New Look Lady Eagles Primed For Winning Season

    The 2001-02 Lady Eagles are in search of a winning season for the first time since the program became a NCAA Division I member. In 1995-96 they went 13-15 and lost by two points to Radford in the Big South Conference championship game. That’s the closest any team has come to a winning record.

    The formula for the team’s attempt at a winning season will include second-year head coach Cheryl Nix, four returning players from the 2000-01 squad, five new players and two players coming off red-shirt seasons.

    Nix believes that the main ingredients to reach this goal will be: chemistry off and on the floor, unselfishness, and leadership among the upperclassmen. "Our team has done a great job of displaying these characteristics in the preseason, and I expect them to carry it over into practices and the season."

    The main objective is to having a winning season, but the team is also in search of its first Big South Conference title and its first winning season as a Division I member.

    One piece of the puzzle will also be senior guard Charlotta Wennefors, a three-time All Big South Conference selection, who was last year’s leading scorer at 16.2 ppg. Wennefors has been the team’s leading scorer for the past two seasons.

    There shouldn’t be as much pressure on Wennefors to be the leading scorer this season. The new talent brings a number of abilities, which includes scoring. The scoring should be very balanced on most nights. The newcomers have had a lot of success and the group already has a mindset that thinks about winning and being successful and Nix feels this will rub off on her returning players.

    There are several new faces on the squad this season. When deciding on what route to take in recruiting, Nix took the one that would give her the most experienced players by brining in four junior college players. All of the JUCO players brought in have experience coming from successful programs and playing in the NJCAA National Tournament. With the experience from the JUCO’s, Nix hopes the winning attitude will carry through out the entire team.

    Laura Herman, 5-9 post player, transferred from Cloud County Community College in Kansas, the NJCAA National Champions this past year. Herman brings strength to the post position. Nix is high on Herman’s ability to score, rebound and play defense at the post position. Herman was the only post player brought in this season.

    The other three JUCO transfers are all guards. Virag Kovacs and Janette Arrington are true points guards; pass first, shoot second. The 5-9 guard, from Szombathely, Hungary, will provide the team with leadership on the court and the ability to set up a scoring chances. Arrington, a 5-6 guard from Nashville, NC, is accustomed to an up tempo style and her experience will be valuable. She’s also a very good defensive player. Tawander Whittington, a 5-7 guard from Lumberton, NC, is a very good shooter. She is a complete player that can do many things on both ends of the floor.

    Another important part of the puzzle this year will be the three new assistant coaches. Greg Pulliam and Tolonda Rose enter as full-time assistant coaches and Shana Vidal is the graduate assistant.

    Nix is very excited about her new staff. Last season she had one assistant that missed games and practices due to recruiting trips. "It’s simple," explains Nix. "When you have more people, you get more done. I have found three quality people with experience, character and knowledge."

    Rose came to the program from UNC Charlotte, where she was an assistant coach for the past eight years. She was also a standout player with the 49ers from 1985-89. Pulliam has been an assistant coach at Southern Mississippi and Liberty University. Which means he has experience coaching in the Big South. Vidal was a player at Wake Forest and came to the Eagles from The Paideia School in Georgia.

    Nix is confident that this area will be much improved from last season. The guard position is better equipped with the talent to run the kind of system Nix wants to run.

    A sure bet is that Charlotta Wennefors and her 16.2 points per game will be in the starting line-up. Tawander Whittington, Virag Kovacs, Kia Bell, Katie Kilcollin, and Janette Arrington will battle for playing time. Nix’s philosophy is to run players in and out of the game, keeping the legs fresh and keeping the tempo up.

    This is the deepest this postion has been over the past few years. Bell, a junior, returns from last year’s team and has looked very much improved from her summer workouts, according to Nix. Kilcollin is the lone true freshman and is pushing the upperclassmen for playing time. She’s a very good athlete and is an aggressive player. Junior Kim Cairnes and Stephanie Panell could see time at guard as well.

    The forward positions will be occupied by Stephanie Panell, Kim Cairnes, Tameka Parks and Laura Herman. Pannell, transferred from West Virginia where she started at guard. She brings height and athleticism to the post position. Cairnes, who averaged 8.7 ppg and grabbed 4.5 rpg last season, brings good rebounding and scoring skills with the ability to be a big time three-point threat. Herman brings good rebounding and scoring skills. She averaged 13.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and is the 4th all-time leading scorer at Cloud County.

    Senior Anne Hollensen is the only true center on the team at 6-4. Hollensen led the team in blocks the past two years and is fourth all-time with 63. She has improved offensively and will be looked upon to contribute on the offensive end.

    The Venture Industries 2001 Lady Eagle Classic will be held on Nov. 23-24 at the Winthrop Coliseum. It’s the first classic the Lady Eagles have hosted since becoming a Division I member. The three other schools entered into the classic are Howard, Fairleigh-Dickenson, and North Carolina.

    There are two games Friday and two games on Saturday. Howard and North Carolina will square off on Friday at 5 p.m. and Winthrop will face Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. On Saturday Howard and Fairleigh Dickinson will meet at 5 p.m. and the Lady Eagles will face the Lady Tarheels at 7 p.m.

    The Lady Eagles are looking to have their first winning season at the Division I level and they will have to go through a pretty tough schedule to get there.

    "The schedule represents several different conferences and states, and I’m excited to be playing some new people and exposing our players to all different levels of competition," said Nix.

    One positive to the schedule is that five of the first six games are at home and there is also a stretch of five-straight home games. There is another stretch mid-way through the season when the Lady Eagles will play five straight home games, two of which will be conference games. Winthrop will face a solid non-conference slate. At home the Lady Eagles will face Wofford, Charlotte, Peace College, Newberry, Gardner-Webb and Birmingham Southern. On the road they will face Mercer, Southern Illinois, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Navy and Clemson.

    Then there are the Big South schools: Liberty, Radford, Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, Elon, High Point and UNC Asheville. Liberty is picked to win its sixth straight Big South title. Elon, who defeated Winthrop in the first round of the conference tournament last season and lost to Liberty in the finals, is picked to finish second. Charleston Southern, despite a head coaching change is picked to finish third.

    "We want to be somewhere in the top three spots at the end of the season," said Nix. "We would be making a great stride from where we’ve been in the past if we can do that."

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