players. Also Facebook and twitter will be alive with updates regarding the tournament. So for all you need to know about the Big South Women's Soccer Tournament chack out bigsouthsports.com as well as winthropeagles.com. We will have it covered. GO EAGLES!!!
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