XU wins again in first of three GCAC matches at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Taylor Reuther had 17 kills Friday, and Chinedu Echebelem and Moira Kirk had 12 apiece to lead Xavier UniversIty of Louisiana in a 25-19, 25-11, 25-16 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Talladega.

The Gold Nuggets (7-2 overall, 2-0 GCAC) extended their school-record win streak to six in a row.

Reuther had seven kills and nine digs during a first set in which Xavier rallied from a 6-2 deficit. A Reuther kill put the Nuggets ahead to stay at 13-12, and she scored Xavier's final three points of the set with kills.

Xavier led 18-7 in the second set and 17-7 in the third. Kirk and Echebelem closed the match with free-ball kills.

Reuther hit 417 and finished with 14 digs in her fifth kill-dig double-double of the season — Xavier recorded just three in 37 matches in 2010 — and her third in a row. Celeste Poe had 12 digs to reach double digures for the fifth time this season.

Shalitha Swain led Talladega (5-7, 0-1) with six kills. Xavier had 46 kills, twice as many as the Lady Tornadoes, and hit .238 with six aces. Jeanay Butler, who entered the match with one ace this season, served a season-best three aces for the Nuggets.

Kerris Crier led Xavier with four blocks — her fifth consecutive match with three or more — and Kirk and Butler had three apiece.

Talladega is playing host to 13 GCAC matches Friday and Saturday involving six of the league's eight members. Xavier will play Edward Waters at 5 p.m. Friday, then return home after an 8 a.m. Saturday match against Fisk.

NOTES: Xavier has swept five of six opponents during its win streak . . . Reuther recorded her fourth straight match with 10 or more digs and leads Xavier with six . . . Reuther's 17 kills are the most by a Nugget in a three-set match since Xavier reinstated volleyball in 2010. Reuther had 20 kills in the Nuggets' other GCAC match, a five-set home victory against SUNO this past Saturday.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCAC

UTPA, Bethune-Cookman, Morehouse and Talladega win PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship Titles

The University of Texas-Pan American men's team and Bethune-Cookman University's women's unit found such a formula is alive and well Sunday afternoon as each carved a path to NCAA Division I titles in the 24th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship. Texas-Pan American senior Armen Kirakossian collected four back-nine birdies for a 4-under-par 68 on PGA Golf Club's Wanamaker Course, while his teammates didn't miss a beat and took advantage of stumbles by defending champion Tennessee State University for a two-stroke (872 to 874) victory. It was Texas-Pan American's fourth overall title and first since 2007.

"We found the chemistry that we needed at the start of the year," said Broncs Coach Santiago De Larrea. "Armen was great, but so were guys like his brother, Kevin, and [freshman] Brandon Reyna. This is just my second season as coach, and it makes me feel as good now as when I was here in 2002 on the team and playing for a championship."

The Bethune-Cookman University team, which won the Women's Division, celebrated by spelling out BCU with their coach. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America)

Bethune-Cookman's quintet, which is more like five sisters than an international mix of English, Venezuelan and American golf talent, posted a 54-hole school and tournament-record 885 total for its eighth overall title. This Wildcat unit was led by junior Kim Wong of East Montpelier, Vt., whose closing 3-over-par 75 on the Ryder Course might have sealed medalist honors at 216, but senior teammate Emma Tayler of Devon, England, sprinkled in a bogey-free 70 to ensure that she would not be forgotten.

"The stage was set for the team to go on to a championship when I took over as head coach 10 days ago, and they performed tremendously," said Bethune-Cookman Coach and PGA Professional Loritz "Scooter" Clark, who succeeded PGA Professional Gary Freeman, who has reduced his coaching duties due to health reasons and was the architect of the Wildcats' golf powerhouse. "This was a team that supported each other on and off the course," said Wong. "We came in and did what we had to do. It's amazing -- three straight days of the same total scoring (295)! I'm really going to miss my four teammates next year. We have four freshmen coming in next year and with big shoes to fill."

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Southern Jaguars 84, Talladega Tornadoes 86

Senior guard Ramondo Banks from Bernice, LA returned home to help the 2009 USCAA Division I National Champions Talladega Tornadoes achieved another college basketball milestone by defeating Southern 86-84. The second year program achieved two humongous milestones last season by defeating five NCAA Division I programs (Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Mississippi Valley State, Southern, and Grambling State) in a single season on its journey to winning the NAIA Division I National Championship in its first season of competition.

Talladega triumphs in tight tilt over SU, 86-84

The game featured six lead changes in the first half alone, a box score that showed neither team with a significant edge in any area and — yes — a frantic final minute that decided the outcome. A couple of missed opportunities kept Southern from winning that final minute. As a result, the Talladega College men’s basketball team left F.G. Clark Activity Center with a victory for the second year in a row, this one an 86-84 triumph that went to the wire.

“I felt like Urban Meyer down the stretch,” Talladega coach William Brown said, referring to the Florida football coach. “My chest got tight.” Then again, Brown, whose NAIA team has lost twice in overtime and once in double overtime, has seen his share of close calls through an 8-8 start. The Tornadoes were on the right end of this one thanks in large part to Kerry Harvis and Micah Hagens, who combined for 48 points on 15-of-29 shooting.

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