Cougars In The News (October 24-31, 2011)
Post and Courier
October 31, 2011
MOUNT PLEASANT — Hope Atkinson scored two goals to lead the College of Charleston to a 3-0 victory over Elon in the opening round of the Southern Conference women’s soccer tournament Sunday at Patriots Point.
The Cougars (12-7-1), the No. 3 seed, advance to face No. 7 Georgia Southern in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at UNC Greensboro. GSU, the seventh seed, won at No. 2 UNCG, 2-1, on Saturday.
Atkinson’s header in the 18th minute made it 1-0, Maryam Buazza netted a volley in the 54th minute and Atkinson’s tight-angle strike made it 3-0 in the 57th minute.
Cougars keeper Cricket Wise had four saves in the shutout over the Phoenix (8-8-4).
Post and Courier
Cougs get answers to some questions
Tommy Braswell
October 30, 2011
For the College of Charleston basketball coaching staff, Saturday's 89-65 exhibition win over Queens University of Charlotte at TD Arena was an opportunity to find out how hard they must work before the opener Nov. 11 against Holy Cross.
But for the 2,007 fans who showed up for the exhibition game it was an opportunity to finally see star recruit Adjehi Baru in action. It also was a chance to see what the Cougars would look like without career scoring leader Andrew Goudelock, along with 1,000-point scorers Donavan Monroe and Jeremy Simmons.
The fans generally liked what they saw. Baru didn't disappoint, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He hit only 3 of 10 field goal attempts but was 7 of 8 from the free throw line. He had two assists, one block, one steal and three turnovers.
What the fans had to like even more was the showing of sophomore shooting guard Jordan Scott and junior point guard Andrew Lawrence, who combined to hit nine of 11 3s.
Live 5 News
Scott Leads Cougars To 89-65 Exhibition Victory Over Queens (VIDEO)
Kevin Bilodeau
Oct. 30, 2011
CHARLESTON, SC - Sophomore Jordan Scott (Darlington, S.C.) scored a game-high 23 points to lead five players in double figures as College of Charleston defeated NCAA Division II Queens University of Charlotte, 89-65, in exhibition play on Saturday night before a crowd of 2,007 at TD Arena.
Scott went 9-of-11 from the floor including 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, while junior point guard Andrew Lawrence (London, England) also lit it up from three going 4-for-5 and ending the night with 18 points.
It was a good sign of the Cougar youth embracing their new roles on the team which previously relied on offensive production from last year's senior class in CofC greats Andrew Goudelock, Donavan Monroe and Jeremy Simmons.
Freshman phenom Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) didn't score his first basket until the 10:14 minute mark of the first half, but showed his presence down low with a double-double performance with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Antwaine Wiggins (Greenville, Tenn.) and sophomore Trent Wiedeman, who combined for 49 starts a year ago, were the other CofC players in double figures with 19 and 10 points respectively.
Post and Courier
State Report
October 30, 2011
MOUNT PLEASANT — The third-seeded College of Charleston hosts No. 6 seed Elon today at 1 p.m. in a first-round match of the Southern Conference women’s soccer tournament at Patriots Point.
A win for the Cougars (11-7-1, 7-3-1) over the Phoenix would tie a program record for single season wins and advance them to the conference semifinals.
-- No. 7-seeded Charleston Southern will play No. 2 seed Winthrop in the Big South women’s tournament quarterfinals Thursday at 7 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium. The tournament runs through Sunday.
College volleyball
The College of Charleston (19-9, 9-2) won its second straight five-set SoCon match, posting a 3-2 triumph at Davidson (13-11, 3-8). The Cougars won, 23-25, 25-17, 31-29, 22-25, 15-11.
Sloane White led C of C with a season-high 20 kills.
-- Georgia Southern (15-13,7-5) posted a 3-0 SoCon victory over The Citadel (7-18, 0-11) in Statesboro. Rachael Farrell led the Bulldogs with 10 kills.
College cross country
The College of Charleston women finished fifth and the men finished eighth as the host Cougars competed in the SoCon championships at Trophy Lakes on Johns Island.
C of C’s Dena O’Brien finished third in the women’s 5K race in 17:05.40, breaking her own school record of 17:11.75. The Citadel men placed ninth, and the women were 12th.
Post and Courier
CofC hosts SoCon cross country championships
October 29, 2011
College of Charleston is the host team for the Southern Conference men's and women's cross country championship, set for today on Johns Island.
The men's 8K race will begin at 10 a.m. at Trophy Lakes, with the women's 5K race set for 10:45 a.m.
Sophomore Dena O'Brien leads the Cougars' women into the meet. Sophomore Andrew Nelson paces the men.
The Citadel's women are led by sophomore Danielle McKee, with Kyle Keene leading the men's team.
College volleyball
College of Charleston (18-9, 9-2) captured its first five-set match of the SoCon season, winning at South Division rival Georgia Southern, 3-2.
The Cougars beat the Eagles (14-13, 6-5), 25-20, 20-25, 26-24, 16-25, 15-12. Elyse Chubb and Sloane White led C of C with 14 kills apiece.
College soccer
The Citadel's Vanessa Aponte, who scored two goals in a 3-2 victory over the College of Charleston, was named SoCon women's player of the week.
In the Bulldogs' final regular season game and with a potential SoCon tournament berth on the line, she scored a pair of tying goals.
-- Phanuel Kavita scored the winning goal with 5:35 left as Clemson (6-8-1, 3-4) beat top-ranked Maryland, 2-1, in an ACC men’s game at Riggs Field. The Terps, ranked No. 1 by the NSCAA, are 13-2-2, 4-2-1 in the ACC.
College tennis
The host College of Charleston women won in four singles flights and three of four doubles flights on the first day of the Frightful Halloween Tennis Challenge at Patriots Point. Irene Viana and Jamie Harrell won, 8-5, in Flight 1 doubles as the Cougars all faced East Tennessee State foes.
Post and Courier
October 28, 2011
The College of Charleston women's basketball team was picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in the upcoming season in voting by Southern Conference coaches. Charleston finished 10-20 last season and 7-13 in the league.
Chattanooga received nine of 11 first place votes and was picked to win the title. Appalachian State, which won the regular season title last year, was second with two first-place votes.
Davidson's Sophia Alexandravicius was the preseason player of the year pick.
Men's basketball
College of Charleston was picked to finish second and The Citadel sixth in the South Division in the Southern Conference men's basketball media poll.
The Cougars got 10 of 30 first-place votes and 156 points to finish behind Davidson (18 votes, 165 points) in the South Division.
Chattanooga was picked to win the North Division with 24 first-place votes.
ESPN.com
Adjehi Baru begins new journey
Diamond Leung
October 25, 2011
The celebratory phone calls from Adjehi Baru went out to the world.
Charleston coach Bobby Cremins received the first one. Then Baru dialed his legal guardians in Richmond, Va. He later called his uncle in France to spread the good news.
Three years and a day after Baru first set foot in the United States, coming over from the Ivory Coast to pursue basketball and an education, the nation's ninth-ranked center for the 2011 recruiting class received quite an anniversary gift when the NCAA informed the school Thursday that it had cleared him to play.
Cremins cited what he called "extenuating circumstances," given what Baru faced in the Ivory Coast, that allowed him to gain eligibility after his academic record had been questioned. He arrived in America and soon found himself in search of proper living conditions and schooling before his talent thrust him into the competitive, high-stakes world of college basketball recruiting.
Perhaps improbably, despite strong interest from Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, Baru landed at the College of Charleston along with his newfound American brother, Pat Branin. When ESPNU's No. 59-ranked recruit passed on offers from the big boys and chose a Southern Conference school, the hopes of a program that came within one win of an NCAA tournament bid last season were raised.
For all the attention Baru is receiving as the highest-ranked recruit in school history, the 6-foot-9 big man prefers privacy and his headphones on campus. What does he listen to? "Any type of music except country music," Baru mused, tuning out the noise and commotion around him. "I don't want anyone trying to get a miracle from me because if you work hard, you get something," Baru said. "If you don't, you get nothing."
