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Join the Club
We asked alumni about their memories of club
sports. Excerpts of responses are below. To read more,
visit
alumni.unc.edu/classquotes. Read about club
sports at Carolina in this issue’s cover story, beginning
on page 30.
“I played on the first club football team
organized in 1970. Frank McNair ’ 74 and I
bought some football equipment from a
bankrupt Carolina Military Academy in
Maxton and hauled it to Carolina to help
provide uniforms for the inaugural team.
Frank played center, and I began as a backup
QB, eventually becoming the starter after a
couple of games. We had a lot of fun that first
season. I think we played seven official games
and finished with three wins and four losses.
Lynn Featherstone ’ 65, Don Stewart ’ 69 and
[Professor] Ray Magus were the chief organizers, and Frank was instrumental, too. Stewart
was the fullback, Featherstone a guard, Magus
a wideout and there was a Raeford boy, Mike
Prince ’ 72, who was really good on defense.”
John Bullard ’ 73
Laurinburg
“Club soccer was a special part of my
experience at Carolina by providing a place I
could play high-level soccer with a lot of
good players, regularly including off-season
varsity players. Hopefully, these club sports
remain an active part of UNC.”
Tom Hipp ’ 76
Greenwich, Conn.
“I was coxswain for the men’s crew team.
We had secondhand shells, lost all the time but
had fun. I hated the early mornings at the lake.
I remember driving the short Carolina activity
bus to Knoxville for the Dogwood Arts Regatta
one year. … I sure enjoy reading about the
successes of our varsity crew team now.”
Loni Traylor Garcia ’ 78
Kingsport, Tenn.
“I never thought I’d be able to play ice
hockey at UNC, but boy, was I wrong! In
fact, even though I had spent a number of
years playing ice hockey in Massachusetts, I
class quotes
must confess, nothing had quite prepared me
for the hard-fought, physical games played vs.
the likes of N.C. State, Duke and Georgia
Southern. In all seriousness, it was like playing
football on ice.”
Jamie Kenneally ’ 94
Boston
catch!) an 80 mph fast pitch from 40 feet!”
Jenny Hartz ’ 97
Charleston, S.C.
“I participated in club gymnastics all four
years at Carolina, and it was a wonderful
experience. I met some great new friends and
reunited with some that I competed against in
grade school. The highlight was when we
won the national championship in our first
year competing at nationals. We edged out the
Naval Academy, who were the favorites.”
Amanda Inscore ’00
Fort Myers, Fla.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time participating in UNC club baseball and the friendships
that I made during those three years. Through
club baseball, I also was able to travel to various college campuses throughout the region,
broadening my overall college experience. ...
Plus, when I pitched for UNC club baseball
against Duke’s team during my sophomore “As a member of Carolina’s men’s club
year in 1995, I was able to strike out 21 Duke ultimate Frisbee team, Darkside, I have many
players during that game (the major league great memories. Our team was very successful
record is 20, set by Roger Clemens). What on the field, qualifying for the UPA (Ultimate
can be better than an opportunity to beat up Players Association) national tournament three
on Duke like that?” out of four years. The tournament featured
Brad Bender ’ 97 the 16 best teams from across the country, and
Philadelphia typically included big-time names like
Michigan, Florida, Colorado, Harvard and
Stanford. Aside from the success on the field
(we placed in the top eight, two out of the
three years), what was more important was
the camaraderie off the field. It still keeps us
going today, as every Darkside alum is invited
to an annual tournament in Greenville to
rekindle our college days and beat the alumni
from NCSU.”
SARAH MCCARTY ’ 96
Christopher Corcoran ’01
The men’s crew club has had more than 500 rowers since Charlotte
1968. The women’s team gained varsity status in 1997.
“Softball had always been a passion of
mine. I started playing at 8 years old and
learned the game of slow pitch. However, in
1983, fast-pitch softball wasn’t available for little girls. I ended up playing slow pitch
throughout high school as the N.C. school
system was slow to adopt fast pitch as a standard. I tried out for the varsity team my freshman year at Carolina but realized I was far
behind my classmates who had been playing
fast pitch as long as I had been playing slow.
Club was the perfect place for me, and I
wound up catching for the charter team for
club softball. I learned the sport of fast pitch,
made some incredible friends in the process
and found out what it was like to hit (and
“Becoming a member of the women’s rugby
team was the best decision I made at Carolina!
I loved the physical challenge, the amazing
teammates and the thrill of competing at a
national level. Becoming president of the club
literally changed my life. I thoroughly enjoyed
working with the other club officers and with
the campus recreation staff and, as a result of
this positive experience, I decided to pursue a
career in the field of rec. sports.”
Alexis Cocker ’05
Chapel Hill
Let us hear from you. Visit the alumni message
boards at
alumni.unc.edu and chime in on
everything from your dream job to your memories
of your first day at Carolina.
