2010 Masters Tournament cancelled....Winner already announced

The newly crowned Masters Champion

Invisible Scrimmage time!

It's time again for the annual Charlotte 49ers "Invisible" scrimmage game. Charlotte is one of many NCAA teams that take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows for a "closed" scrimmage with another team before regular or exhibition season play.

In the past, Charlotte has played UNC-Wilmington, which is coached by former Charlotte assistant Benny Moss. This Saturday, the 49ers welcome a new opponent,Seth Greenberg and the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Don't check back here for updates or a recap because in the mind of the NCAA, it never happened!

Two Niners earn A-10 honors

Two members of the Charlotte 49ers nationally-ranked men’s and women’s soccer programs have been named A-10 Player of the Week for this week. For the second time this season, men’s soccer’s Adam Gross and women’s forward Whitney Weinraub were named Player of the Week in the same week.

Gross earned the Atlantic 10 honor for the second time this season after his efforts last weekend against La Salle and Fordham. Gross scored a goal in Charlotte’s 3-0 win over La Salle on Friday. He then scored the first goal for Charlotte in a 2-2 double-overtime tie against Fordham on Senior Day.

Gross is tied for third in the A-10 and leads Charlotte in the goal-scoring category with a career-high seven on the season. He also leads Charlotte in assists with six, which ranks him second in the conference.

Gross will lead nationally-ranked 49ers on the road this weekend as they take on A-10 foes Dayton and Xavier.

Whitney Weinraub earned A-10 Player of the Week for the third time this season for her efforts in the 49ers’ road wins against Temple and St. Joseph’s last weekend. The junior forward had two goals and two assists in Charlotte’s two wins. Weinraub had a goal and two assists in Charlotte’s 5-0 win over Temple, Friday. She then scored the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win against St. Joseph’s on Sunday.

Weinraub leads the A-10 in points with 32 and has a career-high 13 goals to lead the conference. Her 13 goals this season rank as the fourth highest single-season total in team history. Her 31 career goals tie her for third on the program’s all-time goal scoring list.

Weinraub will lead the 49ers as they look to claim their fourth straight A-10 regular-season title when they play their final regular season game on the road at St. Louis, Friday, Oct. 30.

Bowden to miss three weeks

Charlotte 49ers freshman shooting guard Shamarr Bowden may miss up to three weeks after suffering a seperated shoulder in Saturday's Green-White scrimmage game, team officials confirmed.

Bowden's doctor confirmed there will be no need for surgery, but Bowden may be out up to three weeks. Bowden, who missed last season due to a knee injury, will likely miss Charlotte's exhibition game against Johnson C. Smith and the regular season opener against UNC Asheville.

He may be ready to go for the NIT Preseason Tip Off on Nov. 16 when the 49ers take on Elon.

49ers picked to finish second in preseason A-10 poll

The defending A-10 Tournament champion Charlotte 49ers have been picked to finish second in the A-10 by the Atlantic 10 preseason poll which was voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.

Senior guard Aysha was voted was voted first-team preseason All-Atlantic 10; junior guard Shannon McCallum was voted as second-team preseason All-Atlantic 10.

2009 regular season champion Xavier was picked to finish first in the preseason A-10 poll. Charlotte was picked second, followed by Dayton and Richmond in third.


Atlantic 10 preseason poll
First place votes in parentheses

1. Xavier (12)
2. Charlotte
3. Dayton (1)
Richmond (1)
5. Temple
6. Duquesene
St. Bonaventure
8. George Washington
9. Saint Joseph's
10. Saint Louis
11. Massachusetts
12. Rhode Island
13. La Salle
14. Fordham

Beam, McGowan and Wilson earn weekly honors

The Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer team swept the Atlantic 10 weekly honors this week. Senior forward Hailey Beam was named A-10 Co-Player of the week for the fifth time in her career. Beam was also named to TopDrawerSoccer.com’s National Team of the Week. Freshman defender Lacey McGowan was named A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week. The distinction marks the first time a 49er has won the award this season.

Over the weekend, Beam tallied six points with a goal and four assists in leading Charlotte to wins over A-10 opponents Richmond and George Washington. Beam had a goal and an assist in Charlotte’s 4-0 win over Richmond on Friday. She then assisted on all three goals in the 49ers come-from-behind 3-2 victory over George Washington on Senior Day.

Beam has 34 career goals and needs just two goals to tie Courtney Cook (1994-97) for the all-time program lead in goals scored. She currently leads the team in assists with ten and ranks second in the A-10 in the same category. She is also second on the team and second in the A-10 in goals scored. Beam has 99 career points and needs just three points to tie Cook’s career points mark.

McGowan lead Charlotte’s comeback win over George Washington on Senior Day. Trailing 2-0 at halftime, McGowan came out in the second half and scored the 49ers first two goals to tie the game at 2-2. On Friday, McGowan helped Charlotte post their 10th shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Richmond.

McGowan has played in 13 games this season and has four goals and eight points. She has taken only four shots. All four of her goals have come off of Hailey Beam corner kicks.

Beam, McGowan and the rest of 49ers will put their 24-game unbeaten streak on the line this weekend as they travel north to face Temple and Saint Joseph’s, Oct. 23-25.

Charlotte 49ers senior Ryan Wilson has been named as the A-10 Golfer of the Week, for the week ending Oct. 19 for his efforts at the Brickyard Collegiate.

The event was shortened to 36 holes because of rain after Wilson shot identical rounds of one-over par 73. The two-over par total left Wilson in a tie for 28th place.

The event marked the first time Wilson led Charlotte in scoring during his two-year tenure with the team. Wilson transferred to Charlotte from High Point University as a two-time all-Big South performer.

At High Point, Wilson was the 2007 Big South Tournament runner-up to lead the Panthers to a 6th-place finish. Wilson was also named the Big South freshman of the year in 2006 after an eighth-place finish at the league championship tournament as well as leading the Panthers with a 73.96 stroke average.

The award marks the first A-10 Player of the Week award Wilson has won in his career and second for Charlotte this season. Senior All-American Corey Nagy was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for Oct. 5. Andy Sajevic was named A-10 Rookie of the Week, Sept. 21.

In other golf news, the 49ers have added another tournament to their schedule after the rain-shortened Brickyard Collegiate. The 49ers will compete in the Aldila Intercollegiate, Oct. 26-27. The tournament will be held at the Council Fire Country Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Mathers named to National Team of the Week

Senior defender Nathan Mathers, of the Charlotte 49ers men's soccer team, has been named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week. Mathers becomes the third Charlotte men's player to be named to the National Team of the Week this year as Evan James and Adam Gross have also received recognition.

Anchoring a defense that has allowed just one goal in the last 410 minutes of play, Mathers has been a defensive standout all year long. Mathers also assisted on Gross' game-winning goal in Saturday's 2-1 road win at St. Louis.

Mathers has two assists this season, but is more prominent on the defensive side of the ball. Mathers and the 49er defense has recorded four shutouts and limited nine teams to a goal or less this season.

Charlotte will put it's 11-game unbeaten streak on the line this weekend as they face A-10 foes La Salle and Fordham in their final regular season home games Oct. 23-25.

Volleyball jumps into third in A-10 standings

The Charlotte 49ers women's volleyball team moved into sole position of third place in the Atlantic 10 with a 3-1 win over visiting George Washington Saturday night.

The Niners are now 5-2 in league play and 14-8 overall. Now 22-10 in three seasons at home under coach Chris Redding, the Niners improved their 2009 home record to 7-1.

Junior Kat Hicks recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 11 digs. Kara Raker had 11 kills and seven blocks, and freshman Bianca Rouse recorded 10 kills. Sophomore setter Sheri Davis was just two kills short of a triple-double. Davis had 33 assists, 14 digs, and eight kills. Senior Kaitlin Knight led all players with 23 digs.

Charlotte closes out the non-conference portion of their schedule when they head to Clemson Tuesday night before hosting Xavier and Dayton in league play next weekend.

Dollar General 300

Kyle Busch dominated the Dollar General 300 at Lowes Motor Speedway Friday night and got his seventh Nationwide Series win of the season. Prior to Friday night’s race, Busch averaged a seventh-place finish each week, finished outside the top 10 in only five events, and held a 155-point lead over second-place Carl Edwards in the point standings.

“This thing was on a rail tonight, it was a great racecar,” Busch said. “This is my house on the Nationwide side, I really like this place.”

The race was never in doubt as Busch led 137 of the 200 laps and extended his points lead to 195 over Carl Edwards; the win was the 28th of Busch’s Nationwide career. With the win, Busch broke a tie with Jeff Burton for fourth on the all-time series wins list. He also had a perfect driver rating of 150.0.

“I felt like we did everything right, but anything could have happened tonight,” Busch said.” Now we’re this late in the game, it’s just going to be about luck. I think some of my best competition fell away, I don’t know what happened to the 16, but he was there in the beginning. I just felt like we were in another zip code tonight.”

Mike Bliss brought the Ridemakerz.com Toyota home in second for his 12th top-10 finish of the season. The second-place finish was the fifth top-10 finish in the last 10 races for Bliss.

“It means a lot to me, it feels really good, I love Charlotte, I love this racetrack,” Bliss said.” I felt really good from the moment we parked the trailer. I’m excited about that finish. I think he (Busch) just dominated the race, we knew he was the car to beat.”

Dave Blaney finished third, his third top-10 finish in 16 career races at Lowes Motor Speedway at Charlotte. Making just his fourth start of the season, Blaney was pleasantly surprised with the final result.

“Everything was going great tonight. I haven’t been able to do much racing this year,” Blaney said.” that was fun. I thought it was real good in practice, it just took off early and went all night.”

Ninth-place starter Brian Vickers finished fourth in the Dollar general Toyota and Pole winner Carl Edwards rounded out the top five in the Ortho Ford.

One of the biggest movers on the night was Brad Keselowski in the Hellman’s Chevrolet. After starting in 29th, Keselowski progressively improved his position and eventually battled his way to a sixth-place finish. The sixth-place finish leaves Keselowski third in the points standings, 272 behind Busch.

Kyle Busch will look to continue his hot streak next week when the Nationwide series heads to Memphis.

Lauren Brown named Primetime Performer of the Week

Charlotte 49ers senior soccer goalkeeper Lauren Brown has been named the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performer of the Week after earning two A-10 road shutouts last weekend.

In Charlotte's 0-0 tie with Dayton last Friday, Brown recorded a season-high 11 saves. Charlotte and Dayton are currently tied for first in the conference at 5-0-1. Brown then recorded two saves in Charlotte's 3-0 win over Xavier on Sunday.

For the season, Brown has 45 saves and a 0.76 save percentage, she has helped Charlotte to 10 shutouts and has held 11 opponents to a goal or less.

Banking 500 preview/HOF reactions

Race No. 5 in the Chase brings us to the midway point of the quest for this season’s championship title. This weekend at the Banking 500 should give us a good idea of what to expect in the following weeks. The Saturday night race will be the second intermediate oval in the 10 races of the Chase. Mark Martin and Juan Montoya’s solid consistency, and Jimmie Johnson’s two wins in the Chase have elevated them as the favorites for the championship. But they aren’t the only ones to watch at this Saturday’s Banking 500.

1. Kasey Kahne –Kahne hasn’t had the best results to show for as of late, but the 29-year old has been one of the most successful drivers at Lowe’s Motor Speedway recently. The No. 9 team has won three of the last seven races held at the North Carolina oval and seems to be a serious threat for Saturday’s title. Despite the crash and DNF at Fontana last week, Kahne seems to be a serious threat to win the NASCAR Banking 500.

2. Jimmie Johnson-After seemingly sleepwalking through the regular season, the No. 48 team is finally heating up. Coming off two wins in the Chase at Fontana and Dover, Johnson is riding a tidal wave of momentum into one of his favorite venues. Johnson hasn’t visited Victory Lane at Charlotte since the 2005 season, but he owns five career victories at LMS. A win on Saturday Night would tie Johnson for the most all-time victories at the track with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison.

3. Mark Martin-With the first championship of his career within his reach, Martin will be pushing the envelope at the Banking 500 this weekend. Only trailing Jimmie Johnson in the points, Martin knows how tough Johnson can be in the Chase and will have to be aggressive this weekend. Martin has been very tough at 1.5-mile ovals this season and owns four career victories at LMS. After a recent top-five finish at Atlanta (another 1.5-mile oval), Martin is riding a wave of confidence into Charlotte.

4. Jeff Gordon-With two runner-up finishes and a sixth-place finish in four Chase races so far, Jeff Gordon has been sneaky good. Despite just one win in 2009, Gordon has been strong with eight runner-up finishes and 14 top-fives and looks to be a threat at Charlotte. With a win on Saturday, Gordon would move into third all-time in wins at the track with five.

5. Tony Stewart-In fourth place in points, just 84 behind leader Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and the No. 14 team has finally come back to life. Stewart has led the team to one win and three top-10’s in the four Chase races. The 1.5-mile oval provides the opportunity to climb back within reach of the championship for Stewart. His recent win at Kansas demonstrates the ability Stewart has on this style of track.

Hall of Fame discussion headlines pre-race press conferences
NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. headlined the five inductees into the Hall of Fame class, a group that drew mixed reactions about the exclusion of driver David Pearson. Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Junior Johnson were also inducted.

Second in the voting was NASCAR’s all-time wins leader and seven-time series champion Richard Petty. Petty won the Daytona 500 seven times, amassed 200 career victories, and had 700 top-10 finishes in his illustrious career.

Following Petty was France Jr., who spent nearly 30 years at the helm of America’s top motorsports series. The final two nods went to Earnhardt, winner of 72 races and seven championships, and Junior Johnson, a former driver and car-owner.

The top news of the induction might not be who was inducted, but the fact that David Pearson was left out. After hearing who would be inducted with him in next May’s ceremony, Petty was definitely surprised.

“That wouldn’t have been my pick,” he said.

Known by many as the “Silver Fox”, Pearson ranked second on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with 105, only trailing Petty’s 200 victories. The three-time series champion had a 27-year career including an 18.2 winning percentage.

Much of the discussion in the media center Thursday morning was geared toward the exclusion of Pearson, and the number of inductees.

Second in the current point standings, Mark Martin thinks maybe there should have more than five inductees in the 2010 class but is generally happy with the selections.

“I would have liked to see them induct a lot more than five,” Martin said. “The guys that went in, they certainly need to be there. I just wish that we could have put another 15 in along with them; but it’s exciting to finally have it started.”

Three-time series champion Jimmie Johnson is happy with the 2010 inductees and feels like it’s a step in the right direction that so many people care about the controversy surrounding the inductions.

“I’m excited to see the first five selected,” Johnson said. “I think it was going to be tough either way for the world to be happy with the five. I understand there is some controversy about the overall picks but I think it’s a great class, I think it represents our sport very well.”

Defending race champion Jeff Burton think it’s important for any sport to have a Hall of Fame and says that although the first decision was a tough one, the first two or three class selections will be the easiest.

“I think it’s important for every major sport to have a Hall of Fame,” Burton said.” I think it’s important to recognize the people that have had a major impact on the sport, have moved the sport, and have done things that have made it what it is. The first two or three processes are going to be pretty easy.”

49ers finish 10th at Brickyard Collegiate

The Charlotte 49ers men’s golf team finished 10th at the Brickyard Collegiate after the third and final round was cancelled due to rain. Half of the third round was played and Charlotte was able to move into a tie for fifth, but rain cause the final round to be cancelled. By rule, the final results must be reverted back to where the teams started the round. Charlotte entered the final round in a tie for 10th with 15th-ranked North Florida.

Augusta State took home the tournament title with a 13-under par, 563. Chattanooga and Clemson finished in a tie for second at even-par, 576. Seven of the nine teams that finished ahead of Charlotte were ranked in Golfstat’s top 50 while Charlotte finished ahead of 19th-ranked Georgia Tech (12th, +17, 593) and 18th-ranked Michigan (15, +26, 602).

Ryan Wilson led Charlotte with a tie for 28th individually at +2, 146. Sophomore Olafur Loftssontied for 35th at +3, 147 after carding a second-round one-under par 71. Coming off his third career collegiate victory, senior Corey Nagy tied for 47th with a +5, 149; finishing alongside Nagy in 47th was freshman Andy Sajevic.

Winning the individual title was Georgia’s Russell Henley, who fired a second-round 65 (-10, 134) to take the title by five shots over Georgia Tech’s John Tyler Griffin.

After playing in three tournaments this fall, Charlotte will take to the course again at the CordeValle Collegiate, Nov. 9-11, in San Martin, Calif. The tournament will be the last for Charlotte of the fall campaign.

Seven 49ers earn weekly honors

Seven Charlotte 49er student-athletes earned Atlantic 10 weekly honors on Monday. Men’s golf senior Corey Nagy, women’s cross country junior Amanda Goetschius, women’s soccer senior Hailey Beam, and men’s soccer sophomore Evan James earned A-10 Player of the Week honors. Earning ookie of the Week accolades were volleyball freshman Bianca Rouse, cross country freshman Maria Ruiz, and Jennings Rex of men’s soccer.

Finishing in 12th in the Charlotte Invitational 5k with a personal best time of 17:58, Ruiz picked up her second A-10 Rookie of the Week honor of the year. Ruiz also won Rookie of the Week Sept. 8 for her second place finish in her collegiate debut at the USC Upstate Eye Opener.

Goetschius, the 2008 Atlantic 10 Individual Champion, had a runner-up finish at the Charlotte Invitational and earned the honors for her personal best time of 17:09. In a field of more than 200 competitors, Goetschius led the 49ers to a first-place finish in the meet.

Defending A-10 Champion Corey Nagy was named A-10 Golfer of the Week after recording his third career individual victory at the VCU Shootout. Nagy finished the tournament at six-under, 210. The three-time all-American led Charlotte to a ninth-place team finish after firing an opening round 69 and shot a two-under 70 in the final round to win the title by two shots.

Rouse put up a career-high 16 kills against just one error in 32 attempts in Charlotte’s five-set win over Fordham in the Dig Pink Match and led Charlotte in kills in both conference matches this weekend. The award marked the third time this season that a Charlotte volleyball player has won Rookie of the Week honor and was the first time for Rouse.

Beam scored the game-winner in each of Charlotte’s wins last weekend and is also second on the team in goal-scoring with seven. She has 33 career goals and is just four goals shy of breaking the program’s all-time scoring record.

Beam earned Player of the Week honors for her role in the team’s victories over Rhode Island and Massachusetts last weekend. It marked the fourth time in her career that Beam won the award. The women’s soccer team has had a player win the award in three consecutive weeks and four times this season.

James scored a goal and assisted on the game-winner in Charlotte’s 3-1 win over #3 Wake Forest last Tuesday to take home Player of the Week honors. The 49ers’ road win snapped the Demon Deacons’ nation’s best 46-match non-conference unbeaten streak. The men’s program has won Player of the Week honors three times this season, the recognition also marked the second time this season that James has won the award. TopDrawerSoccer.com named Charlotte the National Team of the Week for the second time this season.

Rex scored the game-winner on his only shot against #3 Wake Forest in the team’s 3-1 win last week. Rex also made his first career start in the team’s 1-0 win over Furman last Saturday. The award gave men’s soccer a clean sweep of the weekly A-10 awards after Rex won Rookie of the Week for the second time this season.

A-10 Basketball Previews

St. Joe's

St. Joe’s will look to rebound after a down year in 2008-09 that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament after making it the previous year. St. Joe’s went 17-14 overall last year and just 9-7 in A-10 play, good for a fifth place finish. Head coach Phil Martelli has led the team to six NCAA Tournament appearances during his 14-year tenure, Martelli also led the Hawks to a 27-0 perfect regular season in 2003-04 and an Elite 8 appearance. St. Joe’s will look to ride the back of senior guard Darrin Govens who averaged 12.5 ppg last year, started all but one game, and averaged 35 minutes per game.

Rhode Island

After a 23-11 overall record and 2nd place finish in the A-10, coach Jim Baron and Rhode Island will look to build on recent success in 2009-10. Senior guard Keith Cothran averaged 13.2 ppg, scored in double-digits on 22 different occasions, averaged 27 minutes per game last year and will lead the Ram’s attack. With three consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, Rhode Island looks to be a real threat to the A-10 title and could possibly be an NCAA Tournament team. Junior center Will Martell looks to be a mainstay for Rhode Island this year. The 7-foot, 245 pound Michigan native averaged 12.9 minutes per game and provides a sizeable presence in the paint for the Rams.

George Washington

Coming off consecutive lackluster years of conference play, coach Karl Hobbs will look to turn the Colonials around this season. With three returning starters and nine letterwinners, the Colonials should work their way up from the depths of the A-10. That might be a hard task to accomplish after losing 2008-09 team MVP Rob Diggs. As a senior, Diggs averaged 13.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and had 47 blocks on the year. Looking to lead the Colonials will be senior forward Damian Hollis. Hollis averaged 13.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and was an 84 percent free-throw shooter in 08-09. One upside for the Colonials will be the depth at the guard position, as they have five on the roster.

Richmond

Richmond might be one of the surprise teams in the A-10 this year. Under the direction of fifth-year coach Chris Mooney, the Spiders have five returning starters and 11 letterwinners to a team that finished fifth in the conference in 2008-09. After leading the team in scoring in his first two seasons, center Dan Geriot tore his ACL last summer and missed the entire 08-09 season. Standing at 6-9/255, Geriot gives the Spiders a huge presence in the paint and should have a huge impact this season. At 6-10/225, junior forward Justin Harper should be a mainstay for Richmond. Harper had a career-high 28 points and nine rebounds against URI last season.

College Game of the Week

LSU (4-0) at Georgia (3-1), 3:30 EST, Saturday, October 3, CBS. Line: Georgia -3

The Tigers of LSU have finally worked their way into the top 5, but that might be totally by default and name recognition. LSU hasn't played all that well and needed a goal-line stand just to escape an upset at Mississippi St. last Saturday. Will they be the latest of the top-5 teams to take a hit? Maybe, but with a win between the hedges on Saturday, LSU could be set up for the game of the year when Florida travels to Death Valley next week.

Georgia hasn't been the model of consistency either. They lost to Oklahoma State in the opener, needed a late defensive stop to get by South Carolina, barely held on against Arkansas, and needed a late field goal to beat Arizona State.

Georgia's offense has been a positive, with senior Joe Cox completing 60 percent of his passes for 980 yards and nine touchdowns. The defense however, is as bad as it's been in a long time, allowing almost 30 points per game, 74 first downs, and ten passing touchdowns. This just isn't the same Georgia defense we're used to.

For LSU, it's the complete opposite. With all the supposed NFL talent and great recruits, this offense should be producing at a high level, it's simply not happening. he passing game has been somewhat efficient, but the offense as a whole seems to be relying on the defense to win the game, which happened on Saturday. LSU has had somewhat of an easy schedule and hasn't had the offensive fire-power needed to put teams away. Georgia's offense meanwhile has been on a roll, averaging more than 30 points per game and 357 yards per game. If Georgia's offense gets rolling, they're going to be hard to stop.

Two players to keep an eye on will be LSU senior WR Brandon LaFell and Georgia sophomore wideout A.J. Green. Coming into the season, LaFell was the more highly-touted NFL prospect of the two, Green has been better though. The sophomore standout has 25 catches for 428 yards and four scores, including eight grabs for 153 yards and a score against Arizona State last week.

I look for LSU's defense to set up the offense for some much-needed points, but Georgia's offense will just be too much for LSU in front of a home crowd of more than 92,000 at Sanford Stadium. I like Georgia in a close one 28-24.