‘A coach at heart,’ Saint Augustine’s Williams quietly became a coaching icon

COACH GEORGE WILLIAMS
SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY

RALEIGH, North Carolina  -- Thirty-two NCAA Division II team championships, more than 150 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles and 200-plus coach of the year awards. But who’s counting? Certainly not George Williams.

Williams, the legendary Saint Augustine’s track and field coach, has built a dynasty at the small, historically black college in Raleigh, N.C., during his 37-year tenure at the helm of the program. 

It was something he certainly never dreamed of when he took over the program as a favor until the school found a permanent replacement for the outgoing track coach in 1976. At the time, he was working as an administrator in the school’s alumni office. 

A 1965 graduate of St. Augustine’s, Williams played basketball for the college and ran track as a way to keep in shape. But he knew nothing about coaching track and field athletes. 

“The first year, I think my team scored four points in the conference championship,” Williams said. “I had always been a part of a winning program in everything I had done and I decided to go talk to Dr. Leroy Walker, who was the track coach at North Carolina Central — a very successful track coach. I asked him about setting up programs and how he did things. He explained to me about biomechanics and techniques and gave me a book about biomechanics. I began to read that and tried his practice schedule.”

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Nuggets find focus, become XU's 1st to reach NAIA semifinals

MOBILE, Ala. — Alan Green, the women's tennis coach at Xavier University of Louisiana, described it succinctly. "We got on each other," he said of a team meeting during the customary 10-minute break between the doubles and singles matches in Wednesday's quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship.

    

The spirited discussion — Green addressed his players, then the players talked among themselves — was beneficial for the Gold Nuggets. After dropping 2-of-3 doubles matches, top-seeded and top-ranked Xavier rallied in singles and defeated ninth-ranked Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 5-3.

    
This is the first time a Xavier team in any sport has reached the NAIA's national semifinals. The Gold Nuggets will play fifth-seeded William Carey at 1 p.m. Friday, and for the second straight day it will be a rematch of a regular-season dual. Xavier won 5-1 at Carey on April 5 when the Lady Crusaders were ranked second and the Nuggets were sixth. That victory was one of several which helped propel Xavier to the school's first-ever No. 1 ranking on April 16.
    
One month later, the Gold Nuggets still are No. 1. Remaining there, however, is another issue.
    
"When you're on top, you've got a target on your back every time," Green said. "We have to understand that. Both times we played this week, the other team came out with a lot of energy — a lot more than we had. We have to be able to come out from the start and match our opponent's energy. I hope we learned something here today and will come out tomorrow with the same sense of urgency we had during singles."
    

Xavier's only doubles victory came at the third flight when Amanda Materre and Olivia West defeated Ana Gonzalez and Meena Bennett 8-3. The Nuggets' Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers, No. 1 in the most recent ITA NAIA doubles rankings, lost 8-5 to Hui-l Huang and Kristina Marova after winning by that same score in their March 28 meeting. Howell and Flowers entered with a 10-match win streak.

    

"Embry-Riddle outworked us at the start," Green said. "They wanted it more than we did."

    

But after 10 minutes of talk, the Nuggets were able to flip on the energy switch and keep it on. "In singles," Green said, "we came out and took charge on five of the six courts."
    
XU freshman Simone-Alyse Ewell tied the dual at 2 with her 6-1, 6-3 victory against Giovanna Tomiotto at No. 4. Materre, the only Nugget to win in doubles and singles Wednesday, gave her team a 3-2 lead when she defeated Paolo Montero 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3. It was Materre's eighth consecutive singles triumph. Marova defeated Flowers 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 to tie the dual for the third time, but Amber Brown at No. 5 put the Nuggets ahead to stay with 6-2, 6-3 decision over Gonzalez.
    

Howell then clinched for the Nuggets for the second straight day and a team-leading eighth time this season when she beat Huang 7-5, 6-1 in a matchup of top-10 NAIA players. Howell needed two tiebreakers to beat Huang in the regular season and conclude a 7-2 XU victory.

    

Xavier's comeback in singles defied a seven-season trend. Before Wednesday, the Nuggets were 0-55 in dual matches since the start of 2007 when they lost at the top two doubles flights. It happened six times previously this season, but all against NCAA Division I opponents.

   

 In six previous appearances at nationals, all under Green, the Nuggets never got past the second round.

    

"This is a great accomplishment to be in the semifinals," Green said. "I never thought as a coach that I would reach the heights that no other XU coach had ever reached. I am honored and humbled to be able to accomplish this for our great university. It's amazing."

    

But there's more work to do Friday, and Green's analysis was equally succinct. "If we're No. 1, we have to play accordingly," he said.

    

The Nuggets extended their school-record win streak, which they set Wednesday, to 11. They're also 12-0 this season against ranked NAIA opponents. Embry-Riddle, the NAIA runner-up a year ago, finished 12-11.

Results

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS

Vanguard singles out Gold Rush in NAIA quarterfinals

MOBILE, Ala. — At least two singles victories are required to win an NAIA tennis dual match. Xavier University of Louisiana's men didn't win any Thursday, and that helped Vanguard earn a 5-2 victory against the Gold Rush in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship.
    
It was the first time this season that the Gold Rush (15-8) failed to win at least once in singles.
    
Xavier's only points came in doubles, where Loic Didavi and Kyle Montrel defeated Stefan Kilchhofer and Roger Muri 8-5 at the No. 1 flight, and Nikita Soifer and Viktor Svoboda beat Lukas Larsson and Robin Wagner 8-5 at No. 2. A year ago, when Vanguard beat Xavier 6-3 during the regular season, the Lions won all three doubles matches.
    
Xavier, seeded sixth, was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Vanguard (24-0), seeded third, will play second-seeded Auburn Montgomery in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Friday.
    
Muri clinched for the Lions at No. 2 singles when he defeated Soifer 6-2, 6-4. Muri is 22-0 in singles this season. But not every Vanguard winning streak remained intact. Didavi and Montrel became the first doubles team this season to defeat Kilchhofer and Muri, who entered 8-0.
    
It was more of the same for Soifer and Svoboda, who finished the season with a seven-match win streak and 15 wins in their last 16 doubles matches.
    
But Vanguard, like every other Xavier opponent this season, received two effortless points because of the Gold Rush's five-player roster — resulting in defaults at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles — and took the lead for good when Yahor Kryvaruchka defeated Svoboda 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4. Svoboda lost for just the second time in his final 15 singles matches of the season.
    
Daymon Johnson gave Vanguard a 4-2 lead when he beat Benjamin Brading 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5. Muri then clinched, leaving Didavi and Montrel on the court in matches which appeared headed for third sets.
  
 "It was a pretty good match, although we lost," said XU coach Alan Green, whose Gold Rush were appearing at nationals for the fifth consecutive year. "I think we gained a lot of respect from every team that watched us play. We got congratulated by a lot of people, including Vanguard's coach, about how amazing our team was to be at nationals with five players and playing at such a high level.
  
 "We gave Vanguard a scare. But all the credit should go to Vanguard. They hung tough and did what they had to do. Some of their players were starting to cramp up during singles because of the heat, but they were able to finish. Their 1-2 singles players, Kilchhofer and Muri, are legit."
  
Playing his final dual for the Rush was Didavi, the team's only senior. He was 41-12 in singles and 45-13 in doubles in two seasons at Xavier after transferring from Auburn Montgomery. On Monday he was announced as the ITA NAIA National Senior Player of the Year.
    
"Our guys leave here with heads held high," Green said. "We battled all season, even though we were short a player. We never backed down from anybody."
    
Not only is this the first XU program to reach the NAIA quarterfinals in consecutive years, but the Gold Rush also finished at least seven victories above .500 for the second consecutive year, another program first. That's impressive when you consider the schedule during that time: 27 duals against ranked NAIA opponents, 12 against NCAA Division I teams. Eighty percent of the Rush's schedule came against those opponents.

Results

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS

Stillman Tigers fall to Tampa in NCAA South Region

TAMPA, Florida  – Tampa downed Stillman 5-4 in the opening game of the 2013 NCAA Division II South Region Tournament at Spartan Field in Tampa.

The Spartans got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when B.J. Zimmerman grounded out to the second baseman to score Sean O'Brien from third.  In the bottom of the second, Jacob Tillotson singled to center to score Zach Alvord.

Stillman broke into the scoring column in the top of the third inning.  With one out, Kameron McCreless singled through the right side to score Chris Brown, who was hit by pitch.  The next batter, Nick Baldeli-Boggs singled to center field to score Kyle Smith, who reached on a single.  With runners on second and third, the Tigers tried the squeeze play with two outs, but a close play a first ended the threat.

Smith approached the plate to open the top of the fifth inning and hit a towering shot to right field.  But the Florida winds kept the ball inside the part as the Tampa right fielder made the catch on the warning track, silencing the temporary cheers of the Stillman faithful in attendance.

In the bottom of the fifth, Zimmerman hit a shot to right center field scoring Connor Obrochta and Tillotson and giving Tampa a 4-2 lead after five innings of play.

In the top of the sixth inning, T.J. Rock singled to open the inning before being replaced by Cameron Stallings.  Stallings advanced to second on a Jordan Creel sacrifice bunt before stealing third.  DH Ken Perkey then singled to right to score Stallings.  Tanaka then singled to right advancing Perkey to third, giving the Tigers runners on the corners with one out.  However, a double play in the middle infield would end the scoring threat.

Tyler Colvert replaced Tyler Vails on the mound for Stillman in the bottom of the second and quickly struck out the side.  Dustin Dunn opened the top of the seventh with a single up the middle.  Two batters later, McCreless would double down the left field line to score Dunn and tie the game at 4-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, Stillman picked up two quick outs before allowing a walk.  After a stolen base, a throwing error scored Gawrych to give Tampa a 5-4 lead.  In the bottom of the inning, after two outs, Kyle Smith drew a walk against SSC Pitcher of the Year Mike Adams.  Adams was dominant in relief sitting down six Tiger pitchers on seven pitches entering the inning.  With a runner on first, a Tampa fielding error put Tigers on first and second with two outs.  However, a groundout to the second baseman ended the threat and the game.

In the contest, Seth Booth finished the game going 3-for-5 while McCreless and Ken Perkey each had two hits. On the mound, SIAC Relief Pitcher of the Year Tyler Vails got the start, working five innings allowing four runs and two walks while striking out one. Tyler Colvert (2-3) worked three innings, surrendering one hit, one run (unearned) and a walk while striking out four.

Stillman (30-15) returns to action to take on the loser of the Delta State / Valdosta State o
n Friday, May 17 at 11 am.

Box Score

PHOTO GALLERY

COURTESY STILLMAN COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

Alabama A&M Athletics -- Hires former Lady Vol Semeka Randall

HEAD COACH SEMEKA RANDALL
 WOMEN'S BASKEBALL
AAMU LADY BULLDOGS
(Photo Courtesy: AAMU Athletics)

Tennessee All-American, National Champion, and WNBA Veteran begins new era in the "Rocket City"

NORMAL, Alabama --Director of Athletics, Bryan Hicks, announced the hiring today of Semeka Randall as the new Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Alabama A&M University. She is slated to begin her new duties effective immediately.

Ms. Randall is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2000 with a degree in Speech Communication.  While at UTK, Randall was a stand-out defensive player for the powerhouse Lady Vol women’s basketball program from 1998-2001.  She was a key member on the 1998 NCAA Championship team that went 39-0.  In addition, Randall received Kodak and AP All American honors in 1999 and 2000.

After her college career, she played professionally with the Seattle Storm, Utah Starzz, and the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA, in addition to playing internationally during the WNBA off season.

Randall began her coaching career in 2002 as an assistant with Cleveland State University.  By 2004, she was an assistant coach at Michigan State University, and helped the Spartans to the 2004 NCAA Championship game.  She also served as an assistant at West Virginia University from 2007-2008.  Most recently, Randall was the Head Coach at Ohio University.

“I am very happy Semeka Randall is a Bulldog!” said Hicks.  “We expect her to set the tone for our women’s basketball program and take us to the next level.  President Hugine, Dr. Rolle, and the Board of Trustees have been very supportive in our pursuit of excellence in athletics.  This hire is further proof of that support.”

COURTESY ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
A&M Names Women's Basketball Coach
Photo Gallery: Press Conference Semeka Randall

Valley opens 2013 season against Florida A&M

GREENWOOD, Miss. - Mississippi Valley State Athletics Director Ashley Robinson says Delta Devils' football season-opener against Florida A&M will give the school national television exposure.

"This is our chance to show the world what Valley is about, and we don't plan on disappointing," Robinson told a Greenwood civic club this week.

Valley will play Florida A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 1. Robinson says it will be telecast on ESPN.

"Just to put in perspective about how big a game this is," Robinson said, "that day when you get home from church and sit down to relax there'll be only one college football game on TV. It won't be LSU. It won't be Alabama or USC. Nope, not Ole Miss or Mississippi State either. It'll be that quiet up-and-coming school down the road - Mississippi Valley State."

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Virginia State University President: There is no place for hazing

ETTRICK, Virginia  --  Enough is enough when it comes to hazing. That’s the message from Virginia State University President Keith T. Miller.

“Outdated rituals performed in the name of brotherly love have no place in building a better world,” Dr. Miller told solemn students, faculty and staff mourning two popular freshmen, Marvell Edmondson and Jauwan Holmes, both 19. They drowned April 20 trying to cross the Appomattox River as part of a hazing ritual to join an off-campus club called Men of Honor, which the university has described as unsanctioned and unapproved.

“As a community, as an institution, we will not tolerate” such rituals, Dr. Miller said during the school’s memorial service for the two students last Friday at Daniel Gymnasium, six days after their deaths stunned the campus.

“We must learn the lessons of Jauwan and Marvell to ensure that these young men’s deaths were not in vain,” Dr. Miller said in seeking to give meaning to the deaths of the youths, now among the long list of American college students who have died or suffered injuries from harsh hazing while seeking to join a fraternity, sorority or other group.


This is an example of a storm-whipped Appomattox River that claimed the
the lives of two promising VSU Freshmen students.

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XU Gold Rush reach NAIA quarterfinals for 2nd straight year

MOBILE, Alabama  —  Loic Didavi, Nikita Soifer and Viktor Svoboda won in doubles and singles Wednesday to lead sixth-ranked Xavier University of Louisiana to a 5-3 men's tennis victory against No. 11 Belhaven in the second round of the NAIA National Championship.

    

The victory was the fourth in a row for the Gold Rush (15-7), which matched a season high. The XU men have won 12 of their last 15 duals, with all but one of the victories occurring on the road during that period.

    

Xavier had a first-round bye and was competing for the first time since April 21.

    

It's the second consecutive year that the Gold Rush reached the quarterfinals. Xavier will play unbeaten, third-seeded and third-ranked Vanguard, a 5-1 winner against Warner, at 9 a.m. Thursday. Prior to 2012, just one team in XU history — coach Bob Hopkins' 1972-73 men's basketball team — had reached the NAIA quarterfinals.

    
Soifer and Svoboda, winning for the 14th time in their last 15 doubles matches, defeated Jefferson Nino and David Mejia 8-6 at the second flight to tie the dual at 1. Didavi and Kyle Montrel gave Xavier a 2-1 advantage with an 8-2 victory against Nikita Lisov and Andres Yepez at No. 1. Both XU doubles teams have six-match win streaks.
  
Didavi, announced Monday evening as the ITA NAIA National Senior Player of the Year, gave the Gold Rush a 3-2 lead when he defeated Lisov 6-1, 6-2 at the top singles flight. Enrico Patriarca defeated Xavier's Benjamin Brading 6-1, 6-3 at No. 5 to tie the dual at 3, but the Rush took the lead for good when Svoboda defeated Mejia 6-4, 7-5 at No. 4. Soifer, playing the second flight, ended the dual and recorded his team-leading fifth clinching victory this season with a 6-3, 6-3 decision against Nino.
    
"This was a good win for us," XU coach Alan Green said. "We hung tough against a good opponent. We played really well in doubles and brought some momentum into the singles matches, then we got off to a good start in singles. We had some tough first sets, but I thought we were better prepared for the heat and were able to wear Belhaven down a bit."

    

Soifer's singles victory was his first of the season against a ranked opponent. Nino was 32nd and Soifer 17th in the most recent ITA NAIA individual rankings. Svoboda got revenge against Mejia — who beat him in a third-set super-tiebreaker during Xavier's 5-4 home victory Feb. 28 — and won for the 13th time in his last 14 singles matches.

    

The victory was the Gold Rush's sixth of the season against a ranked NAIA opponent.

    

Vanguard is 23-0, and the Lions' top two singles players, Stefan Kilchhofer and Roger Muri, are a combined 44-0 this semester. Xavier played at Vanguard each of the past two seasons, winning 6-3 in 2011 and losing 6-3 in 2012.

    

"It will be a very interesting matchup against an unbeaten team and a top-3 seed," Green said. "We are looking forward to the challenge and to see how we match up."

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUSIANA

FAMU football coach Earl Holmes eager to restore pride in Rattlers

FAMU HEAD COACH EARL HOLMES
(Courtesy: FAMJ Athletics)

Holmes, who is in his first season leading his alma mater, says he is eager to get back to rich winning tradition

ORLANDO, Florida  --  New Florida A&M coach Earl Holmes refused to let his players step on a football field without going through a history lesson.

During meetings that spanned three days, he taught the current class of Rattlers about the program’s rich tradition.

He talked about College Football Hall of Fame FAMU coach Jake Gaither, who posted a 204-36-4 during his tenure leading the Rattlers.

He talked about College Football Hall of Fame FAMU running back Willie Galimore, a star also known as “The Wisp” because of his remarkable speed and sharp lateral moves.

And he talked about former FAMU offensive lineman Henry Lawrence, who was a first round NFL Draft pick.

“Some eyebrows lit up, eyes got big and some palms got sweaty,” Holmes recalled. “I told them, at one point, we were the best school in the country. . . . Now they know they're not just playing to win some games. They're playing to restore the tradition of FAMU football.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Chalk Talk: Jacksonville   
PHOTO GALLERY: Chalk Talk: Orlando

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Scott Signs With NCAA D-II Claflin University

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  Sophomore forward Karahn Scott has signed her letter of intent and will be moving on to Claflin University after spending two successful years with the Express.

Scott chose Claflin, an NCAA D-II school, over NCAA D-I schools such as Valparaiso University and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

While leading the Express to the NJCAA D-II National Tournament for the first time since 2003-04, Scott averaged 12.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and two steals per game as a sophomore. Following the season, she was named Second Team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC). Additionally, she was named to the Region XII District I All-Tournament team.



During her sophomore campaign, Scott tied and broke the program's single game rebounding record. On Dec. 22, she pulled down 21 points, along with adding 21 points, against Mid-Michigan Community College to tie the record. Later, on Jan. 30, she pulled down 22 rebounds, along with 19 points, against Edison Community College to break the record.

In her two-year career, she averaged 10.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and one assist per game. Additionally, she totaled 584 points, 533 rebounds and 88 steals in two years.

During her freshman year, Scott was named the team's Most Improved Player after averaging 7.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. In the team's final game of the season, Scott had 18 points and 19 rebounds.

Scott is a graduate of Scott High School in Toledo, OH, where she averaged 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a senior.

As a sophomore, Scott led the Express to an OCCAC title, a Region XII District I championship and a seventh place finish as the NJCAA D-II National Tournament. Additionally, the team won 28 games, just one off the single year mark for most wins in program history.

Claflin University finished 6-21 last season and advanced to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament Quarterfinals.


By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Owens Community College
Perrysburg, Ohio

Monarch, McChester selected to lead Claflin basketball programs

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  Claflin University has tapped a veteran coach with vast experience in molding championship-caliber teams and a young, energetic motivator, recruiter and teacher to lead its men’s and women’s basketball programs, respectively.

Athletics Director Dr. Jerome Fitch announced Wednesday that Scott Monarch was named the head men’s basketball Coach and Deont’a McChester will lead the women’s program. Monarch is coming to Claflin from the University of Northern Colorado where he was an assistant coach last year. He was also an assistant coach at Marquette University where he helped lead the Golden Eagles to four NCAA appearances from 2008 to 2012. McChester was the lead assistant for the Lady Panthers last year and was interim head coach.

“We are very pleased and excited that Scott and Deont’a will lead our basketball programs,” Fitch said. “Scott brings an outstanding track record of coaching and recruiting. Deont’a’s style of coaching has resonated with our players and his determination and attention to detail will enhance our women’s program. We believe these characteristics will translate into consistent winning and competitive programs at Claflin.”

From 2000 to 2006, Monarch was the head coach at Panola College of Carthage, Texas, where he became the winningest coach in school history. In 2003, he was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 14 Coach of the Year and his team captured the Eastern Conference title.


Dr. Fitch, Dr. Tisdale, Coach Monarch, Coach McChester
(Courtesy Claflin University Athletics)

Monarch also held assistant positions at Tennessee State University, Grambling University and Kentucky Wesleyan College. After graduating from Mississippi Valley State University in 1990, he landed his first coaching position as an assistant at McClennan Community College of Waco, Texas. In 2008, he was an assistant at Tyler Junior College, where the team compiled a 25-4 record and captured the Texas Eastern Conference title. While at Marquette, Monarch is credited with recruiting Jimmy Butler, a first round draft choice of the Chicago Bulls, and Jae Crowder, the 2012 Big East Player of the Year.

Monarch said the fundamental goal of his coaching is to enhance and promote learning. He said the primary lesson he has learned in his 22 years of coaching is that students learn differently, and a coach should create an environment where different learning styles can thrive. In addition to displaying knowledge and expertise for his sport, a coach must display a passion for learning, he said.

“A passion for learning is the greatest characteristic of my coaching that I want to impart on my students,” Monarch said. “I want the student-athlete to understand that learning is a process that never ends, and that this passion doesn’t start and end with the sport they are participating in while I am coaching them. I want to learn more about my students as people, athletes and learners so that I can provide each with the atmosphere and motivation they need to reach their professional and personal goals.”

Coach McChester’s goals are specific and deliberate: to be a relentless recruiter and bring the best and brightest student-athletes to Claflin; instill his determination, self-motivation and high energy to his players; and bring the women’s program back to national prominence.

A Flint, Mich. native, McChester says he is a coach who focuses on developing fundamental skills.

“The execution of the fundamentals and being in the best possible condition gives us our greatest chance to be successful here at Claflin University,” he said.  “Claflin University’s women’s program has a history of being one of the elite programs in the nation.  I feel privileged to be a part of the staff to help bring this program back to the top in women's basketball on the national level,” he said.

Before his tenure at Claflin, the Keuka College of Keuka Park, N.Y. graduate held the position of women's head coach of the Flint Lady Monarchs, a women's professional team in Flint, Mich. From 2010-2012, McChester led the Lady Monarchs to back-to-back elite eight appearances in the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League (WBCBL) national tournament.  The team also won consecutive northeast regional championships. For his efforts, McChester was named Coach of the Year for 2011 and 2012.

“We welcome Coach Monarch and Coach McChester to the Claflin University family,” said President Henry N. Tisdale. “Our student athletes are poised for success on and off the court under this new leadership.” 

COURTESY CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

WSSU well-rested and ready heading into D-II playoffs

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  No. 23 Winston-Salem State worked hard all season to reach the Atlantic Region baseball tournament and today will start its bid to move on to the Division II College World Series.

Second-seeded WSSU (38-11) will take on fifth-seeded East Stroudsburg (33-16) in a first-round game at 2:30 at Wake Forest Ballpark. The six-team double-elimination tournament will start at 11 a.m. with Seton Hill playing Shippensburg, and top-seeded Millersville will play Concord in today’s final game at 6 p.m.

 

Thursday

 

NCAA Atlantic Region Schedule

 

(Double elimination, at Wake Forest Baseball Park)

 

Game 1: No. 1 Millersville (38-16) vs. No. 6 Concord (36-18), 11 a.m.

Game 2: No. 2 Winston-Salem State (38-11) vs. No. 5 East Stroudburg (33-16), 2:30

Game 3: No. 3 Seton Hill (39-15) vs. No. 4 Shippensburg (28-20), 6 p.m.

CONTINUE READING

Nuggets set pair of records in NAIA victory vs. Wildcats

MOBILE, Ala. — The Xavier University of Louisiana women's tennis team quickly reversed the momentum Wednesday and cruised into the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship for the first time in the program's history.
    
The Gold Nuggets, the tournament's No. 1 seed and ranked first in the most recent coaches poll, lost the first game in each of their three doubles matches against 17th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan, then stormed back for a 5-0 second-round victory.
    
Xavier (18-7) set a program record with its 10th consecutive victory. The previous record was nine, set in 2004 and tied the following season. The Nuggets also became the first XU women's team in any sport to reach the NAIA quarterfinals. The women's tennis program was 0-5 in second-round matches before Wednesday.
    
The Nuggets will play ninth-ranked Embry-Riddle (Fla.), a 5-2 winner against eighth-seeded Westmont, at 1 p.m. Thursday. For the first time in XU tennis history, both teams have reached the quarterfinals. The XU men, who defeated Belhaven 5-3 earlier in the day, will play Vanguard at 9 a.m. Thursday. No Xavier team in any sport has reached the NAIA semifinals.
    
"It was a great start for us to win all three doubles matches," said coach Alan Green, whose Nuggets are 11-0 this season against ranked NAIA opponents. "We probably had some early jitters, and Indiana Wesleyan had the advantage by playing the day before when we had a bye. But we got past that in a hurry."
    
Xavier's Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers, No. 1 in the ITA NAIA doubles rankings, gave the Nuggets a 1-0 lead in the dual when they defeated Andrea Meyering and Lauren Wilson 8-1. At the third flight, Amanda Materre and Olivia West made it 2-0 with an 8-3 decision over Rachael Heiniger and Kristen Futrell. Then Simone-Alyse Ewell and Amber Brown completed the doubles sweep with an 8-4 victory against Katie Wilson and Kim Mella.
    
It was the third time in 12 duals at nationals — the first time since the 2009 opening round against McKendree — that the Nuggets won all three doubles matches.
    
Howell and Materre, the Nuggets' winningest singles players, finished the rout. Materre defeated Meyering 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3, and Howell beat Heiniger 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 for her team-leading seventh clinching victory of the season. Of the four uncompleted matches, Flowers led at No. 2, and Ewell led at No. 4.
    
"Kourtney and Amanda got on and off the court pretty quick, and it was over," Green said.
    
Materre has a seven-match singles win streak, and Howell has won 11 of her last 14 decisions. In doubles, Howell and Flowers have won 10 in a row, and Ewell and Brown have won three straight since losing 5-of-6.
    
Indiana Wesleyan, which started the season 18-0 and was making its 14th consecutive appearance at nationals, finished 24-4.
    
The Xavier - Embry-Riddle quarterfinal will be a rematch of a March 28 dual which the Nuggets won 7-2 at Embry-Riddle. All five XU singles victories that day were in straight sets.
    
Green's initial assessment of the quarterfinal pairing? "I don't think it will be easy," he said.

 

Results

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

'Back that can do everything’: S.C. State picks up Kentucky transfer

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  After rushing for 1,500 yards as a junior at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, running back Justin Taylor attracted the interest of future national champion Alabama.

Defensive line coach and former Calhoun County head football coach Chris Rumph actively recruited the 5-10, 217-pounder for the Crimson Tide and he initially committed to the school. However, a season-ending right knee injury in the second game of Taylor’s senior year curtailed those plans and he ended up signing with Kentucky.



Looking to move closer to home after redshirting this past season for the Wildcats, Taylor is heading for South Carolina State. In a telephone interview Wednesday, Taylor confirmed news released two days ago by Tiger Illustrated of his plans to play for the Bulldogs next season.

“They talked about being a family,” he said. “They talked about building the program about me and that’s what I’m looking for. Just basically, I was looking for someone who really wanted me at their school.”

Taylor requested and received his release from Kentucky, where he was ...

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NCAA Division II Baseball Regionals

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The championship provides for eight regional sites hosting six teams. All regionals are double-elimination tournaments and will be played May 16-19. Regional champions will advance to the double-elimination championship finals May 25-June 1 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The finals will be hosted by Mount Olive and the town of Cary, N.C.

Final Site Brackets: Interactive Printable
Regional Brackets: Atlantic | Central | East | Midwest | South | South Central | Southeast | West
If five teams remain bracket
Championship Program

ATLANTIC REGION
 

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Winston-Salem State | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Wake Forest Baseball Park Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16	No. 1 Millersville (38-16) vs. No. 6 Concord (36-18)
2	May 16	No. 2 Winston-Salem (38-11) vs. No. 5 East Stroudsburg (33-16)
3	May 16	No. 3 Seton Hill (39-15) vs. No. 4 Shippensburg (28-20)
4	May 17	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

CENTRAL REGION

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Minnesota State-Mankato | Mankato, Minn. | Franklin Rogers Park Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16, 8 p.m.	No. 1 Minn. St.-Mankato (35-8) vs. No. 6 Missouri Southern (34-20)
2	May 16, 4:30 p.m.	No. 2 Central Missouri (35-11) vs. No. 5 St. Cloud State (34-9)
3	May 16, 1 p.m.	No. 3 Southern Arkansas (40-15) vs. No. 4 Missouri Western (40-10)
4	May 17	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

EAST REGION
 

GAME	DATE/TIME	MATCHUP
Host: Southern New Hampshire | Manchester, N.H. | Penmen Field Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16, 11 a.m.	No. 1 Wilmington (Del.) (39-13) vs. No. 6 Franklin Pierce (32-16)
2	May 16, 3 p.m.	No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (39-12) vs. No. 5 Pace (32-15)
3	May 16, 7 p.m.	No. 3 New Haven (33-14) vs. No. 4 Southern N.H. (33-17)
4	May 17, 11 a.m.	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17, 3 p.m.	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17, 7 p.m.	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

MIDWEST REGION
 

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Drury | Springfield, Mo. | Meador Park Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16	No. 1 Ashland (36-17) vs. No. 6 Bellarmine (29-21)
2	May 16	No. 2 Drury (40-14) vs. No. 5 Lewis (31-16)
3	May 16	No. 3 Grand Valley State (31-16) vs. No. 4 Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) (30-18)
4	May 17	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

SOUTH REGION

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Tampa | Tampa, Fla. | UT Baseball Field Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16, 11 a.m.	No. 1 Tampa (39-10) vs. No. 6 Stillman (30-14)
2	May 16, 3 p.m.	No. 2 Delta State (42-9-1) vs. No. 5 Valdosta State (33-16)
3	May 16, 7 p.m.	No. 3 Florida Tech (32-17) vs. No. 4 West Florida (35-12)
4	May 17, 11 a.m.	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17, 3 p.m.	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17, 7 p.m.	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Texas A&M-Kingsville | Kingsville, Texas | Nolan Ryan Field Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16	No. 1 Texas A&M-Kingsville (39-16) vs. No. 6 CSU-Pueblo (32-20)
2	May 16	No. 2 Colorado Mesa (44-8) vs. No. 5 St. Mary’s (Texas) (37-15)
3	May 16	No. 3 St. Edward’s (38-15) vs. No. 4 Angelo State (36-19)
4	May 17	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

SOUTHEAST REGION

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Mount Olive | Mount Olive, N.C. | Scarborough Field Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16, 7 p.m.	No. 1 Mount Olive (46-6) vs. No. 6 Lincoln Memorial (26-24)
2	May 16, 3 p.m.	No. 2 S.C. Aiken (41-11) vs. No. 5 Georgia College (33-17)
3	May 16, 11 a.m.	No. 3 Armstrong (31-15) vs. No. 4 Coker (34-14)
4	May 17, 11 a.m.	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17, 3 p.m.	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17, 7 p.m.	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

WEST REGION

GAME	DATE/TIME (ET)	MATCHUP
Host: Dixie State | St. George, Utah | Bruce Hurst Field Watch/Live Stats
1	May 16, 9 p.m.	No. 3 Dixie State (32-15) vs. No. 4 Grand Canyon (34-16)
2	May 16, 5 p.m.	No. 2 Sonoma State (34-20) vs. No. 5 Cal State L.A. (35-20)
3	May 16, 1 p.m.	No. 1 Cal St. Monterey Bay (38-15) vs. No. 6 Chico State (34-16)
4	May 17, 1 p.m.	Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
5	May 17, 5 p.m.	Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser
6	May 17, 9 p.m.	Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
		**Schedule TBD after Game 6**

 

COURTESY NCAA.COM

Four Alcorn State players return home for SWAC baseball tournament

FORT WORTH, Texas  --  Home-field advantage just might be in favor of Alcorn State this week at the SWAC baseball tournament.

The campus is roughly 430 miles away from Fort Worth’s LaGrave Field, the host stadium of the 2013 SWAC Tournament, in Lorman, Miss., but many fans will only have an hour or less drive.

Four players on the Alcorn roster will return to their Metroplex home for the tournament, including Euless Trinity alumnus and pitcher Ryan Fuentes.

However, their return trip had not been circled on their calendars long.

Halfway through the 2013 season, Fuentes said he and teammates Josh Powell of Rowlett, Ryan Akins of Flower Mound and DeAngelo Morgan of Cedar Hill stumbled upon the news while checking the SWAC website.

“Originally, the tournament was supposed to be in Baton Rouge at Southern University and then we found out halfway through the season that it got moved to LaGrave and we were really excited,” Fuentes said.

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Southern to rely on experienced starting pitchers in SWAC tourney

FORT WORTH, Texas  --  Over the course of their Southern careers, senior left-hander Jesse “Doc” Holiday, junior right-hander Jose De Leon and senior right-hander Danny Garcia have combined to start 97 games.

They have 54 career wins among them.

So it’s no surprise coach Roger Cador will look to those three to carry the pitching load for the Jaguars as Southern (20-21) goes for its first Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship since 2009 — and, with it, an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament — beginning Wednesday at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth, Texas.

“You’ve got to go out and throw your best,” Garcia said. “It’s the postseason. You want to go out there and shove it. You want to be lights out. You want to give your team a chance to win.”

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Wilson/ITA NAIA national awards for XU's Green, Didavi

MOBILE, Ala. — Alan Green and Loic Didavi collected multiple Wilson/ITA NAIA awards for Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis programs Monday night at a banquet honoring all the teams which qualified for this week's NAIA National Championship.
    
Green, in his 10th year as coach of the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush, was chosen Women's National Coach of the Year. He also won the Region IV Coach of the Year awards for men and women. Didavi was selected the National and Region IV Men's Senior Player of the Year.
    

Loic

Alan Green

Green's women are 17-7 and ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, and his men are 14-7 and ranked No. 6. Both teams have byes in Tuesday's opening round of the national championship and will play second-round duals Wednesday — the Rush at 9 a.m. against Belhaven or Spring Arbor and the Nuggets at 1 p.m. against Coastal Carolina or Indiana Wesleyan. All duals will be played at Copeland-Cox Tennis Center.
    
Both XU teams earned automatic bids to nationals by winning unaffiliated group tournaments in April.
    
"I can't believe I've won this (national) award," Green said, "especially from where we were a year ago."
    
The XU women were 11-40 the previous two seasons, 7-22 in 2012. This season the Gold Nuggets became the first team in any XU sport to earn a No. 1 ranking from the NAIA.
    
"This award is for our women who put in the work and made all this possible," Green said.

 Didavi, a senior from Cotonou, Benin, and a graduate of Lycée Jean Dautet, La Rochelle, is ranked fourth among NAIA singles players and 15th in doubles with Kyle Montrel. Didavi is 15-6 in singles and 16-5 in doubles this season, including three singles victories and five doubles victories against NCAA Division I teams. This is Didavi's second season at Xavier after transferring from perennial NAIA power Auburn Montgomery.

"Loic has been a program changer for our men's tennis team since the moment he stepped on campus," Green said. "He has been our leader on and off the court. In addition to his accomplishments as a player, he has been our hardest worker in practice."
    
The banquet site was the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel.

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

ASU QB competition may last into late August

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  --  The battle for the starting quarterback position at Alabama State wasn’t settled in 14 spring practices or the annual Black and Gold Game, head coach Reggie Barlow said. In fact, it probably won’t be decided until days before the Hornets’ season opener with Jacksonville State on Aug. 31.

Daniel Duhart, the backup last season, entered the spring as the No. 1 quarterback, but was pushed by Southern Mississippi transfer Arsenio Favor. Then there’s the question of Arkansas State transfer Sam Gibson, still rusty from two years as a safety at LSU but seemingly the most athletic of the three in practice sessions.



“I really think there’s a place for all three of these guys to play at some point in this season,” Barlow said. “They all bring different things. Duhart was the leading guy because he was returning and knew the offense. I don’t think he took any steps back. I thought Favor did a great job of coming in and learning the offense and taking ownership of it in a short time. I think both of those guys will play a whole bunch in the first game, but I’m not sure right now who will be the first one to go out for the first series.”

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WSSU baseball team is making history

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina --  The history of baseball success by CIAA teams would make for a very short book.

But Winston-Salem State is changing that one victory at a time.
 
After setting a school record with 38 wins in the regular season, WSSU was selected to be the host for the Atlantic Region tournament of the Division II playoffs, which will open Thursday at Wake Forest Ballpark.
 -- 

Coach Kevin Ritsche, in his third season at WSSU since the program was resurrected, says it has been difficult to find a record of baseball success by other CIAA schools.

“I can’t find it,” he said. “I’ve looked a few times doing searches on the Internet, and I get curious about the CIAA and its history in baseball, but there’s just not a lot out there. I haven’t found much on the CIAA, and what it’s done in the NCAA in baseball.

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