Catamount Basketball - #0 Tom Tankelewicz

Catamount Basketball tips off on November 8th in Cullowhee. The Cats will open play against Wittenberg in the Ramsey Center. Coach Hunter spent 13 seasons as the head coach at Wittenberg, and led them to the NCAA Division III National Championship.

Let's get to know this team a little better, now moving on to highlight Catamount seniors.

#0 Tom Tankelewicz

Class: RS Senior
Hometown: Apex, N.C.
High School: Middle Creek HS
Last College: Charleston Southern
Height / Weight: 6-4 / 180
Position: G



2012-13 (Redshirt-Junior): Started in all 32 games for the Catamounts ... Finished with 309 points, averaging 9.7 points per game on 26.1 minutes per game ... Scored in double-digits 14 times including 20 or more points four times ... Led WCU in scoring three times and rebounding twice ... Eighty of 104 made baskets came from 3-point range, (77%) ... Ranked fifth in three-point makes in a single-season at 80 ... Led in the Southern Conference in 3pt field goals made ... Averaged 2.5 threes per game, finished ranked fifth in the WCU single-season records ... Finished ranked 10th in the Southern Conference at 38.6 percent from three ... Missed only two free throws (21-of-23) ... Led WCU with 15 points on five made threes at UNC Asheville (11/09) ... Scored 17 points in back-to-back games against Howard (11/21) and vs. Furman (11/28) ... Handed out a career-high five assists against Howard ... Grabbed eight rebounds on the road at Eastern Kentucky (12/01) ... Tallied 19 points vs. Appalachian State (12/08) ... Scored a career-high 24 points highlighted by six made threes against No. 15 Georgetown (12/15) ... Only player in the game to play the full 40 minutes, setting a new career-high ... Notched 21 points at Chattanooga (01/19) on seven made threes setting a career-high ... Went 7 of 9 in the game from the floor and from three ... Scored 20 points at home against Georgia Southern (01/26) ... Tied rebound career-high with eight at Georgia Southern (02/09) ... Recorded 23 points against Elon (02/16) ... Tied career-high with seven made threes in the Elon game.

2011-12 (Redshirt Sophomore): Saw action in 27 games, all coming off the bench ... Finished with 58 points, averaging 2.1 points on 6.4 minutes averaged per game ... Shot 29.6-percent from the field including 25-percent from beyond the 3-point arc ... Had five steals and four assists on the year ... Made his WCU debut in the season-opener at South Carolina, subbing in at the 16:35 mark and playing 14 minutes, scoring six points and pulling down four rebounds ... Connected on his first field goal as a Catamount on a three-point play at 13:26 of the first half against the Gamecocks ... Came off the bench for his best all-around game against UNC Asheville where he was perfect from the field (2-2) including nailing a key 3-pointer as the Catamounts held off UNCA (12/28) ... Scored his WCU career-high 11 points in the home win over Toccoa Falls (1/17) including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line ... Made a pair of 3-pointers including a banked-shot late in overtime at UNCG (1/28) for a SoCon-best eight points ... Made three crucial free throws and pulled down three rebounds helping secure the home win over Chattanooga (2/2).

Prior to Western Carolina: Played in 20 games as a reserve at Charleston Southern during the 2009-10 season, making three starts ... Averaged 5.5 points per game while shooting 37-percent from beyond the arc with 23 made 3-pointers ... Scored a career-high 14 points against Stetson ... Suffered a sprained MCL, missing four games before returning - then suffered a season-ending broken hand.

High School: Averaged 19 points, six rebounds and three assists per game at Middle Creek HS ... Was a McDonald's All-American nominee and named first-team all-conference, as well as academic all-conference as a senior ... Shot 43-percent from behind the 3-point arc in making a school-record 87 3-pointers, while also shooting 80-percent from the free throw line as a senior ... Set the single-game record for 3-pointers made in the North Carolina / South Carolina All-Star Game ... Tied the 3-point record for the 2009 Glaxo Smith Kline Holiday Invitational with 14 made treys, tying Matt Bonner's record in earning all-tournament team honors ... Set his high school single-game scoring record with 37 points in a game ... the 97th-ranked shooting guard by ESPNU in the Class of 2009.

Personal: Is the son of Tom and Maureen Tankelewicz ... Born in July of 1991 in Philadelphia, Penn.


Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations