25th Anniversary Profile: UNC Asheville Women's Tennis
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As part of the Big South Conference’s 25th Anniversary celebration in 2008-09, which is presented by Royal Purple, the Conference is profiling each week the Top 25 “Best of the Best” moments in League history. This week’s feature is UNC Asheville’s Women’s Tennis success from 1987-90.
A video vignette around the Bulldogs’ championships from those seasons, featuring a retrospective from former head coach Chuck Schilling, can be viewed on the Big South’s website, www.BigSouthSports.com, under the 25th Anniversary Media Center banner. In addition, video vignettes around all the Top 25 “Best of the Best” moments are available for viewing online.
UNC Asheville’s Women’s Tennis team began a three-year championship run in 1987, but that first title did not come easy. The Bulldogs, slated to host the Conference championship that spring, made a coaching change midway through the season. Chuck Schilling was brought in to serve as interim coach for the rest of the year, as well as to administer the tournament. Schilling’s squad finished with a sub-.500 record and uncertainty remained within the Bulldogs’ program entering the 1987 championship event.
From 1987 through 1993, the Big South’s tennis championships were determined by an overall team score based on individual play. Schilling’s team came together and played well enough to finish with 47 points in the tournament, edging out Coastal Carolina by one point to win the 1987 Big South Women’s Tennis Championship. Candi Earwood won the No. 6 singles title for the Bulldogs to lead Asheville to the title. Schilling was honored as the Conference’s first-ever Big South Coach of the Year. Schilling only coached one season for the Bulldogs, but was able to recruit future All-Conference player Jenee Cross to Asheville – laying the foundation for the program’s future.
Karl Johnston was called upon to lead the women’s tennis program in 1988, and the Bulldogs won their second consecutive title, this time with room to spare. UNC Asheville finished the tournament with 77.5 points, again beating out Coastal Carolina (71.5 points) for the crown. Cross was named Big South Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for her No. 1 singles championship. Three other Bulldogs won individual titles in 1988 – Leigh Anne Caldwell at No. 2 singles, Christine Nichols at No. 4 singles and Stacey Carter at No. 5 singles.
The Bulldogs continued their winning ways, capturing their third-straight Big South title in 1989. Cross repeated as the No. 1 singles champion, helping UNC Asheville to 78 team points and bettering Coastal Carolina (69 points) yet again in the final standings. Cross was honored as the Big South Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for the second time, and became the first player in Big South history to win titles at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, as she teamed with Shannon Burns to win the Bulldogs’ first-ever doubles championship. Caldwell repeated as champion at No. 2 singles and Carter took home her second consecutive title at No. 5 singles.
Radford snapped Asheville’s three-peat in 1990, as the Bulldogs finished sixth in the championship that year. UNC Asheville’s women’s tennis championship success would not be duplicated in the Big South until 1994, when Winthrop won three consecutive titles. In 1990, Cross won her third consecutive No. 1 singles crown, and received her unprecedented third Big South Women’s Player of the Year honor.
Cross was the catalyst of Asheville’s success during the Bulldogs’ championship run. She was undefeated in Big South Conference singles play in 1988, 1989 and 1990, and did not lose a Conference match until an injury-plagued senior year. Johnston garnered Big South Coach of the Year honors in 1988 and 1989 for his guidance of the program.
UNC Asheville’s Women’s Tennis is one of the Top 25 “Best of the Best” moments in League history. The Conference is conducting an online fan poll to help determine the Top Moment in the first 25 years of the Big South Conference. Voting is open on www.BigSouthSports.com and continues through March 25. Fan voting will be combined with the 25th Anniversary Committee’s votes to come up with the official rank order of the “Best of the Best” moments. The countdown will be unveiled at the concluding 25th Anniversary banquet in May 2009.
(Portions of this profile provided by UNC Asheville’s Athletics Communications Office)
Next week’s featured “Best of the Best” moment and vignette: 2003 UNC Asheville Men’s Basketball