Phillips and Earl pace Gryphons at Falcon Invite

(photo - Scott Phillips)
John Earl and Chandler Phillips each earned 1st place honors on Saturday.

The Gryphons spent their Saturday at Charles B. Aycock High School participating in the Falcon Invitational Tournament. After an easy season opening win over Tarboro High on Wednesday, the Gryphons knew they would be up against stiffer competition this time around.

Rocky Mount put together an overall 23-21 record in individual matches, had four placewinners, including two champions, and finished the day sixth in total team points out of the 16 teams in attendance. The team spent most of the day in the top five. Considering the youth and inexperience of most of this team, this was an impressive day.

Chandler Phillips ran through his 140 lb weight class, taking home champion honors. Phillips won his first two matches by pin and dominated the championship match with a 13-0 decision.

John Earl also pinned his first two opponents in the 125 lb division. He advanced to the championship match with a 7-2 decision, where he became champion after a 12-3 decision.

Dashawn Taylor recorded three wins by pin while placing third at 145 and J.K. Williamson (171) rounded out the Gryphon placewinners by taking fourth.

Mason Holt (112), Alex Knight (130), Nick Westcott (135) and Damien Smith (152) each won two matches on the day, while Antonio Ramirez (160) and Sidorian Petway (103) also contributed a win each to the Gryphon cause.

The team will travel to North Pitt High School on Tuesday, November 24, to compete in the North Pitt Duals. The Gryphons will wrestle three or four teams, to be determined, starting at 5:00.

Gryphon Wrestlers Win Season Opener

The Tarboro Vikings visited Rocky Mount High Wednesday night to kick off the 2009-2010 wrestling season. Both squads are starting their campaigns with football teams still competing in the State Playoffs and short-handed to some degree.

For the Vikings, that meant dressing only 10 wrestlers for the match and only sending 8 of them to the mat to compete. The Gryphons, however, dressed a full squad of 14; something coach Jermaine Jones has not had the luxury of doing the past couple of seasons. The result was an easy win for the Gryphons, rolling to a final score of 75-6.

Last year's Gryphon squad sent nine wrestlers to compete at the Individual Regional Championships. Six of those wrestlers went on to compete in Winston-Salem at the NCHSAA State Individual Championships. Of those wrestlers, only senior Chandler Phillips and sophomore J.K. Williamson remain on the team. For the first match of the year, Jones sent 10 wrestlers to the mat wearing "RM" for the first time. The squad is loaded with freshmen and sophomores who have little or no varsity experience. Phillips is the only senior suiting up until the return of a handful from the football team.

The lack of varsity experience did not hurt Rocky Mount on the rainy night against the Vikings. As the final tally would indicate, there were plenty of first time varsity victories to put in the books.

Alex Knight drew the first match of the year at 130. The freshman went up against one of the few experienced Vikings and came away with a hard fought 9-8 win in a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat match. The Gryphs were out to a 3-0 lead, and they would not look back. Tarboro did not send out wrestlers for the 135 through 152 matches. Freshman Nick Westcott notched his first varsity win at 135, while Phillips (140), Northern Nash transfer and sophomore Dashawn Taylor (145) and junior Damien Smith (152) booked their first wins of the season. The Gryphs suddenly were up 27-0.

Sophomores Antonio Ramirez (160) and Williamson (171) each won their matches by pin - Williamson getting his with a mere 3.3 seconds left in his contest - to extend the winning streak and bump the Gryphon advantage to 39-0. Tarboro recorded their only points on the night in the next match at 189 with a pin to close the score to 39-6. Rocky Mount took the 215 pound match when the Viking wrestler was called for his 4th technical violation for locking hands and was disqualified while up in the match 18-17 with less than a minute to go. Xavier Hart joined the first win club at Heavyweight with a pin to increase the Gryphon lead to 51-6.

Rocky Mount was not about to let up as the lightweight guys lined up. Fellow freshmen Sidorayna Petway (103) and Mason Holt (112) each notched first varsity wins by way of forfeit, while Juniors Adam McRae (119) and John Earl (125) posted wins by pin to finish out the final 75-6 score.

During a brief talk in a huddle following the team's victory, Jones warned his guys that future victories will likely not be so easy. It won't take long to find out where some of the guys stand, as the team will travel to Charles B. Aycock High School on Saturday, November 21 to compete in the Falcon Invitational. The tournament will be a double-elimination, individual meet. Wrestling will start around 9 in the morning and run late into the evening.

Men’s Basketball Looks to Improve with Experience

(photo - Matt Smith)
UNCP sophomore guard Marcus Heath drives to the basket in a game last season. The Braves opened the season on the road with a pair of exhibition games in Iowa.

By Nick Phillips
Asst. Sports Editor
Nov. 12, 2009

This season’s UNCP men’s basketball team is ready to begin a new season, tipping off action on November 7th and November 8th, as they traveled to Iowa to face a pair of opponents. The Braves are hoping that the experience gained on the trip will help them as they dig deeper into their schedule this season.

The 2008-2009 edition of the team did not have a great year to the average eye. But what their final record, 6-21 overall (3-17 Peach Belt Conference), does not show is that the Braves played many close games that went down to the final minutes. The Braves lost eleven games by less than ten points, including six losses by less than five points.

“We had a lot of exciting, close games, that didn’t always go the way we wanted, but hopefully we can build on some of that momentum,” said head coach Ben Miller.

It was a season of change for the Braves, as they learned Miller’s new offensive and defensive systems, while playing with a relatively young team. Of the 14 players on last year’s roster, six were either freshmen or sophomores.

“There’s a little more experience this year. We still have a relatively young team, but the returning guys, even the guys who redshirted, have been through a year of practices, so the system isn’t new to everybody,” Miller said of this season’s team.

“Having that familiarity has been beneficial, because you have some of the older players that can also be coaches in practice,” he added.

Adjustment Year

Experience is a word that was stressed by Miller, as everyone in the program now has a year’s worth of knowledge – the players of the system and head coach, and the head coach towards his players.

Miller was impressed with the community and its warmth to him and his family.

“After being here for a year now, it’s really been great to get to know the people here. The administration, the coaching staffs, the students, everyone here has been great,” said Miller on his first season.

Last season, Miller helped start a student section at the English E. Jones Center for the Braves home games, while helping the students decide their student section name. The Bravehearts now inhabit the Jones Center for both men’s and women’s home contests complete with Braveheart student section shirts.

“I was impressed by the students last year, because obviously we didn’t win a lot of games. When we got into conference play, our student section was great; I was impressed by the turnouts. “

Season Ahead

“Personnel-wise, our team has changed. We lost some good players in the seniors that graduated, but we’ve also added some good players. We were able to redshirt six guys last year, which was nice.”

Several key players return for the Braves this season, including senior Brandon Thomas, who led the Braves in rebounding, averaging 7.6 per game, and blocked shots. Sophomore Marcus Heath logged the most playing time for the Braves, as a freshman, while averaging 9.7 points per game as well. Fellow sophomore Tyler Egli averaged 5.5 points per game, while also finishing with a .346 shooting percentage from behind the three-point line last season.

“Our defense is always going to try our foundation. At times last year we were effective with our pressure defense and other times we gave up easy baskets. Putting that together as a team is going to be very important to us, as well becoming a very much improved rebounding team. “

As a team, UNCP allowed an average of 79.5 points per game, with opponents shooting for.480 from the field. Rebounding, UNCP looks to continue to improve on its 35.1 team rebounds per game average from a year ago.

Offensively, UNCP only averaged 70.6 points a game, and shot for a .425 percentage on the floor.

“Offensively, we have a lot of weapons and a lot of guys that can score. The key is going to be unselfishness, and a commitment to team execution.”

The Braves will look to improve and combine both defense and offense to produce more wins this season.
Favorable Schedule

In Miller’s first season, the Braves only had a total of two non-conference games at home. This season, UNCP was able to schedule six home games in November alone.

“We have a non-conference schedule that will give our students and people in the community a great opportunity early to see our team,” said Miller of the team’s early schedule.

Miller credited assistant coach Corey Thompson for his hard work in scheduling good matchups throughout the season.

That non-conference home schedule includes the home-opener against regional rival Fayetteville State on November 16th. The Braves also host the UNCP Basketball Classic on November 20 and 21, and finish the month of November with another regional foe in Wingate on November 30th.

Miller and the rest of the staff hope that this home stretch allows the students and community a much improved team, and a chance for the team to grow and learn as they prepare for Peach Belt Conference play.

Before opening up at home, the Braves began their third straight season with games against Division I opponents. In the 2007-2008 season, they opened with games at NC State and Indiana, and last season played in Chapel Hill against the #1-ranked Tar Heels.

This season, the Braves traveled to Iowa for a pair of games. They tipped off the season against Iowa State on November 6th, and traveled to Northern Iowa on November 7th.

“Every year we are going to look for opportunities to play against Division I teams to play against the best possible competition. Playing against that competition will be great for us, in preparation for a tough non-conference schedule and the Peach Belt Conference,” said Miller on the Braves scheduling.

Miller’s father, Eldon Miller, will also be back on the sidelines this season. His head coaching career included stops at Northern Iowa from 1986-1998, compiling a career record of 568-419. His coaching career included stops at his alma mater Wittenberg University, Western Michigan University, Ohio State University, and Northern Iowa.

He vowed to return to the sidelines as an assistant when Ben earned his first head coaching position, and did just that last season.

“It’s been great having his experience, both as a coach and also with running programs. Just having someone that’s that good a friend, someone you’re that close to, has been great,” said the younger Miller on having his father with him on the coaching staff.

The most important thing for the Braves is gaining experience and improving, something that both practices and games does for a team. With a year of experience under their belt the Braves expect bigger and better things than last season’s close, last-second losses.

“The most important thing for our guys is focusing on daily improvement,” Miller said.

With that daily improvement, expect the Braves to find themselves on the winning end of more games this season.

Braves make Division II playoffs

(photo Nick Phillips)
UNCP football players, parents, community members and students cheer as ESPN announces that the Braves will be part of the 2009 NCAA Division II football playoffs.


By Nick Phillips
Asst. Sports Editor
Nov. 12, 2009

UNCP made Division II football history when they received a bid to the 2009 NCAA Division II postseason. The Braves became the youngest team in Division II history to make the playoffs, earning a spot in their third season of modern football at the University.

“Any time you are part of a history-making event, we are nationally ranked for the first time, in the playoffs for the first time, it’s just not many times student-athletes and the University has the opportunity to make history,” said Chancellor Charles Jenkins.

“Every single student at UNC-Pembroke ought to be incredibly proud today,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Charles Harrington added.

The Braves earned the number five seed in Super Region 2, and will travel to face Arkansas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 14. They became the first NCAA Independent team since 2002 to play in the postseason action.

Approximately 200 people gathered in the University Center on Nov. 8, including the UNCP football team, students and community members. Athletic Director Dan Kenney and UNCP head coach Pete Shinnick both addressed the crowd after the announcement.

Although many had hoped for a first-round home game, Shinnick said the Braves are “just fired up that we are in. Home or away, it doesn’t matter, it’s a chance to keep playing, and that’s what you do this for.”

Senior wide receiver L.J. Johnson showed mixed emotions afterwards.

“We are just really excited to have an opportunity to make it to the playoffs. We were really looking forward to a home game. It was kind of upsetting to drop to number five, but we are a third-year program and ready to take advantage of any opportunity we get going into the playoffs.”

After going 4-7 in their inaugural, 2007 campaign, the Braves have rolled off back-to-back 9- 1 seasons.

UNCP will make the trek to Russellville, Ark. for the 12 p.m. CST kickoff against the Wonder Boys, who went 8-2 this season.

Arkansas Tech enters the game ranked 100 in the NCAA in sacks allowed. UNCP enters the game with the fourthranked total defense in Division II. The Braves’ defense has tallied 22 total team sacks this season.

Braves blow past Greenville State on the road

(photo - uncpbraves.com)
UNCP running back Travis Daniels looks for room to run.

By Nick Phillips
Asst. Sports Editor
Nov. 12, 2009

The UNCP football team’s third season of football in modern history isn’t over yet.

A 42-14 victory on the road against North Greenville in the regularseason finale Nov. 7 improves the Braves record to 9-1 as they await the NCAA Division II Football Playoff Selection Show on Nov. 8 to see if they will be among the 24 teams whose season will continue.

The Braves came into the game ranked in a variety of polls, which were updated at the beginning of November. In the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, UNCP sits at No. 10.

The D2Football.com Top 26 Media Poll has the Braves ranked at No. 19 and in the NCAA Super Region 2 Poll, the Braves check in with a No. 4 ranking.

The NCAA Super Region Poll is the poll that the NCAA uses in their playoff decision process.

Rushers lead

The Braves finished their second-straight 9-1 season with strong efforts by junior quarterback Corey Smith and a rushing attack that totaled 222 yards on the day.

North Greenville scored early on a 49-yard punt return, and the game was tied 7-all after the first quarter.

The Braves would go on to score 42 straight points before they allowed another North Greenville touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Eight different Braves tallied carries in the game. Junior Rashon Kennedy started the scoring for UNCP in the first quarter with a 4-yard run.

Kennedy finished the game with 10 carries for 65 yards. Sophomore Travis Daniels scored twice in the second and third quarters as part of his 11 carry, 82 yard performance.

Junior Keith Gore finished the Braves’ scoring with his fourth quarter, 2- yard touchdown. Gore finished the game with eight carries for 29 yards.

Smith finished the day with 164 yards through the air, completing 13 of his 16 pass attempts while tossing two touchdowns. Junior Jamelle Banks finished the game with two catches for 44 yards, including Smith’s first touchdown pass in the second quarter.

Senior L.J. Johnson hauled in a 16-yard touchdown from Smith in the third quarter as part of his three catch, 28 yard performance.

Overall, seven Braves tallied at least one reception on the day.

“I am very happy. I am very happy for both our players and our coaches,” UNCP head coach Pete Shinnick said. “Our guys have worked really hard this year and it is going to pay off.”

“We know that we have played a much tougher schedule this year than we did a year ago. I don’t want to take anything from what we did a year ago, but we played better this year. We feel good about the position that we’re in heading into tomorrow,” he said.

Braves football prepares; perplexed

Ranked #4 in the NCAA Region 2 rankings heading into the final week of the regular season, UNCP football seemed to be in good shape.

In Division II, generally, the top 6 teams from each region receive berths in the playoffs. #1 and #2 each get a first round bye, while #3 hosts #6, and #4 hosts #5.

After a 42-14 win in the regular season finale, the Braves would surely get a home game in the first round next Saturday right?

Add to that - the #1 AND #3 ranked teams in the region both LOST Saturday. With that said, UNCP would surely be a #4 at the worst. Maybe move up to #3??

Approximately 200 people, including Braves football players and coaches, students, parents, faculty, and community members gathered inside UNCP's University Center for the announcement.

Time Warner Cable loaned the university a box so that we could see the announcement live on ESPN NEWS. The picks came on, and that may be the quickest a group of 200 has ever gotten quiet.

And then it came.

"UNC-Pembroke" came through the speakers. A roar went up through the room.

"...will be a #5 seed and travel to take on Arkansas Tech, the #4 seed, on Saturday."

The room went dead silent as everyone tried to comprehend what just happened.

There must be another UNC-Pembroke. How did we win, #1 AND #3 lose, and us drop a spot in the rankings? Better yet, what did Arkansas Tech do to jump from #6, past us to #4??

Our Athletic Director, Chancellor, and Head Coach all spoke, pointing out that regardless, UNCP is in the playoffs. But the disappointment was obviously on their sleeves as they spoke. Players showed mixed emotions as well.

The Braves became the youngest team ever (this is the third season of football at UNCP) to make the Division II playoffs.

To this point, there is only one glaring fact that people can point to for the Braves low seed. The Braves became the first Independent team since 2002 to earn a spot in the playoffs.

If this is the case, it is a shame that that was taken into consideration. But it will also further speed up the search for a conference that the football team can be a part of. (The Peach belt Conference that UNCP is a part of doesn't have enough teams playing football for it to be included in the PBC listing.)

The Braves began the season unranked. They have now climbed to the #10 spot in the nation. Add to that a #19 ranking in the D2Football.com poll heading into the weekend, and then the Region 2 now-#5 ranking.

The Braves will travel to Russellville, Ark., to face the Wonder Boys on Saturday with a 12 noon CST, or 1 p.m. local time, start.

(Yes, Wonder Boys is the correct nickname for Arkansas Tech. Their women's teams are referred to as the Golden Suns.)

GO BRAVES!!!

A little help please....

I am asking for everyone's help please.

If you would please go down a little on my blog, this page, on the right side, and vote for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year.

Everyone at UNC-Pembroke is pushing hard for our head coach, Pete Shinnick, some recognition. He may not win, but many at UNCP believe his hard work should not keep going unnoticed.

The voting process is simple - follow the link a little farther down this right column, click vote now, click Division II on the header bar, and enter in an email address. In the coach's name box, either Pete Shinnick OR UNCP will bring up Shinnick's name. Submit your vote. One vote per day.

Your help is greatly appriciated.

Entering the final week of the regular season, the Braves are 8-1, ranked #19 in the latest D2Football.com poll released November 3rd. The most important ranking, however, is the ranking in the NCAA Super Region 2. The Braves are ranked #4 in this all important poll. This is the poll that will decide which teams make the playoffs.

Generally, the top six teams from each of the four regions are presented with postseason invitations. The No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams will receive first round byes when the NCAA Division II playoffs begin on November 14, with the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed.

The NCAA Division II Football Committee will announce the 24-team field for the 2009 championship in a 15-minute window between 3-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Sunday, November 8, on ESPNEWS.

Lady Braves Volleyball 'Digs Pink'

(photo - Nick Phillips)
The UNCP volleyball team hosted second annual “Dig Pink” match to help raise awareness for breast cancer research on Oct. 21st.

By Nick Phillips
Asst. Sports Editor
Matt Smith
Sports Editor
Oct. 29, 2009

The Lady Braves volleyball team at their second annual “Dig Pink” game on Oct. 21 against Elizabeth City State University got back on the winning track with a 3-1 victory.

The “Dig Pink” fundraiser raised both awareness and money for breast cancer research and drew a big crowd of UNCP students, many dressed in pink.

The Lady Braves marked the occasion by wearing pink jerseys, and both coaches and officials wore pink ribbons. UNCP head coach Jeff Billington sported a pink tie as well.

The Lady Braves totaled a season-high 84 digs as a team on defense, while offensively they had 53 kills on the night.

Freshman Shay Peterson and sophomores Tiara Anderson and Allie Schneider each tallied nine kills, as UNCP had 11 different players recording a kill.

Freshman Sam Wylie gave out a gamehigh 31 assists for UNCP, while freshman teammate Morgan Ridge added 12 assists of her own.

Senior libero Andrea Laza recorded a game-high 22 digs on the defensive side of the net, while four other Lady Braves had 10 or more digs.

UNCP took a close set one 25-22, helped by Anderson’s kills late in the set. The second set also saw ties and lead changes before UNCP pulled out a 25-21 set victory.

In the third set, the Lady Braves rallied from Elizabeth City set point before falling by a 27-25 score. In set four, UNCP built a lead that would not be overcome, as they would secure the 25-15 set win and wrap up the match.

“Collectively as a group, we did what we needed to do, but we’ve probably played better volleyball. We have to continually work on putting 100 percent effort into everything we do. It’s a W, and it wasn’t pretty, but we will take it,” Billington said.

The Lady Braves improved their overall record to 9-15 and evened their home record out to 4-4 with the win.

Awareness continues
After the Braves’ Oct. 21 win over Elizabeth City State University, the team traveled to Greenwood, S.C., to participate in the Dig Pink Volleyball Tournament at Lander University on Oct. 23-24.

The Black and Gold finished 1-2 in their three matches in the two day tournament, blasting Limestone in day one action, while falling to Anderson and Lees-McRae on the tournament’s second day.

In day one action, the Braves bested Limestone 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-16, 25-21). Laza set a career-high with 51 digs.

Jessica Hartley led the Braves with 16 kills while Anderson added 12 in the contest.

Wylie led the Black and Gold with 29 assists.

On the tournament’s second day, the Braves fell 3-0 to the Anderson Trojans and 3-2 to Lees-McRae.

Against Anderson, UNCP dropped three straight sets 21-25, 21-25 and 23-25 for their first loss in three games.

Senior Lizzie O’Connor led the Black and Gold with nine kills and Schneider totaled 16 digs in the match.

In the Braves’ second game, UNCP lost in a tough five setter 3-2 (24-16, 22-25, 25- 17, 27-15, 9-15) to Lees-McRae.

Anderson led the Braves with 18 kills and Wylie piled up 29 assists in the loss.

The Braves will next be in action Halloween night as they take on conference newcomer Montevallo at the English E. Jones Center.