Post and Courier

Cougars sweep in volleyball

October 3, 2011

The College of Charleston (13-7, 4-0) swept to a 3-0 Southern Conference volleyball victory over Davidson (12-5, 2-2) at TD Arena on Sunday.

The Cougars won, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19, in their third match sweep this season.

Sarah Havel led Charleston with 12 kills and five total blocks. Sloane White reached double figures in kills for the ninth time this season, and the seventh time in the last eight matches, as she hit 12 kills. Emily Shelton totaled 21 digs.

College soccer

The Citadel (4-6-2, 2-1-1) and Samford (4-5-2, 2-0-2) battled to a 0-0 tie in a Southern Conference women's match in Birmingham, Ala.

Keeper Sarah Katchen had three saves for the Bulldogs, and Mariana Garcia had four of The Citadel's 12 shots, nine on goal. Samford also had 12 shots, and keeper Alyssa Whitehead had nine saves.

--Sarah Schaidle scored two goals as the College of Charleston (7-5, 3-1) posted a 3-2 victory at Chattanooga (5-5-1, 0-4-0) in a SoCon women's match.

C of C led 1-0 on Ali Brashear's goal in the fifth minute before the Mocs tied it in the 30th. Schaidle's first goal in the 38th minute made it 2-1, and Chattanooga tied it again in the 43rd before Schaidle won it with a 67th-minute strike.

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Post and Courier

Cougars stay unbeaten in SoCon volleyball

October 2, 2011

The College of Charleston (12-7, 3-0) posted a 3-1 volleyball win over reigning Southern Conference tournament champion Georgia Southern (10-9, 3-1) at TD Arena on Saturday.

The Cougars won, 25-27, 25-15, 25-21, 26-24. Freshman Sloane White led C of C with a career-best 18 kills.

--Davidson (12-4, 2-1 SoCon) swept to a 3-0 victory at The Citadel (6-9, 0-4). The Wildcats won, 25-12, 25-19, 25-20.

The Bulldogs' Kaona Mercer and Amanda Rudnik had 10 kills apiece.

College soccer

The College of Charleston men (5-3-1, 1-1) suffered their first SoCon loss of the season, falling to Georgia Southern, 3-2, in Statesboro.

The Eagles (6-3-1, 2-0) led 3-0 with goals in the 32nd, 44th and 53rd minutes. The Cougars rallied with goals from Troy Peterson in the 69th minute and Joey De Mare in the 76th.

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Post and Courier

College of Charleston runner sets women’s school mark

October 1, 2011

CHARLOTTE -- The College of Charleston's Dena O'Brien finished fourth overall in the Charlotte Invitational cross country meet Friday, and the sophomore's 5-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 11.75 seconds set a women's school record.

The Cougar women placed 12th out of 36 teams. The C of C men finished 10th out of 34 teams. O'Brien bettered the old record of 17:34, set by Micky Kawohl in the 1991 season.

College soccer

Mariana Garcia had a goal in each half as The Citadel (4-6-1, 2-1) earned a 2-1 Southern Conference women's victory at Chattanooga (5-4-1, 0-3).

Garcia scored in the ninth minute before the Mocs tied it in the 17th. Garcia scored the game-winner in the 61st.

--Samford (4-5-1, 2-0-1) posted a 2-1 overtime victory over the College of Charleston (6-5, 2-1) in a Southern Conference women's game in Birmingham, Ala.

--Samford led 1-0 on an 18th-minute goal, and Alli Brashear equalized for the Cougars in the 56th minute. Sarah Wilkinson's 97th-minute goal ended it for Samford.

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Post and Courier

Overseas hoop dreams: Former local college basketball standouts find playing options to NBA

Tommy Braswell

September 28, 2011

Playing in the NBA is the dream of almost every player who steps onto a college basketball court. But most come to terms with the reality that the NBA is just that, a dream.

For the more than 5,000 players on NCAA Division I rosters each year, there are only 450 potential NBA roster spots. Only 60 players are selected each year in the NBA draft, and not all of them are from the college ranks. Being drafted is also no guarantee of making a team.

Former Citadel standout Demetrius Nelson (left) of Johns Island averaged 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season for Kapfenberg in Austria.

That doesn't mean the dream of playing professional basketball is unattainable. In college locker rooms it's often referred to as "going to Europe," although a player could just as easily land a spot on a professional team in Asia, Africa, North America, South America or Australia.

"Not many people can say they are professional athletes. I was just thinking about how truly blessed I am," former College of Charleston forward Jeremy Simmons posted on his Facebook page recently after making the roster for the Polpharma professional team in Poland.

Salaries run a wide range, from six-figures or higher for the very best players to playing for little more than meal money. Former Citadel stars Demetrius Nelson and Cameron Wells are happy with the money they are being paid and the opportunity to continue playing basketball.

"The money is decent. It is a good base salary, and I look to build on it as my career continues," said Wells, who graduated from The Citadel earlier this year and now plays for Zwolle, a team in Holland.

"The money is decent and I'm doing fine," echoed Nelson, who plays for Kapfenberg in Austria.

Simmons, who graduated from the College of Charleston in May, said he is pleased with his contract considering it's his first year of pro basketball and he missed half of his final season at C of C because of a blood clot in his right shoulder.

"It will only increase the better I do," Simmons said.

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