Double Header to be televised by WMYA-TV, My 40

Western Carolina returns to Southern Conference basketball action on Saturday afternoon in a Catamount basketball double-header. The WCU women's squad hosts Greensboro, with the men hosting two-time defending SoCon Tournament champion, Wofford.  

Tip-off is at 2:00 pm for the women, and 4:30 pm for the men's game. Both games will be televised locally on WMYA-TV, My 40 out of Asheville.

MBB: Cats lose in Chattanooga, again

Chattanooga, TN - Only two things need to be said about the Catamount's loss in Chattanooga on Thursday night.

#1. The Cats led 60-58 before Chattanooga went on a 20-2 run to put the game away and win it in a dominating fashion.

 #2. The Cats were out rebounded 50-26.

I doubt if either of these can be corrected, certainly not in time to stem the steam roller that is Wofford, as the Terriers visit Cullowhee on Saturday. In case you didn't know, Wofford beat Charleston by 18 points last night, which comes on the heels of their win over Wake Forest earlier in the week.  All I can say is, look out Cats.  The game certainly will be good advertisement for the Terriers in the local Spartanburg/Greenville market, as it will be broadcast on TV40.

New Catamount Football Staff

Cullowhee, NC - Head football coach Mark Speir today announced the following additions to his Catamount Football Staff:

new hires...
-Brad Glenn has been named the offensive coordinator
-Trey Elder will coach the wide receivers
-John Holt will take over as the offensive line coach

retained from old staff....
-Mark Rhea, defensive line and serve as the program's recruiting coordinator
-Arketa Banks, running back coach
-Chris Collins, defensive assistant working primarily with the secondary
-Daniel Gibson, Director of Football Operation

Speir hopes to complete his coaching staff with at least two additional hires this week.

WBB: Spartans Fall to Catamounts

Courtesy Upstate Athletics

Spartanburg, SC - The Lady Spartans of USC Upstate fell to the Catamounts Monday night, 63-58 in the first game of 2012 for both teams. The Cats own a 6-3 overall advantage against the Spartans, despite Upstate's victories the last three contests against WCU. The Cats had three players in double figures, lead by Makensey Campbell's career-high 18 points, Wakama added 13 points and Menendez put in 11 points. USC Upstate controlled the boards, with 41 rebounds to the Cat's 21. The victory over the snaps a six-game losing streak for Western Carolina.

Scanning the Socon- Week Nine

It's time for our weekly Scanning the SoCon basketball feature. As usual, our four SoCon fans are:

DavidsonCats- Davidson Wildcat fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga Mocs fan.
TheSportsArsenal- The Ciatdel Bulldogs fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro Spartans fan.

Please follow the link below, for SoCon basketball, from their perspective.

Scanning the Socon- Week Nine

WBB: USC Upstate

The Catamounts travel to Spartanburg, SC to play the Lady Spartans of USC Upstate in the first game of the new year. The Cats and Spartans meet for the third time overall, but have not played each other in over 27 years. The Cats own a 2-0 record over Upstate.
The Lady Spartans enter Monday's game 1-10 on the season, with their lone win coming against a common opponent of ours - UNC Asheville. The Spartans beat the Bulldogs in Asheville by a score of 73-66.  Western’s game at Upstate is the final non-conferece game of the season, the Cats are 4-4 in against non-conference opponents and have a 4-8 overall record.  For more information on tonight's game, follow the link below.


Game #13 - USC Upstate

Basketball concludes 2011 schedule

Both Catamount Basketball teams closed out 2011 with big road loses. The women fell to No. 21 Vanderbilt, 81-36 and the men fell to NC State by a score of 82-55. Both are major losses by wide margins for the two programs hoping to make big strides in their out of conference schedules, but it was not to be. The WCU men return to SoCon play against preseason North Division favorite, Chattanooga (6-8, 0-2 SoCon), on Thursday, Jan. 5, at the McKenzie Arena, while the women play their final non-conference game on Monday, January 2, 2012, at USC Upstate.

MBB: North Carolina State

Courtesy NCSU

Raleigh, NC - The Catamounts travel to Raleigh on Saturday for an afternoon battle with the NC State Wolfpack.  This will be the 14th meeting between Western and NCSU on the hardwood.  The Wolfpack owns a 13-0 record against the Cats, the two teams having first met in 1975.   If you'll recall, NC State traveled to Cullowhee on December 6, 1986 to dedicate the Ramsey Center - State won that first men's game in Ramsey by a score of 96-75, and the only game in the series to be held in Cullowhee in the series.

NC State is 9-4 on the season, having beaten Campbell Thursday night by a score of 81-86.  Both teams will enter Saturday's game riding small winning streaks, the Cats have won two-straight including a road win over Bradley and Wednesday’s beat down of  UNC Asheville. NCSU has won three straight games, including home games over Northeastern & Campbell.

This game is within the grasp of the Catamounts to win, if they hold on to the ball, limit turnovers, & those costly personal fouls. Unless this game is a complete runaway by either team, I expect referees to interject themselves into the game if the Cats are either in striking distance, or slightly ahead during the final minutes of the game, it will be home cooking at it's best.

Don't forget, you can view the game on ESPN3 at 2 pm (EST).  For more information on the game, follow the link below.

Game #14 - NC State

The Cats Court

A WCU student participating in the SoCon basketball blog contest has developed a blog called "The Cats Court". Your support of this blog would be greatly appreciated, you can help by subscribing to it, then follow the blog regularly and re-post it if you like.

Follow this link to the blog: The Cats Court

More information on the contest can be found here: Southern Conference Basketball Blogging Contest

WBB: Vanderbilt

Nashville, TN - The Catamounts travel to Nashville, Tenn. tonight to play the Vanderbilt Commodores in the Memorial Gymnasium. This will be the second meeting between the two schools, with VU holding a 1-0 record. The teams met in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., with the Cats losing 44-73. The Commodores are 11-1 overall and 8-0 at home. Vanderbilt returned to the Top 25 on November 28, off its win over No. 12/14 Oklahoma. The re-appearance marked the first time Vanderbilt had been ranked since the fourth week of 2010-11.   For more information on the game, follow the link below.


Game #12 - Vanderbilt

MBB: Cats dominate Asheville

Courtesy UNC-A Athletics

Cullowhee, NC - Building off a 40-25 halftime lead, the Catamounts dominated the Asheville Bulldogs in the Ramsey Center, Wednesday night by a final score of 86-67.   Utilizing a balanced attack, the Cats had 4 players in double figure scoring.  Harouna Mutombo led the Cats with 18 points, followed by Brandon Boggs with 17 points, and Keaton Cole with 13 points and Ishmael Hollis with 10 points.  Approximately halfway through the first half, the Cats went on a 14-1 point run, pushing the score to 33-16 Catamount lead, heading to a 40-25 halftime lead.  The Bulldogs never seriously challenged in the second half, and the Dogs never led the game after a 9-9 tie in the first half.  This is a good win for the Cats over a solid team that is projected to win the Big South Conference.

Purple Zone Pre-Game - UNCA

Men’s Basketball Hosts UNC-Asheville 

Coach Hunter and the Team will tip off against the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening in the Ramsey Center. After coming off a 1 point victory against Bradley University on December 20th, the Catamounts look to continue their winning ways!

The Catamount Club will be hosting a Purple Zone Pre-Game event on the concourse of the Ramsey Center beginning at 5 p.m. New Athletic Director, Randy Eaton, and Head Football Coach, Mark Speir, will be in attendance.

We hope to see everyone tomorrow for Catamount Basketball!

Thank you for your continued support of WCU Athletics!

The Catamount Club Staff
Go Catamounts!

Scanning the SoCon- Week Eight

It's time for week 8 of Scanning the SoCon.

As usual, four fans discuss the SoCon........


DavidsonCats- Davidson fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNCG fan.

But, first - My conference rankings

1) Davidson
2) Charleston
3) Western Carolina
4) Wofford
5) Elon
6) Furman
7) Appy State
8) Georgia Southern
9) Chattanooga
10) Samford
11) Greensboro
12) The Citadel

follow the link below to:
Scanning the SoCon- Week Eight

MBB: UNC Asheville

Courtesy UNC-A

Cullowhee, NC - This Wednesday, December 28th, the Asheville Bulldogs will travel to Cullowhee for the annual meeting between the two mountain foes.  In this the 43d meeting, the Catamounts are coming off a win over Bradley, while the Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Tennessee.  Overall the Cats lead the series 23-19, with the Bulldogs winning last reason's game in Asheville, 85-79.  The Bulldogs were projected to win the Big South conference this season and Asheville's senior guard Matt Dickey, picked as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, is off to a good start, he is Asheville’s leading scorer with a 16.7 average (he’s scored double figures in the first 11 games of the season). The Bulldogs are 6-5 on the season, with wins over Mars Hill, Brevard, Utah, Gardner-Webb, USC Upstate, & Montreat College. However, they played very close games in losses to both Tennessee & Charleston.  For more information on the game, follow the link below.


Game #13 - UNC Asheville

from Purple & Gold, wishing you a

Head Football Coach Announcement

         

Merry Christmas from the Purple & Gold

Welcome home Coach Mark Speir

Courtesy WCU Sports Information

Cullowhee, N.C. - Director of Athletics Randy Eaton announced he had selected Mark Speir as the head football coach for Western Carolina University at a press conference held in the Ramsey Center today.

A native of Kannapolis, N.C., the Clemson graduate landed his first full-time coaching position in Cullowhee on Coach Hodgin's staff, working with the running backs from 1991-93, then the linebackers in 1994 before coaching the defensive line and serving as the program's recruiting coordinator from 1995-96.  Coach Speir has a masters degree from Western Carolina.

Welcome home, Coach Spear and family, we've been waiting on you.

Speir takes over as Western Carolina football coach

Cats rally for 68-67 win at Bradley

Peoria, Ill - Playing before a vocal crowd of 7100 in Carver Arena, the Catamounts swept the scheduled 3 game, 3 year series with Bradley, winning twice in Peoria, and once in Cullowhee.  Keaton Cole's basket with 5.7 seconds remaining was the final margin needed to lift Western Carolina to a 68-67 road win at Bradley in a game that featured 15 ties and eight lead changes. The Catamounts halted a 2-game losing streak of close losses to Purdue and Kent State.

Western Carolina Edges Bradley Tuesday Night, 68-67

WCU Announces New Head Football Coach on Thurs., Dec. 22

Courtesy WCU Athletics

Cullowhee, N.C. - Director of Athletics Randy Eaton will announce Western Carolina University's new head football coach during an on-campus press conference scheduled for 11:00 am on Thursday, Dec. 22, in the Hospitality Room of the Ramsey  Center.

The press conference will be streamed live through Catamount All-Access, and free streaming audio through CatamountSports.com, or on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee.

Cats at Bradley

Peoria, IL - The Catamounts have been on a 10-day break for final exams, and returns to the court on Tuesday night as they visit the Bradley Braves. Tip-off at the downtown Carver Arena is scheduled for 8:00 pm ET will travel to Peoria, Illinois to meet the Bradley Braves, currently 5-5.  The Braves kicked off the season at 3-0 run, then dropped 4 straight before beating Northwestern at home on Tuesday Dec. 6th. The Braves are currently 3-1 at home, with their only home loss comming at the hands of Wofford, 66-70.   For more information on tonight's game, visit the link below.

Game #12 - Bradley

Heffley Named Preseason All-American

Infielder Ross Heffley has been named to the 2012 Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American first team as selected by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper. This is Heffley's second preseason All-America honor, as he was a third team selection prior to the 2010 season. Heffley is one of 4 student-athletes from the SoCon named preseason All-American.  Last season, Heffley became the first Catamount since the 2007 season to win the school's Triple Crown for leading the team in batting average, home runs and RBIs, he also lead both the Catamounts and the SoCon in batting average with a .419 average. For more information, follow the link below.

WCU's Ross Heffley Named Preseason All-American

Sumler Listed as a Bob Cousy Award Candidate

Point guard Trey Sumler has been listed as a candidate for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award. The annual award, recognizes college basketball's top point guard. "The list of candidates includes the top players from across the country that have shown the same leadership, hard work and determination that Mr. Cousy exemplified on the court for many years. We are excited to honor his legacy with the winner of this year's award." said John L. Doleva, President of the Basketball Hall of Fame.   For more information on the award, and the list of candidaates, follow the link below.

2012 Bob Cousy Award Candidates

WCU - Season's Greetings 2011

     

Tennis: 2012-13 Signing Class

Courtesy WCU Sports

Cullowhee, NC - Tennis coach Chris Wollett announced his 2012-13 class, signing two players from Georgia, Nicole Nielly and Shannon Bettiol. "Along with their talent on the tennis court and excellence in the classroom, Shannon and Nicole bring positive attitudes that will only help our team excel," said Wollett.

For more information on Nielly & Bettiol, follow the link below.


2012-13 Tennis Signing Class

SoCon Announces Fall Academic All-Conference

Spartanburg, SC - Twenty-five student-athletes from Western Carolina was named by the SoCon to the Academic All-Conference team for the 2011 fall season.  Western Carolina's Morgan Turner was one of seventeen SoCon student-athletes that have maintained a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPAs.

To be eligible, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average entering the fall season and were required to compete in at least one-half of their team's competitions during the recently-concluded fall campaign. Also, the student-athletes must have successfully completed at least 24 credit hours in the previous two semesters. To see the WCU students named, follow the link below.

25 Catamounts Named Fall Academic All-Conference

WBB: at Samford

After an 11-day hiatus from basketball, the Catamounts travel to Homewood, Alabama to meet the Samford Lady Bulldogs in a continuation of conference play. Samford holds a 6-2 record over the Cats, with the Lady Bulldogs winning the last five meetings between the two teams, Western's last win came in 2009, when the Cats beat Samford twice that seaon. The Lady Bulldogs were picked to finish 4th overall in the SoCon preseason basketball poll and currently are 4-4 overall on the season and 0-2 in the SoCon. The Lady Bulldogs have wins over Montana (59-45), Alabama St. (62-51), Jacksonville St. (73-40), and SEMO (63-58). Their losses have been to DePaul (9 points), WKU (1 point), Greensboro (8 points), and Elon (25 points).  Paige Anderson is the leading scorer this season, with 11 points per game average.

Where There Is Hope There Is Help

        

Simpson scores 2,000

Courtesy John Coutlakis/

jcoutlakis@citizen-times.com

Franklin High School senior Lindsay Simpson became the 10th Western North Carolina girls high school basketball player to score 2,000 points in a career. Simpson accomplish the feat Tuesday night as Franklin beat visiting Pisgah, 61-56, scoring her 2,000th point just four minutes into the game.  School officials halted play so Simpson could be photographed and presented the game ball.

“It’s a great milestone, and one I’ve been working for,” Simpson said. “When you look at the list of the girls who have done this, there are a lot of great names. To be in the same category with them is a great feeling.”

Lindsay has signed to play basketball for Western Carolina University next season.

Welcome to Cullowhee, Randy Eaton

Courtesy WCU Athletics

Randy Eaton, the just appointed Athletic Director for Western Carolina University, told the Asheville Citizen-Times that he started "formulating a list of prospective head football coaches for Western shortly after a search firm contacted him about the job."

“I had a list of about eight or nine names,” Eaton said, "It’s really amazing because (out of) the people down here that I will listen to, that are going to have my ear,” Eaton continued, “there are four or five (candidates) who keep coming up who are part of my list.”

I love the confidence he projects, and planning ahead for a job he had not been offered.   I think he can take athletics at WCU to a new level. If he's successful in hiring a football coach that can turn around the win/loss record of WCU football, it might be hard for the university to hold on to him.  So, he has lots riding on this hire, “It’s my decision,” Eaton said. “Chancellor Belcher has made that perfectly clear.”  There will be no place to hide if his new coach can not right this ship, that we call WCU football.