Athletics T years Women were outstanding he women’s basketball team booked its best overall record in seven years, as well as a school record for Peach Belt Conference victories. The Lady Braves finished with a 16-12 overall record, while posting a solid 12-6 mark en route to third place honors in the PBC’s East Division. Along the way, the Black & Gold picked up some impressive wins, including a 5246 home upset of then-No. 11 USC Aiken, as well as a 63-62 road upset of then-No. 19 Lander, who would eventually finish among the nation’s top 10 teams after advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Courtney Bolton earned all-league laurels after averaging a team-best 12 points per game, while seniors DeDe Cotton and Domonique Washington joined Jazmine Kemp on the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association’s All-State Team. Wrestling’s breakthrough season he wrestling team turned in one of its finest seasons in school history by finishing in a tie for eighth at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships – despite qualifying just three wrestlers for the event. The Braves finished the dual meet portion of their season with a 6-6 record, including wins over region foes Belmont Abbey, Seton Hill, West Liberty, Anderson and St. Andrews, as well as a victory over Lake Erie. During the NCAA Super Region I Tournament, which UNCP was hosting for the second time in five years, 141-pounder Daniel Ownbey finished second, 165pounder Mike Williams finished first and 197-pounder Shane Nolan finished second earning the trio berths in the national tournament. In Pueblo, Colo., all three wrestlers finished among the top six nationally en route to All-American honors, while Williams brought home UNCP’s first wrestling national championship with a perfect 4-0 run through the 165-pound championship bracket. Ownbey, who finished third, went undefeated through the consolation bracket after getting knocked out in the quarterfinals, while Nolan won his first two matches before settling for sixth place. 28 T T he men’s basketball team put the finishing touches on the first back-toback winning seasons in 20 years with a 17-12 overall record, along with an 11-7 league record that helped them finish in a tie for third in the always-tough PBC East Division. The Braves began Men post winning season , their season with an exhibition tilt at preseason No. 1-ranked UNC-CH and finished the campaign with the most wins (12) inside the English E. Jones Center in school history. After going 4-3 in November, UNCP posted wins in eight of its next 10 outings, including a 78-69 home upset of then-No. 19 USC Aiken in mid-January, to take over sole possession of first place in the PBC. The Braves would drop five of their next seven games before recovering to win three of their final four heading into their second-straight PBC tournament appearance. Junior Shahmel Brackett became the 28th member of the men’s basketball team’s 1,000-point club in early January, collected all-league laurels for the secondstraight year and then joined front court mate Marcus Heath on the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association’s All-State Team. Shamel Brackett hits 1,000 career points. Spring 2012