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 Women's basketball defends it 2009 SoCon Tournament title while the men defend their share of the North Division crown. |
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Oct. 16, 2009
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina men's and women's basketball will host its first official team practice of the 2009-10 season at 5 p.m. on Friday.
The WCU women's basketball team is coming off its 2009 Southern Conference tournament championship and trip to New Mexico in the NCAA tournament as a No. 13 seed, the highest in school history. The club's 21 wins is the third-straight 20-win season for the Catamounts and the tournament title is the second in tournament title in five years.
First-year head coach Karen Middleton, who spent the last two years as an assistant at Illinois, returns nine players from last year's championship squad including senior starters, Heather Swayne and Jessica Jackson, All-Freshman team member, Kaila'Shea Menendez, and All-tournament second team performer, Emily Clarke.
"We have great leadership in our seniors Heather, Jessica and Kristen Feemster," Middleton said. "The transition, for me as the new head coach, has been easy because you are coming into a situation where they want and expect to win and they are hard workers."
Western Carolina men's basketball is coming off its first winning season since 1996 after posting a 16-15 record a season ago, and shared the Southern Conference's North Division title with league tournament champion, Chattanooga.
Fifth-year head coach Larry Hunter, who ranks inside the top 15 among active NCAA men's basketball coaches with 559 career victories, returns six players that started 12-or-more games a season ago, including five seniors including All-Southern Conference guard Brandon Giles, as well as the SoCon's reigning Freshman of the Year and All-SoCon performer in redshirt sophomore Harouna Mutombo.
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The Catamount women's basketball team opens the season on November 7, hosting an exhibition game with Tusculum. The club will then hit the road for games at Richmond, November 13, and at East Carolina on November 15.
The Catamount men's basketball team will host St. Catherine's College at 7 p.m. November 14 to tip off the season and then head to Texas on November 18. Western Carolina will hold its 2009-10 Catamount Basketball Rouser on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 7:00 pm on the concourse level of the Ramsey Center. The cost of the event is just $10.00 per adult and $5 per child. And don't forget to wear your sneakers as the players want you to get involved.
