College Notebook

Smith returning to USA Basketball with Women’s U19 coaching staff

After serving as an assistant coach for the gold-medal-winning 2016 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team that qualified the United States for the 2017 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup, Elon University head coach Charlotte Smith has been named an assistant coach for the USA U19 World Cup Team at the July event in Cividale del Friuli and Udine, Italy.

Smith will join University of Pittsburgh head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio and University of Northern Colorado assistant coach Kamie Ethridge. The trio coached the 2016 U18 team last summer, where they directed the team to a perfect 5-0 mark at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile.

Smith as a player won a gold medal at the 1996 R. William Jones Cup and silver medals at the 1995 World University Games and 1992 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She also played for the 1997 USA Basketball Women’s International Invitational Team, the 1994 USA Select Team and at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival.

The United States will look to make it seven gold medals in a row at the July 22-30 event. The USA was placed in Group A and will open against Mali on July 22, face China on July 23 and cap the preliminary round against host Italy on July 25.

N.C. State: The No. 19/19 Wolfpack (17-6, 7-3 ACC) picked up a thrilling 72-70 overtime win at No. 9/7 Louisville Thursday evening. The win was N.C. State’s fourth this season over a team ranked within the national top 15. Miah Spencer hit a runner as time expired in the overtime period to earn the win. The senior scored a game-high-tying 22 points on 11-for-17 shooting while collecting six rebounds.

Wake Forest: Ariel Stephenson recorded a career-high 24 points in the visiting Deacons’ 79-56 loss to No. 16 Miami Thursday night. Stephenson was 8-of-16 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Stephenson also dished out a team-best four assists. The Demon Deacons host Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Duke: The Blue Devil tandem of redshirt junior Rebecca Greenwell and junior Lexie Brown combined for 34 points Thursday in a 65-37 victory over Clemson. Fifteenth-ranked Duke moved to 19-4 overall and 7-3 in ACC action with the win. The team travels to Virginia Sunday for a 1 p.m. game before returning to Cameron Indoor Stadium for two straight home games.

East Carolina: The Pirates (10-12, 1-8 AAC) look to snap a six-game losing streak when the Pirates host Houston (8-14, 1-8 AAC) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Minges Coliseum. The Pirates and Cougars are 10th and 11th in the league, respectively. The team is coming off a 100-92 overtime road loss to Tulsa while Houston has lost eight straight games after winning its league opener 71-66 over Tulsa.

NCCU: Seniors Carlos Ortiz and Ellington Hopkins were voted to the Preseason All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference First and Second Teams, respectively by the league’s coaches and sports information directors, the conference office announced Friday.

St. Augustine’s: On Saturday, the team will make its home baseball debut against the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in a four-game series this weekend at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. The Falcons (0-2 overall) looked solid in their season opener Wednesday against Barton College, which was coming off a 31-win campaign last year.

Mount Olive: The Trojans were picked to win the 2017 Conference Carolinas Championship in a preseason poll. The team will look to defend its 2016 Conference Carolinas Championship and earn another bid to the NCAA Division II Championship in 2017. The Trojans will open the season with a three-game homestand against Lander University at noon Saturday at Scarborough Field.

Wake Forest: Saturday’s game vs. Georgia Tech is Throwback Day. Basketball alumni will be recognized at halftime. The team will be wearing 1980s-style uniforms. The team will host Georgia Tech as the Deacs look for their 14th win of the season.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack (14-9, 3-7 ACC) will host Miami at 3 p.m. Saturday at PNC Arena. Saturday is Military Appreciation Day. Military members and veterans can purchase tickets for $10 with a valid ID. Fans are asked to help support military families by bringing a donation of goods or supplies.

Elon: The team takes a five-game winning streak into TD Arena for a Colonial Athletic Association clash at 4 p.m. Saturday against the College of Charleston Cougars. The game will be the 24th all-time meeting and the second time the teams have gone head-to-head this season.

Campbell: The team begins a stretch where it plays three road games in four outings starting with a 2 p.m. match-up Saturday at Big South co-leader Winthrop. The team has dropped its last two games, but the Camels (11-12, 4-7) are 4-5 overall on the road this year. The Camels have won two of their last three away games in Big South play with triumphs Jan. 11 at Gardner-Webb (76-60) and Jan. 26 at Radford (78-61).

UNC: The team, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Joe Breschi, opens its 2017 regular season at 3 p.m. Saturday against the UMBC Retrievers at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh. The game is being moved from Chapel Hill because of a water emergency. Cardinal Gibbons High School Stadium is at 1401 Edwards Mill Road. The Tar Heels are ranked first in the preseason USILA coaches poll of the 2017 season and first in the initial Maverik media poll of the 2017 campaign.

Duke: The team enters the 2017 season ranked seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll and 10th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll. The Blue Devils were picked to finish fourth in the preseason ACC Coaches’ Poll, while Justin Guterding was voted to the preseason All-ACC squad.

Mount Olive: The Trojans were selected to finish second in the 2017 Conference Carolinas Coaches Preseason Poll. The Trojans are ranked in the top-15 in three preseason polls as the team was ranked 10th in NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse by U.S. Lacrosse Magazine, T-10th in the USILA/Nike Coaches Poll, and No. 11 by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. Senior Brett Kingston, junior Cole Groebner, and senior Jesse Mitchell were named “Players to watch” by the conference. The team opens the 2017 season on the road against Catawba College at 2 p.m. Feb. 18 in Salisbury.

Mount Olive: The Trojans were picked to finish second in the 2017 Conference Carolinas Preseason Coaches Poll to open the season. The Trojans tallied 81 points in the poll to finish just nine points shy of unanimous conference favorite Limestone, which earned all nine possible first-place votes. The team opens the season on the road at Barton College, which will be competing in its first match in program history, at 4 p.m. Friday in Wilson.

St. Augustine’s: On Saturday, the team will face Barton College in a season-opening doubleheader at Jeffries Field in Wilson. Game times are 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The Falcons women return seven players from the 2015 CIAA championship squad, which qualified for the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Mount Olive: The Trojans open the 2017 campaign after being picked to finish fourth in the Conference Carolinas Preseason poll. The team tallied 77 points in the poll to finish just 18 points shy of conference favorite Limestone and 11 points behind Pfeiffer University, which garnered 95 and 88 points respectively, with Limestone earning five first-place votes to the Falcons’ four. The Trojans open the season with a trio of doubleheaders at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field, starting with a pair of games against Virginia State University at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday.

Elon: The team will close its six-match road trip to open the season on Saturday and Sunday with road contests at VCU and Old Dominion. First serve against VCU is set for 11 a.m. Saturday and first ball at ODU is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday. All-time, the Phoenix are 1-2 against VCU and 1-3 against Old Dominion.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack continues a home stretch at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center with a match against No. 12 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Sunday. The team enters the match with a five-match winning streak, while Oklahoma State holds a 4-0 record.

St. Augustine’s: Head coach George Williams was named CIAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Week. Williams directed the men’s team to 11 top 10 finishes at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational in Lynchburg, Va. on Jan. 28. The Falcons are 17th nationally in the NCAA Division II men’s indoor rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Meanwhile, Shakinah Brooks won the women’s long jump at the Camel City Invitational indoor track and field meet at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem,. Brooks won the event with a leap of 19-8.

Duke: Through day one of the Armory Track Invitational, the Blue Devil men are in second place with 26 points, competing against 19 teams, while the women tallied six points through four events. The team recorded 7 personal-best marks and seven top-10 performances.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons kicked off the Camel City Invitational with six top-10 finishes, five of which came from the field.

Charlie Ionata and Kyle Johnson started the weekend with second and fourth place finishes in the men’s weight throw. Ionata finished with a best throw of 19.94m (65’ 5”), just .02m away from his personal best, while Johnson finished with a throw of 17.80m (58’ 4.75”). On the women’s side, Alva Hicks placed fourth in the weight throw with a throw of 18.27m (59’ 11.25”), her second-best of the season. Freshman Jessica Molina placed eighth in the event with a best throw of 15.87m (52’ 1”) while junior Andrea Vahoua finished ninth in her first competition of the season with a throw of 15.34m (50’ 4”).

Elon: Senior Briana O’Grady set a personal record in the weight throw for the third straight week as the women’s team opened competition at the Camel City Invitational on Friday at the JDL Fast Track Complex. The Phoenix concludes the final day of the Camel City Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday.

UNC: The first day of the 2017 Janis Hape Dowd Carolina College Nike Invitational concluded Friday night at Duke University’s Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion with three individual victories from Tar Heel women’s swimmers. Freshman Erica Wirth won the 500-yard freestyle, junior Madison Boswell captured the 200-yard individual medley and sophomore Kate Boyer won the 50-yard freestyle.

Duke: The Blue Devils kicked off the postseason Friday with the first of three days of competition at the Janis Hape Dowd Carolina College Nike Invitational. The women’s team earned a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay.

Friday evening’s events were moved from Chapel Hill to Duke’s Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion after a water emergency that affected much of Orange County. Saturday’s 10 a.m. preliminaries and 6 p.m. finals will continue at Taishoff as scheduled, while Sunday’s events have also been moved from Chapel Hill to Durham as a result of the emergency.

N.C. State: Facing a 13-7 deficit halfway through the ACC dual, No. 8 Wolfpack won four of the five matches after the intermission and defeated No. 25 Pitt Friday night in Reynolds Coliseum, 23-15. The Wolfpack (11-1, 4-0 ACC) got an overtime win at 157 pounds, followed by a DQ victory at 174, a decision at 184 and a major decision to close the win at 197 pounds over the Panthers (8-5, 0-3 ACC).

UNC: The second-ranked Tar Heels remained unbeaten with an efficient 4-0 victory over No. 12 Texas Tech from the USTA National Campus in central Florida. The Tar Heels improved to 5-0 in 2017.

Elon: The team returns to action to face Furman at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C. It will be the Phoenix’s 17th contest against Furman, a former opponent in the Southern Conference. The team has won three of those matches, most recently defeating the Paladins 4-3 in the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament.

Mount Olive: The team was picked to finish third in the Conference Carolinas coaches preseason poll. The Trojans collected 69 points and two first-place votes. The team is coming into the 2016-17 season after a third-place finish in last year’s men’s golf Conference Carolinas Championship. They are set to begin the spring schedule Feb. 20 at the Newberry College Invitational in Kiawah Island, S.C.

Mount Olive: The team was voted third in the Conference Carolinas coaches preseason poll. The Trojans collected 78 points and two first-place votes. The team coming into the 2016-17 season after a fifth-place finish in last year’s Conference Carolinas Championship. The team is set to begin the spring schedule on Sunday at the World Golf Village Invitational in St. Augustine, Fla.

N.C. State: The team will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., Sunday for its first quad meet of the season. The Wolfpack will face off at Penn with Cornell and Bridgeport at 1 p.m. in the historic Palestra. Out of the four teams competing, the Pack leads the overall rankings, checking in at No. 28. They hold the top scoring average and are ranked 21st in vault, 24th in floor and 25th on bars.

Duke: The teams will travel to compete in the Eric Sollee Invitational Sunday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The No. 10 Blue Devil men picked up wins against Sacred Heart (22-5), Lafayette (26-1), Johns Hopkins (20-7) and NJIT (17-10) during their last competition at the Philadelphia Invitational. On the women’s side, Duke topped Johns Hopkins (17-10) and NJIT (24-3).

N.C. State: The ninth-ranked Wolfpack will head to Charleston, S.C., to participate in the National Rifle Association Sectional hosted by The Citadel. Competition is to begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Inuoye Marksmanship Center. The Wolfpack enters the match with a 10-5 record on the season and will be joined in competition by the host Bulldogs, North Georgia, Georgia Military College and Clemson’s Club Team.

Raleigh Sports Club: Former Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer and NCSU basketball legend Chucky Brown have been added to the list of speakers at the Raleigh Sports Club. The club has reduced its annual membership fee to $40 for the remainder of the 2016/17 season. The annual banquet will be at North Ridge Country Club on April 6.

From news releases

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 11:30 PM with the headline "College Notebook."