MEAC/SWAC men’s hoops teams must make improvements

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - There was a good reason, aside from the “Bubble teams” selected for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, why Dennis Thomas and Duer Sharp were sporting big smiles while watching the festivities on television.

The commissioners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic conferences, respectively, could somewhat gloat about sending their best representatives into the field of 68. In the case of Sharp, Mississippi Valley State (21-12) dominated the SWAC in the regular-season and winning the conference tournament only confirmed their top status.

As for Thomas, his giddiness was justified by the fact that while MEAC representative Norfolk State (25-9) did not win the regular-season title, it owned the conference’s best RPI ranking (133rd) and earned a higher seed (15th) for a small major. He could also crow about having two men’s basketball teams in the postseason for the second straight year with regular-season champion Savannah State headed to the National Invitational Tournament.

What a difference from 48 hours earlier when ...

READ MORE

TSU Tigers golf finishes 10th at Grover Page Classic

Jackson, Tenn. --- The Tennessee State University men's golf team notched a 10th place finish at the sixth annual Grover Page Classic on Tuesday.

At the conclusion of the tournament, TSU remained in 10th place after posting an overall score of 942 (315-313-314).

Ryan Pierson (T10) picked up a top ten finish and led the Tigers with a total of 222 for the tournament. He shot a two-under-par 70 in the first round before posting (+2) 74 and (+6) 78 in the final two rounds.

James Stepp (T40) was the second highest scorer for TSU behind a score of 234 (81-77-76) as Dallas Hill tied for 57th with 242 (81-83-78).

Two strokes behind Hill was Codie Welborn (T60) with a score 244. Welborn carded rounds of 83, 79 and 82. Matthew Campbell (T71) rounded out the scorers for TSU with 253 (84-84-85).

The tournament host, UT Martin, captured the title with a score of 881 (303-286-292) while Southern Illinois (896) grabbed second. Tennessee Tech (899) finished three strokes behind SIU to claim third place.

The 2012 Grover Page Classic, a 54-hole tournament, was held at the Jackson Country Club in Jackson, Tenn. The classic featured a 75-player field made up of 12 teams and 15 participants competing as individuals. The par-72 course plays at a length of 6,783.

Tennessee State returns to action on Monday, March 26 at the Alabama A&M Golf Classic.

FINAL RESULTS

COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Svoboda, Howell selected GCAC Players of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana tennis players Viktor Svoboda and Kourtney Howell are the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Players of the Week for March 5-11.

Viktor Svoboda

Kourtney Howell

Svoboda, a sophomore from Kamenice, Czech Republic, was 5-1 in singles matches and 5-1 in doubles to help the Gold Rush win 5-of-6 duals, four against NAIA top-25 opponents. Svoboda won all his matches against top-10 opponents Auburn Montgomery and Shorter, and three times he won in singles in super-tiebreakers.

Howell, a sophomore from Cypress, Texas, and a graduate of

Cypress Woods High School, was 5-1 in singles and 4-2 in doubles. Howell defeated ITA-NAIA ranked singles players on consecutive days — in straight sets against Martin Methodist's 38th-ranked Paloma Cortina, the 2011 TranSouth Conference Player of the Year, and in a super-tiebreaker against Shorter's 22nd-ranked Candice Laurent. Howell also beat the No. 1 singles players of top-25 teams Belhaven and Campbellsville.

Both XU teams will play NCAA Division I member Nicholls State at 3 p.m. Wednesday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center. Xavier's men are 9-2 and ranked ninth in the NAIA; the women are 2-12 and receiving votes in the national poll. Nicholls' men were 5-5 entering a home dual Tuesday with Texas-Pan American, and the women are 3-6.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 

Tuskegee announces 2012 football schedule

TUSKEGEE, Alabama — The Tuskegee University Department of Athletics announced its 2012 football schedule today, which includes a 10-game slate for head coach Willie Slater and the Golden Tigers.

The Golden Tigers, 4-6 in 2011, will play four home games, including a neutral site home date at Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala. Homecoming 2012 will be celebrated October 20, when the Golden Tigers tangle with the Thorobreds of Kentucky State University. Seven games make up the required SIAC conference slate.

Two out-of-conference games are booked with Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponent Alabama A&M University and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) opponent Johnson C. Smith University.

The Golden Tigers open the 2012 season on Sept. 1 against the Alabama A&M University Bulldogs at the 70,000-seat Legion Field and then travel to Atlanta, Ga., for a neutral site game against the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith on Sept. 8.

In its home opener, Tuskegee will face the Lane College Dragons at Abbott Stadium on Sept. 15. After an open date, the Golden Tigers will host the Wildcats of Fort Valley State at Abbott Stadium on Sept. 29.

The 77th Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic will be staged at A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium Oct. 6 in Columbus, Ga. This is the longest-running HBCU rivalry and the 2012 game will be the 102nd overall meeting between Tuskegee and Morehouse.

After an in-state road conference matchup with the Tigers of Stillman College on Oct. 13 in Tuscaloosa, the Golden Tigers will entertain Kentucky State for Homecoming 2012 on Oct. 20.

The Golden Tigers travel to Clark Atlanta University on Oct. 27 and Miles College on Nov. 3.

Under negotiation is a tenth game against the Hornets of Alabama State University.


2012 TUSKEGEE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DATE   OPPONENT     LOCATION     TIME

9/1 at ALABAMA A&M, Birmingham, AL, Legion Field, 6:00PM

9/8 at Johnson C. Smith, Atlanta, GA 7:30PM  Lakewood Stadium (Inter-City Classic)

9/15 Lane, Abbott Stadium+, Tuskegee, AL 1:00PM

9/22 OPEN

9/29  Fort Valley State+, Abbott Stadium, Tuskegee, AL 1:00PM

10/6  at Morehouse College+ (77th Annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic), Columbus, GA  3:00 PM 

10/13 at Stillman College+, Tuscaloosa, AL  5:00 PM

10/20  Kentucky State+ (Homecoming), Tuskegee, AL, Abbott Stadium, 1:00 PM

10/27  at Clark Atlanta+, Atlanta, GA, Panther Stadium, TBA

11/3  at Miles College+, Birmingham, AL, Sloan-Alumni Stadium, 1:00 PM

11/10 SIAC Championship, Atlanta, GA  TBA

TBA   Alabama State University, TBA  

+ SIAC Conference Games
 
COURTESY: TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

President Barack Obama, British Prime Minster David Cameron to attend NCAA March Madness basketball tournament in Dayton -- Mississippi Valley vs. Western Kentucky

DAYTON, Ohio -- President Barack Obama and British Prime Minster David Cameron will attend Tuesday night's NCAA play-in game in Dayton, Ohio, between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State. The two leaders will take part in a live halftime interview with analyst Clark Kellogg.

The White House said the trip will showcase the tight relationship between the two allies. Ohio also is considered a swing state for the upcoming election. Republicans criticized the trip.

"While showing off our amazing college basketball teams is great, many Americans struggling to find jobs, dealing with soaring gas prices, or concerned with our rising deficit and debt would probably like the president spend at least as much time dealing with those issues," said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

The president made his NCAA tournament picks for ESPN, and they will be unveiled Wednesday. He has not revealed whether he predicted Harvard -- where he attended law school -- to pull off an upset of Vanderbilt on Thursday.

READ MORE

2012 NCAA Tournament: With native New Yorkers Kyle O'Quinn, Marcos Tamares on roster, Norfolk State has ties to NYC

Kyle O'Quinn leads city contigent into March Madness

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The NBA wasn’t even an afterthought for Kyle O’Quinn four years ago when he was finishing at Campus Magnet High School in Queens. He had only one scholarship offer. Today there are scouts at most every game he plays as the starting center for NCAA Tournament-bound Norfolk State.

“I was very fortunate to get some accolades this year,” said the 6-10 senior, who was named MEAC Player of the Year, “but really the buzz comes when the team wins and wins championships.”

O’Quinn is the centerpiece of a great New York story. The Spartans (25-9) are in the tournament for the first time and have real city flavor with head coach Anthony Evans from Brooklyn, top assistant Robert Jones from Queens, eight players on the roster from the five boroughs and three more who attended high school in the surrounding area.

“I think you play a little harder when you play with people from your hometown,” said O’Quinn, who averages 15.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots.

The Spartans are the No. 15 seed in the West Region and got dealt a matchup against No. 2 Missouri (30-4) on Friday in Omaha, Nebraska.

READ MORE

ECSU Release 2012 Football Schedule

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina -- The Elizabeth City State University Athletic Department has released their 10-game football slate for the 2012 season.

The Vikings will open up the season on September 1st when they travel to take on Newberry College in Newberry, SC. ECSU's only meeting with the Indians was during their record setting 2006 season where Newbery captured a 49-33 victory. Afterwards the Vikings reeled off six straight wins in route to an appearance in the CIAA Championship game and a NCAA Playoff Berth.

The following week ECSU will host the first of four games at Roebuck Stadium, beginning with a rematch of last year's season opener, with Delta State University. This will be the Statesmen's second appearance at Roebuck Stadium, their last coming during the aforementioned Playoff game from 2006 in the first post season contest hosted by ECSU. DSU (2-0 vs. the Vikings) has rallied from behind in both meetings; in the 2006 playoff game, they erased a 10-0 halftime deficit for a 17-10 victory and toppled the upset minded Vikings last season in overtime 28-21 in Cleveland, MS.

The following week (September 15th) ECSU will welcome Albany State University for a first time meeting with the Golden Rams of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAC). Like the Vikings, the Golden Rams, who have won 14 SIAC titles, finished 2011 with an 8-4 record and lost in their conference Championship Game, dropping a 20-17 decision to Miles College.

ECSU will host Homecoming 2012 on October 20th versus Chowan and will close out their home slate on October 27th when they play host to Virginia Union University.

The Vikings' cross division games will be versus Fayetteville State in Fayetteville on September 22nd and vs. the Falcons of St. Augustine's College at the 15th Annual Down East Viking Football Classic on September 29th in Rocky Mount.

ECSU will play three of their five Northern Division opponents on the road against Virginia State (October 6th), Lincoln University of Pa (October 13th) and the regular season finale on November 3rd at Bowie State University.

The 2012 CIAA Football Championship will take place on November 10th. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com and follow on Twitter @ECSUVikings.

2012 ECSU VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result

09/01/12 at Newberry Newberry, SC 6:30 p.m. ET

09/08/12 vs. Delta State Elizabeth City, N.C. 6:00 p.m. ET
09/15/12 vs. Albany State Elizabeth City, N.C. 6:00 p.m. ET
09/22/12 at Fayetteville State * Fayetteville, NC 6:00 p.m. ET
09/29/12 vs. Saint Augustine's (15th Annual Down East Viking Football Classic) * Rocky Mount, NC 4:00 p.m. ET
10/06/12 at Virginia State * Petersburg, VA 1:00 p.m. ET
10/13/12 at Lincoln (Pa.) * Lincoln, PA 1:00 p.m. ET
10/20/12 vs. Chowan (HOMECOMING) * Elizabeth City, N.C. 1:30 p.m. ET
10/27/12 vs. Virginia Union * Elizabeth City, N.C. 1:00 p.m. ET
11/03/12 at Bowie State * Bowie, MD 1:30 p.m. ET
11/10/12 2012 CIAA Football Championship * Durham, NC 1:00 p.m. ET

 Home Event: BOLD   *Conference Event

READ MORE

COURTESY: ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION