Tournament Central
ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team will kick off its 2013 season by hosting the Winthrop Classic Friday and Saturday at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The Eagles will welcome the teams of Fordham, Savannah State and Tennessee Tech to the two-day event that starts Friday at 4 p.m.
Winthrop boasts a completely new squad with only one returning player from last year in addition to three new coaches.
Sophomore middle blocker Rachel Lenz is the lone returner from 2012. Lenz was a Big South All-Freshman Team selection and finished second on the team with 276 kills.
Bruce Atkinson was hired as the Winthrop volleyball coach in February of 2013 and started piecing his team together. Atkinson added Michael King as an assistant coach out of the University of Portland. Atkinson rounded out his staff by adding former Winthrop standout Kaley Viola.
Winthrop's slate of newcomers includes one senior, two juniors, two sophomores and eight freshmen.
Jackie Landers is a senior transfer from Azusa Pacific University where she led the team in kills her sophomore and junior seasons with 455 and 473 kills respectively. Jesse Vicic is a junior transfer from Maryland-Eastern Shore where she set the school record for assists in a career in only two seasons with 2,593.
The team's roster includes both an international flair as well as some in-state talent. Atkinson brought in players from Iceland, Ukraine, Canada, Norway and Brazil.
Three freshman hail from the Palmetto State: Melaina Moore (Pawley's Island), Brianna Gray (Anderson) and Kelsey McCormick (Simpsonville). Atkinson also added sophomore transfer Kim Adkins from Anderson University who is a native of Simpsonville, SC.
Winthrop will open its season Friday at 7 p.m. against the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech. Tennessee Tech finished last season with a 3-25 overall record. The first game Friday features Fordham and Savannah State at 4 p.m.
The Saturday schedule opens with Savannah State and Tennessee Tech at 10 a.m. followed by Winthrop and Fordham at 12:30 p.m. Fordham finished the 2012 season with a 14-19 overall mark.
Following a mid-day break, Tennessee Tech and Fordham will meet at 4:30 p.m. while Winthrop and Savannah State will close the tournament at 7 p.m. Savannah State went winless last season at 0-34.
