Looking Back at Courtney Cook

This past week, women's soccer's Hailey Beam tied Courtney Cook for the 49ers all-time lead in goals scored with 36. Sometime in the not too distant future, she will surpass Cook. Cook had stood alone atop the charts for a long time. A member of the 49ers first women's soccer class, Cook established the single-season and freshman records for goals scored with 18 tallies in that first season. She continued her high-scoring exploits over the next three years to set career records that have stood for the better part of 12 years.

It was 1994 and Charlotte debuted its women's soccer program. First year head coach Robbie Church (father of current men's hoopster, Kyle) brought in a wealth of local talent as well as some stars from across the country.

Two came from Apple Valley, Minn. They played together on the Bangu Express club team that had won three state titles and their Apple Valley High team had advanced to the state championship games in each of their last two years. Cook was a two-time all-state selection.

And she could score.

She started all 19 games as a freshman, scoring 18 goals with 12 assists. She ranked third among the nation's freshmen in goals. She had a pair of hat tricks. And the 8 points (3 goals, 2 assists) she had against East Carolina are still a school record. The 18 goals stood as a school record until 2002, when Courtney Crandell netted 21 as a freshman. The 12 assists stood until 1998, when Christina Papp passed out 13. Lindsey Ozimek since broke that record with 19 dishes in 2005. Cook's 12 assists still stand as the 49ers freshman record.

Heading into this season, 12 years since Cook had graduated, her name still stood atop the career goals and career points list. Beam has now passed the career points mark -- in fact, Beam and Cook are the only two in school history to accumulate over 100 career points. Cook still stands in the top 3 of career goals, career assists and career points and single-season goals and single-season points.

But now, as we watch those initial records fall, as they were meant to do, I thought it appropriate to look back at the roots of what has become one of the 49ers strongest programs. Dominant in the A-10 with back-to-back NCAA appearances in 2007 and 2008, a pair of C-USA titles and NCAA bids in 1998 and 2002, nationally-ranked at various times throughout its still young history -- the women's soccer program owes a great deal of gratitude to that first class.

That class went 13-4-2 in their first season, with games against the likes of Davidson, Furman, Clemson, Wake Forest, Louisville, Alabama, Virginia Tech. They were new on the scene -- but they never acted like it. From day one, they belonged.

In their second season they went 13-7-2 and defeated Evansville in the inaugural Conference USA Championship game after toppling Memphis, 4-1 and Louisville, 4-0 in the opening rounds. Two years. One conference title. They were not about to take a back seat. And they never did.

The stage was set for this hot program on the rise.

So as we watch Beam break records and look down the road at Weinraub taking it to the next level-- and we praise the great success the women are enjoying -- think back for a moment to the likes of Cook, Blair Angell, Dana Erato, Meredith Campbell, Maria Ciaravino, Kristen Reed, Kamilah Barker, Jennifer Rogers, Jessica Ryan, Catherine Anderson, Heather Bridgewater, Laurel Gooch, Lori Foreman, Mindy McBrayer, Amy Rucinski, Melissa Mullinax, Julie Berkau and Shayna Bruce. Members of the first class that helped set the tone for all that has come afterwards.

They always wanted to be the start of something great. And boy, were they ever.

Tom Whitestone

Assoc. A.D./Media Relations

Behind the Scenes: 49er Basketball Madness

Last night, Niner Nation converged upon Halton Arena for the celebration of another season of 49ers Basketball. The thousands in attendance watched Aysha Jones defeat Ian Anderson in the three-point contest and RaShad Coleman’s high-flying act in the dunk contest.

I had a slightly different experience than the attendees as I served as a cameraman for Lanaire Lindo, a member of the women’s track team and student worker in our office, while she interviewed fans, coaches and players. Our behind-the-scenes look at Madness took us all over Halton Arena on our conquest to interview as many people as possible.

Our night started with the student section as Lanaire interviewed hyped, amped and wired students that had arrived early to secure the best seats in Halton for Madness. After talking with several students we went directly to the source of the night’s entertainment; the men’s and women’s locker room to talk with the players.

Prior to entering the locker room, I could make out the sound of rap blaring in the men’s fancy digs (I believe it was Lil’ Wayne). Once we entered the locker room, we were treated to the men’s squad dancing and getting pumped up prior to Madness. The enthused team then explained to Lanaire why this year was going to be a special year for 49er Basketball.

Once we were done talking with the men’s team we trekked down the hall to the women’s locker room where the women doing the Elroy dance (check it out on YouTube) as they then explained to us what the fans can expect from the defending A-10 champs.

We then made it down the Halton Arena floor to interview the head coaches after they were introduced to the ecstatic crowd. I couldn’t hear what either coach had to say as the crowd was deafening as they cheered on Aysha Jones in the three-point contest.

I was able to take a break during the three-point and dunk contest to watch the festivities for myself and thought that sitting on the court near the men’s bench was a great idea. However a certain mascot who will remain nameless thought it would be a better idea to accidentally trip over yours truly due to his limited sight.

After that embarrassing interaction with the previously mentioned mascot we were able to get interviews with Coleman and Jones about their triumphs in their respective events.

We capped the night by talking with a former 49er great, Rodney White, who was in attendance to watch his former squad start their 09 season. Following the talk with Mr. White we ended with Athletic Director Judy Rose and her thoughts on the event.

All in all I called the night a ‘great success’ which could only have been made better by coach Lutz rocking the mustache but that will have to wait for hopefully the season opener in 21 days.

-- Patrick McCoy, 49ers Media Relations --

Live Blogging at Baseball

I know that Niner Madness is going on tonight, but as always is the case around here... one season ends and another begins and there is always stuff going on with many teams in the department. I am dedicating the Thursday afternoon blog to the action out at baseball as the Niner World Series nears its conclusion. This signals the official end of fall practice for baseball before they go into hibernation (meaning the weight room and gyms for individual workouts).

As play resumed today at 3 p.m., Green was leading White 10-5, but the White team decided to fight back after a couple of days to think about their comeback plan of attack. White drew three walks and a hit batter in the bottom of the sixth of the scheduled seven innings and Ross Steedley hit another big home run for the grand slam to tie the game at 10.

Neither team could score in the seventh, even after a leadoff triple by J.J. Elseser in the top of the seventh, when Jim Lyerly pitched his way to two weak groundouts and a called strikeout to get out of trouble in the frame. Justin Roland scored from third on a wild pitch to give White the series lead 3-2 heading into game six, which started about 10 minutes ago (3:50 p.m.) And so the live blog begins...

6:02 - A flyout, single and double play ends the seventh and White wins the double dip to clinch the series. Steaks for White and hot dogs for the Green team. Enjoy Niner Madness Thursday night!

5:49 - Lysaught gives up three hits, but survives with no damage to the run total. Kelly McLain enters to finish this out and send the Green team to the hot dog lines.

5:53 - Green pushes across two more after back-to-back doubles by Dunn and Elseser. Shane Basen drives in the second run with a single to left. Green holds on to a 12-4 lead heading into the final frame. Senior Tim Lysaught comes in to pitch the top pf the seventh.

5:43 - Slight delay as a foul ball caught Zane Williams. He has to exit the game.

5:35 - Three hits, a walk and an error has plated three more White team runs as they can smell steaks on the grill. Heading to the last of the sixth, White pockets a 12-2 lead.

5:22 - Green scratches across another run after back-to-back doubles by Miguel Rodriguez and Zack Dunn. Tilton also doubled in the inning, but White allowed just the one run. White leads 9-2 going to the sixth.

5:15 - DeLong records two quick outs and White brings in John Hamilton to pitch the bottom of the fifth. White still leads 9-1.

5:07 - Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Steedley, who hit a sacrifice fly to right to score one run and Shaylor doubled down the third base line to plate two more to run Pope from the contest. White is up 9-1 as Green brings in Brandon DeLong, who is now warming up with a runner at second and one out.

4:55 - No scoring in the past two half-innings, so we are at the halfway post and still watching White lead 6-1 to the bottom of the fourth.

4:38 - A pair of leadoff walks chases Taylor from the game. Sean Pope enters for Green on the bump. RBI groundouts by Steedley and Corey Shaylor bring home the walked hitters in the top pf the third. White extends lead to 6-1 heading to the bottom of the third.

4:19 - Lyerly singles with one out and Mike Green walks. Brown reaches on an error that scores Lyerly, while Roland sacrifices home Green and Brown advances home on a throwing error. Sloppy inning that scores three runs to give White the 4-1 edge and put them closer to steaks.

4:12 - After an error and a groundout, Kevin Gillespie brings home Tilton on an RBI groundout. Roberts records a strikeout to end the inning... Game Tied at one after an inning.

4:04 - Corey Roberts starts for White... Tilton hits a dribbler over the mound to reach on the infield single.

4:02 - Steedley grounds out to end the inning - White is up 1-0 heading to the bottom half...

3:55 - After a one-out walk to Roland, Zane Williams reached on catcher interference before a Zach Semenza single to right center, giving White runners at the corners and two outs in the first off of starter Dylan Taylor. A White win would end the series and give the White team the steak dinners at the end-of-fall dinner. This 3-2 edge is White's first lead of the series.

Random Thoughts
I used to like once a week when Larry King would write a column in USA Today with random interesting thoughts. So I will attempt to replicate that with some thoughts about 49ers athletics.
The 49ers men’s soccer team is ranked #9 in the latest NSCAA poll and the 49ers women’s soccer team is ranked #25 in the NSCAA Poll...Charlotte joins Stanford, North Carolina, UCLA, Wake Forest, Ohio State and Maryland as the only seven schools with men’s and women’s soccer teams ranked in the Top 25...The men’s soccer team is on an 11-game unbeaten streak while the women’s team is on a 10-game unbeaten streak...Women’s soccer senior Hailey Beam needs two goals to tie Courtney Cook’s (1994-97) school-record 36 career goals and she needs three points to tie Cook’s school-record 102 career points...Women’s soccer freshman Lacey McGowan has scored four goals this season and they have all come off of Hailey Beam corner kicks...Charlotte and Dayton are the only two athletic programs in the A-10 that their volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer teams are among the top four teams in their respective sports standings...Last weekend, 49ers women’s soccer seniors Hailey Beam, Lauren Brown, Leah Zappone and Nicole Mercer participated in their final regular-season home games...Those four players have helped the 49ers win 60 games and capture three A-10 regular-season titles and two A-10 Tournament titles during their careers...This weekend, 49ers men’s soccer seniors Luke Exley, Adam Gross, David Martin, Nathan Mathers and David Martin will be playing in their final regular-season home games...These five seniors have led the resurgence in the 49ers program by leading the 49ers to an A-10 Tournament Championship game as well as national rankings in each of the last two seasons...Today, the Atlantic 10 released their preseason women’s basketball predictions and preseason All-Atlantic 10 teams...The 49ers captured the A-10 Women’s Basketball Tournament title last season and the 49ers were picked to finish second in a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches...The 49ers have finished among the top four teams in the A-10 in each of their four previous seasons in the league but this is the highest preseason ranking that the 49ers received in the A-10...Senior guard Aysha Jones, who enters her senior season needing to score 198 points to become the 17th player in school history to score 1,000 career points, was voted preseason first-team All-Atlantic 10...Junior guard Shannon McCallum, who was A-10 Sixth Player of the Year, was voted preseason second-team All-Atlantic 10.
Brent Stastny, Associate Media Relations Director

1st Week of Practice

Practice is officially underway so I spent a couple hours on Monday watching the men's team in action.

At first glance, you are impressed with the sheer mass. There are 17 players on the roster, 13 scholarshipped players and four walk-ons. 17. At season's end last year we were down to 11 available players: nine on scholarship and two walk-ons.

That, in and of itself, is encouraging. Practice is competitive. One drill included three equal teams of five players. Last year, it would have been tough to come up with two. Looking forward, you hope the increased competitive level of practice will pay dividends in the game.

Second thing that jumps out at you is how fast DiJuan Harris is. Flat out speed up and down the court. On the break, he leaves players in his wake -- and this year, he will not need to save his energy -- so look for him to go all out all the time. It's also easy to see his football background. A talented high school player, DiJuan plays with a gridiron toughness and reckless abandon. He definitely will get knocked down. And he definitely will get back up.

Of course, at early season practices you want to see what the new guys are all about. Derrio Green has some great court sense. Driving and dishing in the lane. He'll have fans doing double takes throughout the season, wondering 'Did he really just do that?'. On defense, he has a nose for the ball and great anticipation. KJ Sherrill looks good in the paint. He has long arms that can block shots, deflect passes, create steals -- and produce powerful dunks. Chris Braswell is strong. He has the body of an upperclassman and he uses it well. Watching a frontcourt that has Spears, Jones, Braswell and Sherrill banging away gives you a sense of the strength the 49ers will have down low. Gokhan Sirin can shoot, but he is not one dimensional -- which will prove valuable this year.

Of course there was so much more. Dewey calmly hit a three-pointer with a second left to tie one 5-on-5 game situation drill. An'Juan battled as he always does on the boards. RaShad continues to look so comfortable getting to the rim.

As expected the action was high, the tempo pushed and defense stressed. It will be fun to get another peek at these guys at Madness (Thursday nite at 9:00) and Fan Day (Saturday at 11:00). And even more fun at the exhibition game, Nov. 5 vs. Johnson C. Smith (7:00 p.m.).

Man Grooming: The Art of the Lip Fur

Ok so by now its no secret, the campaign to bring back the stache is in full effect. I speak of the tremendous lip fur that occupied the upper lip of Charlotte basketball coach Bobby Lutz. Its in the blogs, message boards, Panning For Gold television shows and inspired a Facebook fan page/group.

So I've compiled a list. NOT a Top-10 or best of all-time. But rather some of my favorites throughout history. Also, to show folks that grooming the mustache is an artform. Make it your own. Here we go...

Tom Selleck...the older female readers are currently getting a little hot at their desk right now. Guys, just be happy I'm using a headshot and not full body. Let me put it this way, his facial hair matches his chest hair both in color and groomness (is that a word?). I have little doubt he man-scapes his entire body! But definately an awesome stache. If only mine would grow in that thick. He always had a little stubble to compliment the thick forest on the upper lip. Its as if the stache said, "I can grow this long on my entire face, but chose to rock just the mustache.

Hulk Hogan...it evolved over time, but always had the 'chops' look. Extended down past the upper lip to his chin. No would could stop it, not even The Undertaker. The mustache was 'Hulk-a-mania'. I don't know about you, but 'Lutz-a-mania' doesn't have the same jingle or ring to it. I'm open for suggestions. What I do know, is in the coming months the mustache is about to run wild on you and the rest of the Atlantic 10!

Lanny McDonald...I had no idea of who this guy was, but every mustche list I googled had him on it! And rightfully so. That bush is incredible. he won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames and was a great hockey palyer to boot. Ironic he played for the flames and his mustache looks to be 'en fuego'? I mean really? Goes to show you, no matter the shape, size or color mustaches can be great. I wonder what his wife thought about that thing. Yes, 'thing' is the best way to describe it. I dont think I could let mine get like that.

Rollie Fingers...this would take time and a lot of hardwork. But if a fan showed up to a game with a genuine mustache like that...I would give him a cookie and ask if I could run my fingers around it, pull it down straight, only to have it bounce back to the original curly shape.

Adam Morrison...short lived here in Charlotte, and thank goodness for that! The stache did win an NBA Championship though...

I digress...this mustache became more popular than the man did. I'm wasting no more blogspace on this one.

John Oates (of Hall & Oates)...He has since shaved and now clean shaven. Unfortunate for him. Just watch... That fur is a maneater.

Brad Pitt...garnered the lip fur for his latest blockbuster, "Inglorious Basterds." Proving even the at one time 'Sexiest Man Alive' can break away from the clean shaven image, grow a mustache and make it look legit. This style looks to be the easiest and quickest method of growth. I could probably get a stubble going like that in a matter of a week. So for those fans on the fence about possibly growing a stache. Go this route, if your girlfriend or significant other doesn't approve its an easy wash.

And you can at least say you supported the cause.

Bobby Lutz...even if it is a little more grey, I think we all agree this is the look.

Madness and Fan Day

So the collegiate basketball season officially starts today with the first practice for the 2009-10 season and I couldn’t more excited for the season to get underway. Of course prior to the start of the season there is the annual spectacle that is 49ers Basketball Madness.

Being a basketball crazed fan, I have Madness marked down on my calendar at the beginning of each year. I love Madness because it gives fans a first look at the new edition of the bball squads and a chance to breakdown the improvements of the returning players as well as see if the freshman live up to all of the offseason hype.


This year, Niner Nation will get two glimpses of their team with 49er Basketball Madness on Thursday and Fan Day, next Saturday.

Both events will give fans the best of both worlds. Madness will be a celebration of the season beginning with player skits and intros, slam dunk contest and three-point contest , while Fan Day will give everyone a chance to get their favorite 49ers autograph, pick up their season tickets and then cap the day off with a scrimmage from the men’s and women’s teams.


Besides the scrimmage, my personal favorite part of the basketball festivities is the player skits and introductions. This is the one chance a year that fans get to see the player’s personality since during the season most players are focused on the task at hand of winning the game. You may see the team’s star forward do a dance at midcourt after he runs onto the court or you see your All-Conference point guard staring in a skit.

It may seem that every part of the beginning of the season is my favorite but in all honesty my favorite part of this time of year is that I know the season is closing in on tip-off. Oh and by the way the regular season is only 27 days away, but who’s counting.

-- Patrick McCoy, Charlotte 49ers Media Relations --