HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker men's and women's track and field teams will kickoff their inaugural season Saturday (Jan. 17) when they participates in the Art and Linda Maillet UNC Open hosted by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

First-year head coach Benny Morgan has been preparing the two teams for the meet all fall and is confident his teams will perform well.

"We are an entirely new program and this will be the first brick laid to our foundation," said Morgan. "We expect to go out and compete and establish ourselves as a contender."

The men's team will consist of 13 participants in 16 events, while the women's team is made up of 17 participants in 15 events.

Morgan expects his team to have early jitters, but they will subside once the meet begins.

"We are loaded with freshmen," said Morgan. "We expect them to be nervous early on, but that should not stop them from settling in and making a name for Coker and themselves."

The Art and Linda Maillet UNC Open will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, with live stats available at http://www.durhamstriders.com/results/15unc4.