College Notebook

Chidester set for USA Softball Selection Camp

Duke assistant coach Amanda Chidester will participate in the USA Softball Women’s National Team Selection Camp on Jan. 1-5 at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, Fla.

Chidester has been a member of the USA Softball Women’s National Team since 2012. This past July, she helped the United States capture the gold medal at the WBSC Women’s World Championship in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, by batting .591 with a team-high seven home runs along with 18 RBI and 11 runs scored.

Selections for the 2017 USA Softball WNT roster will compete at a Pan American Games/World Baseball Softball Confederation World Championship Qualifier in Florida, where the U.S. will look to qualify for the 2018 WBSC Women’s World Championship to be held in Chiba, Japan, and the 2019 Pan American Games to be held in Lima, Peru.

Wake Forest: The team opens its ACC home schedule as it hosts Clemson. The Demon Deacons have won their ACC home opener in four of the past six years. The Deacs have also won their last three New Year’s Eve games and haven’t lost on the holiday since a 99-91 loss to N.C. State in the 1960 Dixie Classic. After Clemson, the Demon Deacons will host Boston College on Tuesday to conclude a two-game homestand.

Elon: The team begins its Colonial Athletic Association slate on Saturday against the College of Charleston Cougars inside Alumni Gym. The 23rd all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Cougars will tip off at 2 p.m. The team will continue its conference-opening slate on Monday against the reigning CAA Champion UNCW.

Campbell: After a tough road loss Thursday, the Camels host Presbyterian Saturday in a 2 p.m. tip-off at Gore Arena. Admission is free. The loss was the team’s first in a Big South opener since re-joining the league in 2011-12. After Saturday’s game, the Camels stay at home to host Charleston Southern next Wednesday in a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Shaw: The team fell at home to Claflin University on the final day of the Shaw U Classic on Thursday night at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium. The Bears placed four players in double figures including Benji Bell, who registered a team-best 14 points, four assists and three rebounds. The team will return to action on Thursday to host Virginia Union University for a CIAA matchup. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. in C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.

UNC: Stephanie Watts scored 22 points and put on another three-point shooting clinic during the Tar Heels’ 82-49 victory over South Carolina State on Friday afternoon at Carmichael Arena. The team opens ACC play with a visit to No. 19 Virginia Tech on Monday at 7 p.m.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons hit the road for their final game of 2016 and non-conference play on Saturday as they face James Madison. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. at the JMU Convocation Center. The Deacs, who are off to a 9-3 start under Jen Hoover, are looking to move to 10-3 and match the best start for the program since the 2011-12 campaign. Head coach Hoover returns to JMU, where she served as an assistant coach in 2000-02.

St. Augustine’s: On Saturday, the team will host Barton College in its home opener at Emery Gymnasium at 2 p.m. Admission is free but donations will go to the athletic department.

N.C. State: The team (11-3) stunned Notre Dame on Thursday evening in both teams’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener, defeating the Fighting Irish 70-62 on Kay Yow Court at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack never trailed in the game, leading for 38 minutes and 54 seconds en route to handing the Fighting Irish their second loss in ACC play since joining the league at the outset of the 2013-14 season. The team returns to action at Florida State on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla.

Duke: Junior guard Lexie Brown totaled 24 points and three other Blue Devils reached double figures as the 15th-ranked Devils used a second-half run to down No. 17 Kentucky, 69-54, Thursday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The evening also saw the Blue Devils hang a jersey in the rafters of Cameron Indoor for the third time in program history as Elizabeth Williams’ No. 1 jersey was retired. The Blue Devils open ACC play Monday against eighth-ranked Louisville in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m.

Campbell: The team closed out the non-conference portion of its 2016-17 schedule with a 73-32 victory over Columbia College on Thursday night at Gore Arena. Every active Camel scored in the contest, led by a game-high 11 points from MaKala Rouse. The Camels finish non-conference play at 8-3, which will at least tie for the best record among Big South Conference teams. The team will return to the court in the New Year when it opens its 18-game Big South schedule on Tuesday on the road against preseason favorites UNC Asheville.

Mount Olive: The team has been picked second in the 2017 Conference Carolinas Preseason Coaches Poll. The Trojans tallied 72 points and a pair of first-place votes in the poll to finish just six points shy of conference favorite Barton College. The team opens the season on the road in the UC Santa Barbara Asics Invitational in Santa Barbara, California, on Sept. 6.

N.C. State: The No. 10 Wolfpack advanced three grapplers to the semifinals at the 54th annual Midlands Championships. No. 2 seed junior Kevin Jack extended his winning streak to 16 with three wins. No. 5 seed Sam Speno, a redshirt senior, was the third member to advance to the semifinals with a perfect 3-0 mark on the day.

From news releases

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 11:30 PM with the headline "College Notebook."