Women's Tennis
Las Vegas Native Knew UC Wasn't a Gamble
May 2, 2006
By Michael Dailey
Sportswriter, The Charleston Daily Mail
Good recruiting is a must for any good collegiate athletic program.
Women's tennis is no exception.
And by all accounts, University of Charleston women's tennis Coach Shari Reed does a pretty good job of plucking local prep talent and steering it to the Golden Eagles' campus.
But when it comes to her top-seeded player, Reed had just a very small hand in the recruiting process. Instead, it was the school's budding pharmacy program that brought Las Vegas native Bre Moyle, the reigning West Virginia Conference Rookie and Player of the Year, from the Vegas Strip to South Ruffner.
After winning the Nevada Class 4A state tennis state title as a junior and senior at Palo Verde High, Moyle had plenty of options at her disposal when choosing her collegiate path.
Among those options were Division I offers by Drake, Wichita State and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, but Moyle wasn't willing to sacrifice her studies for the added pressure associated with Division I athletics.
"I knew that pharmacy school was going to be tough," Moyle said. "I didn't want the added pressure of having to keep my game up and be pressured to play well, or risk having them taking your scholarship away.
"My dad helped me look up schools online that had pharmacy schools and tennis programs. I knew I wanted to go to a smaller school, so I looked around and this was one of the schools that I found.
"I took a visit, got to spend some time with the team and I really liked it," Moyle said. "When I came here, we went out to dinner and to a soccer match as a team and I just felt it was a good atmosphere.
"I could feel the chemistry, and it felt good."
Since arriving in the Mountain State last summer, Moyle has proven her sixth sense correct in leading the Golden Eagles to a 21-2 record and a berth in the 2006 Division II Women's Tennis Championships that begin Thursday afternoon.
Charleston, the No. 8 seed in the Great Lakes Region, will face regional host and favorite Northwood, Mich., (18-1) at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the 62-team championship that will conclude on May 13, in Kansas City, Mo.
In her nine months as a Golden Eagle, Moyle has compiled stellar records in both singles (19-1) and doubles (19-3) play, while maintaining a 3.3 GPA in her pre-pharmacy course of study.
She's also introduced an intense, on court attitude to her Golden Eagle teammates.
"The thing that she brings to the team is an extra fire," Reed said of Moyle. "She's very competitive and when she walks on a court, she believes that she's going to win every match.
"That attitude is something that some of the players had before, but some didn't. She really brought that mindset to the whole team. She brought everybody the mindset that when the walked on the court, they were going to win the match."
Charleston will need that competitive edge against a tough, experienced Northwood team. "They're in the top 10 in the country and we're playing them on their home court, so it is definitely a challenge," Reed said. "Our thing is we want to go out there and challenge them at every position and just see what happens."
A handful of local tennis talent will also be on display for the Golden Eagles in the match, which consists of three doubles and six singles matches.
Former South Charleston standout Lindsay Bolar will play singles and team with Moyle as the Golden Eagles' top seeded doubles pair.
Florida native Danielle Warner, daughter of Parkersburg native and former UC Coach Dan Warner, will play singles and team with Capital High alum Krista Jacobs as the No. 2 doubles team.
Ripley's Ashley Crank and Logan's Cherith Ragland will play the fifth and sixth singles, respectively, and team as the No. 3 doubles pair.
Logan High grad Amanda Spriggs will serve as an alternate.