Jackson State Sweeps MVSU Delta Devils

The Jackson State baseball team completed a season sweep over in-state rival Mississippi Valley, by taking three games from the Delta Devils Sunday and Monday. With the wins Jackson State improves to 32-14 overall record and a 16-5 SWAC record. The Tigers also took over sole possession of first place in the SWAC Eastern Division.

Six weeks ago the Tigers swept the Delta Devils in a three game series at Robert “Bob” Braddy Field in Jackson. In Sunday’s action JSU beat Valley 6-4. Quintavious Drains picked up his 11th win. In nine innings of work he struck out seven batters, while giving up four runs on 10 hits. Willie Wesley led JSU with four hits, a run and an RBI. Lynn Lewis followed with three hits and two runs.

In Monday’s opener the Tigers won 5-3. Courtney Nelson picked up his ninth win of the season. He pitched 7.1 innings of work. He struck out four batters, while giving up three runs and nine hits. Terrance Washington picked up the save. Chad Hall and Malcolm Tate recorded two hits each. JSU beat Mississippi Valley State 10-6 in Monday’s nightcap. Jeremy Gray picked up his fourth win of the season. In 8.2 innings he allowed 12 hits and six runs, while striking out two batters. Malcolm Tate led JSU’s offense with three hits, two runs and two RBI.

The Tigers will host Alabama State May 14-15 in a three game series at Braddy Field. Admission is $5 per game.



Provided by: JSU Media Relations

ESPN to air segment on Savannah State on May 16

Tigers Quarterback A.J. DeFilippis interview will be a part of the ESPN "Outside the Lines" program on SSU Football airing on May 16.

ESPN reporter Jemele Hill told the Savannah Morning News that her story on ESPN's investigative program "Outside the Lines" about Robby Wells and Savannah State University will air May 16 at 9 a.m. Wells, a former SSU football coach, accused administrators of racism and lies in his Feb. 11 resignation letter.

A crew from ESPN, including Hill, visited SSU on March 23-24. They interviewed administrators and coaches about Wells. The ESPN crew made a second visit to SSU on April 9. They attended the Tigers' practice that morning. SSU interim head coach Julius Dixon, quarterback A.J. DeFilippis and defensive back Darren Hunter participated in on-camera interviews.

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PVAMU's Cooper-Dyke Named UNC-Wilmington Head Coach‎

Former Praire A&M University coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke leaves the Lady Panthers in better shape, with a 85-72 record/64-26 in the SWAC over the past five years and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The PVAMU alumna accepted a four year contract at UNCW starting at $110,000 for the first year, with an annual increase of $5,000, thereafter. In 24 years in Division I, UNCW Seahawks have a record of 304-430 with no post season appearances.

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Cynthia Cooper-Dyke has been named the head coach of women’s basketball at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. FOX 26 Sports first reported on Friday that Cooper-Dyke was the leading candidate for the coaching job. Cooper-Dyke, 47, will be formally introduced as the new head coach at a news conference on Monday. She will take over the helm of the Seahawk program following five years of success at Prairie View A&M University.

"I have agreed to a four-year contract and I'm excited," Cooper-Dyke said in an interview Monday with FOX 26 Sports. "Every coach, every player wants to grow and this is part of my growth process. "The Colonial Athletic Conference is a strong conference with schools like Old Dominion, Drexel and James Madison. It is going to be a huge challenge and I think that's what every coach wants." Cooper-Dyke said it is not easy leaving Prairie View A&M. "I'm always sad to leave a program that gave me a chance to be a Division One head coach," Cooper-Dyke said. "I will always love Prairie View and I will always consider them as family."

As a former college great, Olympic gold medalist and Women’s National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, Cooper-Dyke will be enshrined into the James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 13 in Springfield, Mass. “We’re thrilled to welcome Cynthia to the Seahawk family,” said Kelly Mehrtens, UNCW’s athletic director. “She has been ultra-successful at all stages of her life and I’m confident she will elevate our women’s basketball program. She has an intense passion for the game and loves motivating young people to achieve their best, both on and off the court.”
UNCW names Hall of Famer Cooper-Dyke women's hoops coach

Wilmington, N.C. (Michael Jordan's hometown) -- One of the greatest players in the history of women's basketball will soon call the Port City home. UNC Wilmington will introduce Cynthia Cooper-Dyke as its women's basketball coach at a Monday afternoon news conference. Cooper-Dyke replaces Ann Hancock, whose contract was not renewed. Cooper-Dyke will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

A native of Chicago, Cooper-Dyke was a four-year standout at Southern California, where she sparked the Women of Troy to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984. She later completed her Bachelor’s Degree at Prairie View A&M. Cooper-Dyke, 47, collected four medals while representing the United States. She won a gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, captured gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, claimed gold at the 1990 FIBA World Championship in Malaysia, and won bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Cooper-Dyke began her professional career overseas and played 10 seasons in Spain and Italy. She returned to the United States in 1997 to play with the Houston Comets of the newly-formed WNBA.

Cooper-Dyke file

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I can understand Coach Cooper-Dyke making this move...all you need is one visit to the seaside town of Wilmington, N.C. and the campus of North Carolina-Wilmington and you will be packing up the family for a quick move. Never found a college town so peaceful and relaxing on a sunny fall day with beautiful weather nearly year round. I had the opportunity of driving my son over to Wilmington for a soccer tournament last year and enjoyed the entire day in Wilmington and the UNCW campus. Definitely a beach front city you would want to take the family for an inexpensive vacation. The magnet here is the lack of excessive commercial development that you find in most ocean front communities.

However, dang shame the SWAC and MEAC let a Hall of Fame coach get away to a directional school with no history of winning for $117,500 average salary over four years. Cooper-Dyke replaces Ann Hancock, who was fired. Hancock received a salary of $87,167 for the final season of her 10 year career at UNCW. (beepbeep)

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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2010 FINAL RESULTS: Scoring

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Ex-QB Randall among 11 Southern University Hall inductees

As the sun dropped behind the Mississippi River late Saturday afternoon, scores of sharply attired Southern University alumni trickled into the Smith-Brown Memorial Union. Inside, Charlie Granger, chairman of the SU Sports Hall of Fame committee, sat on the edge of the dais, slowly, steadily directing some late traffic — folks who bought tables at the last minute or honorees who brought an extra family member. By the end of the day, Granger said, there were more people than tables, which made this event a success. Somehow, it all worked — and the best was still to come.

Long after the attendees dined, shared stories and listened to live jazz, they shared their loudest applause of the night for Eric Randall — star quarterback of the SU football team from 1992-95, one of the evening’s 11 inductees and now an assistant principal at Baton Rouge High. Hearing cheers long after he led the Jaguars to two Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, Randall made a strong, short speech, thanking nearly everyone in the city. But on the night before Mother’s Day, he gave high praise to three women in particular.

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B-CU finishes year unbeaten in MEAC‎

B-CU Coach Mervyl Melendez's Wildcats clinch #1 Seed for MEAC Tournament and earned 2010 Regular Season MEAC Baseball Title.

For the second time in school history, Bethune-Cookman's baseball team has gone undefeated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. B-CU scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning in a 13-9 win over Delaware State (12-30, 8-10) on Sunday. It's the first-ever 18-0 MEAC regular season; B-CU was 15-0 in 2006. The Wildcats (32-19) will have the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament May 20-23 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach.

Delaware State Falls to MEAC Champs‎

Dover, DE -- Bethune-Cookman scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning in a 13-9 win over Delaware State in MEAC baseball at Soldier Field today. The Wildcats, who clinched the MEAC regular season title on Saturday, completed the conference schedule with an 18-0 record (32-19 overall). Delaware State is 8-10 in the MEAC and 12-30 overall. Delaware State broke an 8-8 tie on a two-out single by Scott Davis in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Bethune-Cookman tied the game at nine on a single by Emmanuel Castro in the top of the ninth inning. The Wildcats pulled ahead 10-9 when Matt Wright followed with a run-scoring in the inning. BCU padded its lead when the next batter, Alejando Sanchez, followed with a three-run homer. The Hornets trailed 6-1 before scoring seven runs in the third inning to take the lead. Mike Rizzuto doubled in the first two runs of the inning. Also in the inning, Matt Aleman had a run-scoring single and Abe Eubank was credited with a RBI on a bases loaded walk. Brandon Crist capped off the inning with a three-run homer to give DSU an 8-6 lead.

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Texas-Pan American Leads Defending Champions Tennessee State by Three after 36 Holes

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- After witnessing a tragic flood that just missed engulfing its Nashville campus and having the team charter bus break down, the prospect of fighting the South Florida sun and a three-stroke deficit is a mere bump in the road for Tennessee State University's men's golf team. It's all in a week's work for the Tigers, who rode senior Chris Seibel's career-best 6-under-par 66 Saturday at PGA Golf Club's Wanamaker Course to make it a race with pace-setter Texas Pan-American for the Division I men's title in the 24th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship.

"We made up two strokes today, and Chris gave us a great lift," said Tigers Coach Chip Taylor, a PGA Professional, recalling how his 2009 team erasing a 10-stroke deficit in the final round. "What we're looking for is a good performance from all five tomorrow." Texas Pan-American, bidding to capture its third overall national title and first since 2007, demonstrated the depth it needed from the balance of its line-up to post a 581 total through 36 holes. Tennessee State is next at 584, followed by Jackson State University at 596, and Bethune-Cookman University at 600.

Peni Sanjoto of Prairie View A&M University sent a shot flying on Friday. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America)

"We've had two decent rounds, and despite us letting about seven or eight strokes go on the last six holes, I'd rather us be leading by three than trailing by three," said Texas Pan-American Coach Santiago De Larrea. "I'm happy that Tennessee State is there with us. They're very good fighters. It's going to be very interesting tomorrow. We have always wanted to get this title back, and I feel my kids are pretty confident and know what it will take to win."

The Championship, making its 13th consecutive appearance at PGA Golf Club, features a field of 185 student-athletes representing 41 colleges and universities and golfers from 15 countries.

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