XULA Rush beat Blue Raiders to advance to national final

Results

MOBILE, Alabama — Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis took another step forward and made history Friday by defeating Lindsey Wilson 5-3 in the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship.
     
The Gold Rush (17-7), ranked and seeded third, became the first XU team in any sport to reach an NAIA championship final. Xavier will play top-seeded and two-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett (25-0) for the title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center.
    
 "Fifteen down, five to go," XU coach Alan Green said. "That's how we've looked at this tournament all week — be the team that wins 20 matches (in four duals)."
     
Kyle Montrel and Tushar Mandlekar won in doubles and singles for Xavier. Montrel earned two victories for the second consecutive day and clinched with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Alonso Tellez on the third singles court.
     
Mandlekar won the final 12 games in a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Tomas Depiaggio at No. 5. The other XU singles victory was by freshman Thomas Setodji, who is 17-0 after his 6-1, 6-4 decision against Raul Mendez on the second court.
     
Xavier won 2-of-3 doubles matches for the third consecutive day. Mandlekar and Adam Albrecht beat Javier Raya and Depiaggio 8-4, and Montrel and Karan Salwan won 8-5 against Tellez and Ignacio Huertas.
     
Denis Porcic won on the first courts in doubles and singles for the Blue Raiders (17-4). He and Mendez rallied from a 7-6 deficit for a 9-8 (7-4) victory against Setodji and Kevin Chaouat. Then Porcic beat Salwan 6-2, 6-4 to tie the dual at 3.
    
Like Xavier, Lindsey Wilson was in its first semifinal after being eliminated in the quarterfinals each of the previous four seasons.
     
"No match in the tournament has been easy, despite what the scores indicate," Green said. "But we've worked hard all year and played very well this week to give ourselves a chance to win a national title."
     
Georgia Gwinnett beat fifth-seeded Dalton State 5-0 in the other semifinal for its 31st consecutive victory. The Grizzlies won 5-1 at home against Xavier May 6 in the championship of an NAIA unaffiliated group tournament.
     
"We'll have to play better this time, and hopefully Georgia Gwinnett will not play as well this time," Green said. "And the weather will have to be super hot."

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Gold Rush reach national semifinals for first time

Results

MOBILE, Alabama — On its fifth try in as many years, Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis finally broke the barrier.
     
The Gold Rush, ranked and seeded third, defeated No. 6 Keiser 5-3 Thursday in the NAIA National Championship to become the first XU men's team in any sport to reach the national semifinals.
     
Xavier is 16-7, and Keiser finished 20-4.
     
"We've been playing a lot of tough matches recently," said senior Kyle Montrel, one of two Gold Rush players to win in doubles and singles. "All the guys have been fighting hard. We know we can win. This year we believe it, so we're going for it."
     
Xavier will play No. 7 Lindsey Wilson, a 5-3 winner against No. 2 Auburn Montgomery, at 1 p.m. Friday. Two-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett will meet No. 5 Dalton State in the other semifinal at that same time. The championship will start at 1 p.m. Saturday. All matches are at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center, and admission is free.
     
Montrel and Karan Salwan scored the first point of the dual when they defeated Martin Martins and Guilherme Cunha 8-1. Montrel made it 4-3 when he defeated Rafael Lenz 6-4, 6-1 on the third singles court.
     
Xavier's other double winner was freshman Thomas Setodji, who teamed with Kevin Chaouat for an 8-6 victory against Lenz and Shaquille Taylor, then clinched for the second consecutive day — approximately three minutes after Montrel's victory — with his 6-0, 6-4 decision against Martins. Setodji is 16-0 in singles and has clinched half of Xavier's victories and seven of the last 10.
     
Xavier's other point came from Tushar Mandlekar, who avenged a third-set super-tiebreaker loss to Taylor during the regular season with a 6-1, 6-0 victory on the fifth court. It was his first singles victory since March 22 — between victories there were seven losses and three unfinished matches.
     
Why the reversal of fortune against Taylor? "I changed racket brands about two weeks ago," said Mandlekar, a junior who is 5-0 in singles in three appearances at nationals. "I'm playing much better since I switched."
     
In addition to four consecutive quarterfinal losses in tennis, Gold Rush basketball lost in the 1973 quarterfinals. Women's tennis earned Xavier its first semifinal berth in 2013 and reached that round again in 2014.
    
"I wasn't really thinking about the round, just the opponents we play," 13th-year coach Alan Green said. "It was a tough match with Keiser. It was tougher than when we played them earlier in the season (a 7-2 XU victory), but our guys pulled through."

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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FAMU Softballers Drop 1-0 NCAA Heartbreaker To FSU

Junior Kenya Pereira tossed a one-hitter in a 1-0 NCAA Regional loss to FSU.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Junior pitcher Kenya Pereira tossed a scintillating one-hitter against the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles, but it wasn’t enough as the hosts of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional escaped with a 1-0 victory over the FAMU Lady Rattlers in an opening round game, delayed over two hours due to thunderstorms, at JoAnn Graf Field.

Pereira (14-16), the 2016 MEAC Pitcher of the Year, who on Thursday was named to the Southeast All-Region Team, justified those accolades, twirling a no-hitter through five innings and into the sixth, before FSU’s Jessica Warren lined a double down the left field line for the game’s only hit.

The Kissimmee, Florida native struck out two and walked three in six innings of work.

The Seminoles (49-8), seeded No. 8 nationally, scored the game’s only run in the first inning when leadoff hitter Meagan Klaevermann reached on a throwing error by FAMU third baseman Amber Fullwood, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ellie Cooper, before coming home on a Jessica Warren’s sacrifice fly to right field.

FAMU (27-29) mounted one serious scoring threat in the top of the fifth inning, getting runners on the corners with two outs when the heavy weather moved in, resulting in a two hour and 38 minute delay.

When play resumed with Taylor Rosier and Whitney Farris, who both reached on walks on base, Tashayla Irvis struck out to end the threat.

FSU’s Jessica Burroughs (25-5) tied a personal best with 14 strikeouts against FAMU against just those two fifth inning walks in seven complete innings.

FAMU will fight to stay alive in the regional on Saturday, as they face South Florida, which dropped a 2-0 decision to South Carolina on Friday, in the 2:30 p.m. elimination game.

A FAMU win would pit them against the loser of the 12 noon FSU-South Carolina game at 5:00 p.m. Saturday.

The regional title game will be Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

All games will be televised by ESPN3, and Live Stats can be accessed via the Seminoles.comsite on the NCAA Softball Regional Page.



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ASU, Advanced-Online Announce Launch Of Online Store

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State University and Advanced-Online are pleased to announce the launch of the official online apparel store of the Hornets.

www.shopbamastate.com features more than 1,700 officially licensed Alabama State University items to outfit every fan for every occasion. Hornet alumni, parents, students and supporters will now be able to purchase merchandise 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A portion of the the proceeds benefit Alabama State University.

"We're excited to announce our new online store," said Alabama State Athletic Director Melvin Hines. "With our partnership with Advanced-Online, we're able to provide Hornet Nation the ability to show their Hornet Pride through an exciting variety of merchandise."

Among the exciting items available for purchase are Championship Gear t-shirts, celebrating this season's SWAC titles in women's basketball, women's golf, men's golf, softball, and women's track.

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Southern’s comeback train finally halted as Alabama State eliminates Jaguars from SWAC baseball tournament

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Southern slowed Alabama State’s Southwestern Athletic Conference train, but the Jaguars couldn’t stop it.

Unlike it’s earlier SWAC tournament elimination game Friday against Alcorn State, there would be no late-game heroics resulting in victory.

Alabama State surged ahead of Southern in the third inning then held off the Jaguars 9-7 at Wesley Barrow Stadium, putting the Hornets in Sunday’s championhip game against Texas Southern.

However, it was a far cry from Alabama State’s 27-9 drubbing of Southern on Thursday, the tournament’s second day.

“I told them I’ve had some great teams at Southern, but I’m very pround of them,” said Jaguars coach Roger Cador, who started six freshmen in the game. “We battled. But we made early mistakes that cost us, and they had better pitching (than Alcorn State). That made it harder to come back against them.

“But we have 18 freshmen, so next year could be interesting.”

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BCU Athletics Will Not Retain Services of Tim Pleasant

TIM PLEASANT

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- The contract of Bethune-Cookman Men’s and Women’s Tennis Head Coach Tim Pleasant will not be renewed past the current 2015-16 athletic year, it was announced Friday, May 20, by Lynn W. Thompson, B-CU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. The current contract for Pleasant expires at the end of June.

“We would like to thank Tim [Pleasant] for all he has contributed to the success of our men’s and women’s programs at Bethune-Cookman University,” stated Thompson. “However, we felt that new vision and leadership is what is required now to elevate our program to its highest level.”

In five years at the helm in Daytona Beach, Pleasant – the 2014-15 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, helped the Wildcats women’s tennis team to back-to-back first place finishes in the league’s Southern Division in 2015 and 2016, respectfully. In 2015, B-CU amassed an overall record of 22-7, and won the first MEAC Tournament title in more than a decade, advancing the Cats to the NCAA Regionals in Gainesville, Florida.

Women’s Tennis fell to South Carolina State in the 2016 MEAC title match in April. The team finished the year with a 12-13 overall mark. On the men’s side, Bethune-Cookman claimed the 2016 top seed from the Southern Division in the MEAC Championships, but eventually fell in the semifinals to South Carolina State.

“As we continue to build a comprehensive athletics program which develops the total student-athlete experience, we must be creative and bold in our process, continued Thompson. “The ground work laid by Pleasant is one the next staff will truly be able to follow, and further enhance what we have going for us in Daytona Beach.”

The search for a new coach will begin immediately, led by a committee consisting of Bethune-Cookman Department of Athletics senior staff members.

For more information, please contact Bryan J. Harvey in the B-CU Office of Athletic Communications.

Follow Bethune-Cookman Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/BCUathletics), Twitter (www.twitter.com/BCUathletics) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/BCUathletics) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year, via the social media outlets or www.BCUathletics.com.

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2 years after City's title, Grant twins sign with DI school, Savannah State

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- They were the big men and unsung heroes on one of Baltimore’s most accomplished high school basketball teams. The 6-foot-6 transfers provided toughness in the paint, allowing guards Kamau Stokes, Timmy Bond and Omari George to flourish and lead City to a 27-0 record that culminated with the Class 3A state championship. Stokes (Kansas State), Bond (Eastern Michigan) and George (Bowie State) have all since gone on to successful college careers. But whatever happened to John and Juwan Grant?

Two years since the Knights’ undefeated run to the state title, Baltimore basketball fans have their answer. The Grant twins signed this month with Savannah State, a Division I program that finished 8-7 in the MEAC this season.

“It feels great,” Juwan said. “It’s something that me and my brother have wanted for a long time. It just feels so surreal. Everything has fallen into place. Having the opportunity to play Division I ball is out of this world for us. Everything just feels really good right now.”

After the euphoria of City’s title wore off, the Grants buckled down to find a college program where they both could play. They settled on Washington Adventist, an NAIA Division II school in Takoma Park. One year there was enough for John and Juwan to decide they wanted to take another shot at playing Division I basketball.


Juwan Grant, 6'6, 2014, #22

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Bethune-Cookman Continue MEAC Run With NSU Win

SALISBURY, Maryland -- Bethune-Cookman posted its second 10-run victory of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament Friday with a 14-4 victory over Norfolk State at Perdue Stadium.

Danny Rodriguez went 3-5, homered and scored three runs while Alex Seibold threw 5 2/3 innings of shutoff relief as the Wildcats (27-25) advanced to meet Florida A&M Sunday at noon. Games will not be played Saturday due to expected inclement weather in the area.

Jameel Edney also homered for the Wildcats, who opened tournament play with a 10-0 victory over Coppin State Thursday.

“The energy we’ve played with the last two days has been electric,” said B-CU coach Jason Beverlin. “We’re playing with such a sense of purpose and passion for the game. When we play like we are now, we’re an extremely dangerous team.”

Down 2-0, the Wildcats scored four in the second to take the lead.

Rodriguez scored on an error after Edney singled, then Josten Heron had an RBI single and Nate Sterijevski and Rakeem Quinn produced RBIs on fielder’s choices.

After Rodriguez’ solo shot – the ninth of the season for the MEAC Rookie Of The Year -- in the third made it a 5-2 game, Norfolk State (27-20) chased started Tyler Krull with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Seibold (5-4) eliminated the Spartan threat with a double play and would then proceed to all but shut down the Spartans the rest of the way.

Seibold didn’t give up a hit until the eighth as he picked up his fourth consecutive win in a relief appearance.

Edney homered to lead off the fourth, but the Wildcats wouldn’t pull away until scoring three in the seventh and five in the eighth.

Edney and Heron each had two hits and two runs for the Wildcats, while Nathan Bond went 2-4 and Demetrius Sims and Sterijevski each scored twice. Quinn stole two bases.

BOX SCORE

COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

XU tops No. 14 Westmont, reaches quarterfinals again

Results

MOBILE, Alabama — Adam Albrecht and Thomas Setodji won in doubles and singles Wednesday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 5-1 men's tennis victory against Westmont in the second round of the NAIA National Championship.
     
The Gold Rush (15-7) — ranked third in the most recent coaches poll and seeded third in the tournament — advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year. Xavier will play sixth-ranked Keiser, a 5-1 winner against William Carey, at 1 p.m. Thursday.
     
Westmont, ranked and seeded 14th, finished 10-9.
     
Xavier won 2-of-3 doubles matches and dominated in singles, dropping only one set. When Setodji clinched with his 6-1, 6-2 victory against Luke Whalen, teammates Kyle Montrel and Tushar Mandlekar still were on court — both led 6-1, 5-0.
     
Albrecht and Mandlekar won eight straight games in an 8-1 victory against Tommy Nightingale and Jordan Strandness that gave Xavier the first point of the dual. The Warriors evened when Whalen and Christian Mathis beat Montrel and Karan Salwan 8-5, but Setodji and Kevin Chaouat put the Gold Rush ahead to stay, rallying from a 4-2 deficit for an 8-5 victory against Carl-Philip Lindqvist and Travis Kimsey.
     
Salwan gave the Gold Rush a 3-1 lead by winning eight consecutive games in a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Lindqvist, the ITA's 12th-ranked NAIA singles player. Albrecht rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Jordan Strandness, then Setodji produced his team-leading seventh clincher of the season and sixth in Xavier's last nine victories.
     
Setodji, a freshman, is 15-0 in singles. His opponent, Whalen, was ranked 32nd.
     
Xavier and Westmont were the last teams to finish on a day when the NAIA shoehorned the round-of-16 matches and Tuesday's washed-out first round. The Gold Rush and Warriors started at 9:30 p.m. and did not finish until 12:05 a.m.
     
Xavier will get a rematch with Keiser. The Gold Rush won 7-2 March 23 at Keiser. The Gold Rush are 0-4 in the quarterfinals, including a 5-4 loss to Vanguard a year ago. However, this will be the first time that Xavier is the higher seed in the quarterfinals.
     
The top eight seeds advanced, including two-time defending champion Georgia Gwinnett. The Xavier-Keiser winner will play the Auburn Montgomery-Lindsey Wilson winner in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Jackson State rallies to stay alive in SWAC Tournament

NEW ORLEANS -- The prospects of Jackson State getting eliminated in the SWAC Tournament early on seemed better than those of the Tigers advancing to another game.

But JSU exploded for 14 runs in the final three innings to earn a 15-3 victory against Alabama A&M in an elimination game in the conference tournament on Thursday at Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans.

The loser of the of Texas Southern/Arkansas-Pine Bluff matchup will face the Tigers at 9 a.m. Friday. Texas Southern defeated JSU 10-2 in the opening round on Wednesday.

The Tigers trailed 3-1 heading into the fifth inning when the rally began. Lakon Wilson tied the game with a bunt single, and Sam Campbell gave JSU a 4-3 lead with an RBI single.

The Bulldogs helped the Tigers by walking in a run. Wilson added two more RBIs to the stat sheet with a single in the sixth.

JSU scored seven runs in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run double by Campbell, which ended the game because of the run rule.

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Pagan Drives In Seven Runs As Hornets Pound Alcorn State

NEW ORLEANS – Yamil Pagan went 4-for-4 with a grand slam and drove in a career-high seven runs as Alabama State moved to the SWAC Tournament semifinals with a 16-3 win over Alcorn State in seven innings.
 
Ray Hernandez hit a solo homer, his third of the tournament and ASU record 15^th of the season as the Hornets (36-15) move to Friday's 6 p.m. game against the winner of Alcorn State – Southern. Alabama State is in the SWAC Tournament semifinals for the third time in four years with another total team effort.
 
Hernandez, Diandre Amion, Carlos Ocasio, Hunter Allen and Eriq White each had two hits as every Hornet starter had at least one hit or one run in the 15-hit attack.
 
The Hornets started fast as they have all season, scoring in the first inning for the 31^st time this season. Pagan, Amion and Ocasio reached with singles to load the bases. Dillon Cooper, who drove in seven runs last night, hit a two-run double off the right field wall to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead.
 
Leading 3-0 in the third, the Hornets again loaded the bases with no one out. Oscar Prioleau's safety squeeze bunt scored Hernandez. Pagan's sacrifice fly scored Hunter Allen for a 5-0 lead.
 
The Hornets added four runs in the fourth, taking advantage of two Alcorn State (16-35) errors. Allen reached on a two-out throwing error, scoring Cooper and Chris Biocic. After Eriq White reached on an error and Prioleau walked to load the bases, a two-run single by Pagan to right center extended the Alabama State lead to 9-0.
 
In the sixth, Hernandez led off with a single to third base and advanced to third on a double by Allen. After White reached on an infield single to load the bases, Prioleau was hit by a pitch to score Hernandez. Pagan then hit a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to cap the five-run inning and give the Hornets a 14-0 lead.
 
Tyler Howe (10-2) went six innings, allowing six hits, three runs, walking two and striking out eight to win his 10^th straight decision.
 
All Hornet SWAC Tournament games will be broadcast on bamastatesports.com.

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NSU Basketball and Football Future Looks Bright

NORFOLK, Virginia -- March Madness has long gone and I wait for next year. Norfolk State University (NSU) men had a good year in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with a 12 and 4 Record that earned them second place in the conference at year end. They were defeated by South Carolina State in the semi-finals, which was a disappointment to me, but I got over it. Hampton University became the victors of the tournament.

Although the Spartans lost three star players, Jeff Short, D’Shon Taylor, and Charles Oliver to graduation, the team still seems strong for next year. Returning next season are Jordan Butler, Zaynah Robinson, Jonathan Wade, Brian Kelly, Devonte Banner, and Alex Long who made strong showings last season. According to the local media, Coach Robert Jones has recruited two new shooting guards with respectful 16.5 and 8.4 points scoring averages. The prospect of a good year in the MEAC next season looks bright. Larry Vickers Associate Head Coach for the men has been selected as Head Coach for the NSU Women’s basketball team. Coach Vickers took over the Women’s team late in the season and brought a new spirit to the team. With that new spirit I look forward to a winning season for the women’s team also.

My focus now is on NSU football. Under the leadership of one-year head Coach Latrell Scott, the outlook for the upcoming season appears favorable. Coach Scott has brought a new twist to the team’s recruiting efforts. He is doing something that coaches in the recent past did not do much of. He’s recruiting studious and talented players from local high schools and prep schools throughout the State. I was told by an NSU fan that Scott invites local high school football players out to watch NSU spring training football practices. That is certainly a new recruitment twist for NSU football.

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Golden Lions roll past Bulldogs in SWAC tournament opener

NEW ORLEANS -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Baseball advances in the 2016 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament with a 16-6 win over Alabama A&M in seven innings, here Wednesday afternoon at the Wesley Barrow Stadium.

In a contest that saw three, three-run homers with both Aderly Perez and Jaqueese Moore belting homers for the Golden Lions. Perez's three-run shot came in UAPB's half of the second inning, while Moore's came in their half of the sixth.

Cornelius Woods' three-run shot for AAMU came in the top of the first inning for the Bulldogs.

UAPB finished the contest with 17 hits, where AAMU recorded six.

Both Michael Bradley and Perez finished the contest with four hits apiece to lead the Golden Lions from the plate. Also Bradley finished the contest with six RBIs and scoring two runs for UAPB.

Carlton Pepper finished the contest with three hits to lead the Bulldogs.

Humberto Medina (6-5) received the win for UAPB. This Golden Lion hurler pitched five innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs and striking out three in the 25 batters he faced. Blake Estep also toed the rubber for UAPB. He pitched two innings, allowing four hits, one earned run and striking out one in the 10 batters he faced.

Brandon Marsonek (4-12) the AAMU starter went two and two-third innings, allowing 11 hits, 11 earned runs and striking out one in the 20 batters he faced. Caleb Roberts also took to the hill for the Bulldogs. He pitched four innings in relief, allowing eight hits, five earned runs and striking out three in the 23 batters he faced.

AAMU took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on the Wood homer.

Moore cut AAMU's lead to 3-1 as he scored on a Perez single to left field.
The Golden Lions would then score six runs in their half of the second inning, five in their half of the third, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.

AAMU scored one run in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth for the 16-6 finale.

With the win, UAPB raises their record to 22-23, whereas AAMU lowers their record to 13-43.

UAPB will return to action tomorrow, May 19 against Texas Southern in a 3 p.m. winner's bracket game. In their game, TSU defeated Jackson State, 12-2 in their 9 a.m. matchup.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS SPORTS INFORMATION

Pitchers with common name leading Bethune-Cookman into postseason

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Bethune-Cookman may be at its strongest when Tyler is on the mound.

The question is: which one?

“Tyler Norris has been solid all year and Tyler Krull, a freshman, has stepped up and is doing a great job for us,” said B-CU coach Jason Beverlin as the Wildcats prepared for this week’s MEAC Tournament.

Norris goes into the tournament with a 5-3 record, 5.07 ERA and a team-high 55 strikeouts. The sophomore jumped out to a 3-0 record, but got roughed up in back-to-back starts against North Carolina A&T and Ohio State. He allowed nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Aggies and seven earned runs in two innings against the Buckeyes.

“I struggled against N.C. A&T and Ohio State, in those two outings, but after that I was able to push through it,” Norris said. “I made a goal to myself and said, ‘That’s not going to happen.’ I just tried to work my ass off the rest of the year and made a point that I wasn’t going to let my team down again.”

He bounced back with two straight wins, including a 6-5 decision over Florida A&M, the defending MEAC Tournament champions.

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Enjoy Jamey Shouppe while you have him, FAMU

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
Jamey Shouppe Named MEAC Coach of the Year, Dylan Dillard Player of the Year

SAINT PETERSBURG, Florida -- The Florida A&M baseball program hired the right guy to lead their baseball program three years ago. For the second time in his three-year stint with the Rattlers, Jamey Shouppe has been named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Coach of the Year.

Shouppe’s Rattlers won 30 games this year for the first time since 2003. They head into this weekend’s MEAC Conference Tournament as the number one seed after winning more conference games (19) than at any time in program history.

Though their sights are set much higher, If FAMU can win two games this weekend, Shouppe will have won more games in a three-year period than any coach in program history. They are 79-70 since 2014.

Success in any college sport requires two interacting components. First is recruiting quality players (and individuals) to a program. Second is to exert leadership to get talented players to work together toward a common goal.

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2016 FCS vs. FBS: MEAC

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Cinderella is allowed out more often than in the month of March. During college football season, FCS programs are adept at drawing national attention as they seek upsets of the larger FBS.

Many of the games are played during the first few weekends of the season. This year, there are 113 FCS vs. FBS matchups, and the FCS hopes to exceed their nine combined wins from last season.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams will be involved in 17 of the matchups:

The Matchups - Bethune-Cookman: North Texas (Sept. 10); Delaware State: Missouri (Sept. 24); Florida A&M: Miami of Florida (Sept. 3); Hampton: Old Dominion (Sept. 3); Howard: Maryland (Sept. 3) and Rutgers (Sept. 10); Morgan State: Marshall (Sept. 10) and Army West Point (Nov. 19); North Carolina A&T: Kent State (Sept. 10) and Tulsa (Sept. 17); North Carolina Central: Duke (Sept. 3) and Western Michigan (Sept. 10); Savannah State: Georgia Southern (Sept. 3) and Southern Miss (Sept. 10); South Carolina State: UCF (Sept. 3), Louisiana Tech (Sept. 10) and Clemson (Sept. 17).

Glamour Game - South Carolina State at Clemson. With two NFL Draft selections, SCSU tied for the most from an FCS school this year. But for a gut check, Clemson had nine selections, the second-most in the nation to Ohio State.

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XU's Green chosen ITA/NAIA National Coach of the Year

MOBILE, Alabama — Xavier University of Louisiana's Alan Green was named Monday the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association/NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year for 2016.
     
Green, in his 13th year at Xavier, has led the Gold Rush to a 14-7 record and its highest-ever national ranking, third. The Gold Rush are 4-1 against NAIA top-10 opponents and have a school-record five victories against NCAA Division I opponents, including first-time decisions over Nicholls State and Troy.
     
"I'm very surprised to have won this," Green said. "This award wasn't made possible without the team putting in the work and working hard and all the support staff that we have."
     
This is Green's second ITA National Coach of the Year Award. He won with Xavier's women in 2013.
     
Green received his honor at a banquet honoring the 24 men's teams and 24 women's teams which qualified for the NAIA National Championships. The Gold Rush have a first-round bye and will play at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the round of 16 against Bethany (Kan.) or Westmont. The Gold Nuggets will play in the first round at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday against Northwestern Ohio. Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center is the site of all matches, and admission is free.
     
Xavier's three other ITA Region IV (South) recipients — Loic Didavi (Men's Assistant Coach of the Year), Kyle Montrel (Men's Senior Player of the Year) and Charlene Goreau (Women's Rookie of the Year) — were recognized at the banquet. Those awards were announced April 29. Receiving NAIA Champions of Character awards were Sha'Nel Bruins of the Gold Nuggets and Montrel. Bruins also was recognized as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Tuskegee second in attendance in NCAA Division II football

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- For the second consecutive year, and the sixth time in school history, the Tuskegee University football program finished second in attendance in NCAA Division II according to the numbers released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Tuskegee, which finished the season 10-3 overall and in the quarterfinals of the DII playoffs, averaged 10,663 fans per game this year in five home games. The largest home game attendance came against Miles in the final regular season game, which also happened to be homecoming, as 28,765 people were inside the gates at Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium.



The Golden Tigers have finished second six times since the NCAA began calculating numbers in 2003; finishing runner-up in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014 and 2015. They have recorded the highest attendance in the nation three times (2008, 2009 and 2013) and finished in the top three 12 of a possible 13 times.

Tuskegee had two of the highest attended games in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) – which led the country in attendance for the 13th consecutive year - this season. The game against Miles was the highest attended game in the conference, while the second-highest attended game came against Morehouse in Columbus when 23,345 attended the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic.

Year	Finish	Total Number	Average per Game
2015	2nd	53,313	10,663
2014	2nd	49.799	9,960
2013	1st	44,861	14,954
2012	3rd	43,477	10,869
2011	2nd	45,832	11,458
2010	6th	59,001	9,834
2009	1st	43,658	14,553
2008	1st	60,400	12,080
2007	2nd	65,593	13,118
2006	2nd	55,979	11,195
2005	2nd	45,231	11,307
2004	numbers unavailable
2003	3rd	43,856	10,964

For more information on Tuskegee University athletics, visit GoldenTigerSports.com. Fans can also find the Golden Tigers on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook by searching for Tuskegee University Athletics. 

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Former Jackson State football coach Bob Hill dies

JACKSON, Mississippi -- The roll call of Jackson State players who played for Robert "Bob" Hill is quite extraordinary.

There's Walter Payton, Jackie Slater and Robert Brazile just to name a few. They were all Tigers legends in their own right.

And they were developed under Hill, who died Tuesday morning, according to a Jackson State spokesperson. The cause of his death wasn't immediately known.

"I think in our lifetime, the measure of a man is if at the end you could say you made a difference in one person's life, then your life wasn't in vain," said JSU golf coach Eddie Payton, who also played for Hill. "Bob Hill made a difference in hundreds of young men's (lives). Hopefully he'll never be forgotten. I know he'll never be forgotten in the Payton family and shouldn't be here at Jackson State, which was his second family."

Hill, 81, served as JSU's coach from 1971-76 and won 44 of his 60 games as head coach. His 74 percent winning percentage is the best of any coach in program history.

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