Track and field sweeps 2017-18 XULA Medals of Honor

NEW ORLEANS — Track and field athletes Clarke Allen and Ammiel Williams were Xavier University of Louisiana's Medal of Honor recipients Wednesday evening during Athletic Honors Night, a department ceremony which honored all nine XULA teams.
     
The Medal of Honor was presented to the senior female and male student-athlete who best define the qualities of scholarship, athletics, leadership and service.
     
Allen, from Mendenhall, Miss., and a graduate of Mendenhall High School, is a two-time NAIA All-American and was All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference four consecutive years. This past weekend she scored in three events to help the Gold Nuggets repeat as GCAC team champion. A biology/pre-medical major, Allen is a two-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar, a two-year member of the GCAC Honor Roll and a three-year member of XULA's Sister Grace Mary Flickinger Honor Roll. Allen was XULA's Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2016-17.
     
Williams, a political science major from Los Angeles and a graduate of Hamilton High School, was part of the Gold Rush's GCAC-champion 3,200-meter relay team this past weekend, where he helped the XULA men score their highest conference finish in 14 years. He is a two-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar, a three-time Flickinger Honor Roll member, and in 2016-17 he was XULA's Male Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This past summer he participated in a research fellowship in the Public Policy & International Affairs program at Princeton University.  

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Additional recipients were:
     •  Male Athlete of the Year:  Jeff Dixon, basketball (New Orleans/McMain High School and Delgado Community College . . . Finalists were Edward Angel, track and field (Fulshear, Texas/Seven Lakes High School) and Catalin Fifea, tennis (Bucharest, Romania/General School No. 31).
     •  Female Athlete of the Year:  Juliana Tomasoni, volleyball (Nova Trento, Brazil/Francisco Mazzola School and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College), who won this award for the second consecutive year . . . Finalists were Mariia Borodii, tennis (Zapozizhzhia, Ukraine/Specialized Phisicol N18) and Charlene Goreau, tennis (Toulouse, France/Raymond Naves School).
     •  Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Williams.
     •  Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Tomasoni.
     •  Male Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Gabriel Niculescu, tennis (Bucharest, Romania/A.D. Xenopol School).
     •  Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Mikayla Bates, basketball (Baton Rouge, La./University Lab School).
     •  Male Newcomer of the Year:  Angel . . . Finalists were Samir Chikhaoui, tennis (Lille, France/St. Remi School) and Joseph Williams, basketball (Memphis, Tenn./Lausanne Collegiate School).
     •  Female Newcomer of the Year:  Borodii . . . Finalists were Angela Charles-Alfred, tennis (Saint-Pierre, Martinique/Lycee de Bellefontaine) and Alysia Terry, track and field (Terrytown, La./Ursuline Academy).
     
XULA Vice President for Student Services Joseph Byrd received the Distinguished Service Award as thanks for his contributions to the department.
     
"Dean Byrd has meant a lot of things to a lot of people, but he has always made time for our student-athletes and staff," Director of Athletics & Recreation Jason Horn said, "whether it had to do with academics, personal issues or cheering our teams on to victory. It's an honor to recognize him tonight as one of our true fans."
     
The event began with a one-hour social with food on the concourse of the Convocation Center. That was followed by awards on the floor level of the facility, where XULA President Dr. Reynold Verret and Horn addressed the student-athletes and guests. The podium hosts were senior student-athletes Angelle Simon of women's basketball (Marrero, La./Karr High School) and Christopher August of men's track and field/cross country (Spring, Texas/Klein Collins High School).
     
"Tonight was a fun evening celebrating the accomplishments of our student-athletes and coaches," Horn said. "Several of our sports have had record years, and it's a true testament to the hard work of our coaches and student-athletes."

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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S.C. State's Leonard drafted No. 36 by Indianapolis Colts

ARLINGTON, Texas -- South Carolina State football's all-time leading tackler, linebacker Darius Leonard, was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the No. 36 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on Friday night.

Going in the second round, he is the highest-drafted Bulldogs player since Anthony Cook was taken in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft at No. 35 by the Houston Oilers.



Leonard, at 6-foot-4, 234 pounds, finished his 4-year playing career in Orangeburg with 394 stops, including 54 for a loss, 21.5 sacks, and 9 forced turnovers.

As a junior in 2016, Leonard racked up a career-high 19 tackles and blocked a field goal against the program where his half-brother (Anthony Waters) had played, the only Power 5 program who recruited him, eventual national champion Clemson.

To open his senior season in 2017, Leonard had 12 tackles and a sack against Southern in the nationally televised MEAC-SWAC Challenge. Despite the Bulldogs struggling to a 3-7 season, Leonard led the team his final collegiate campaign with 114 tackles, including 12.5 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble.

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Raiders Select NC A&T OL Brandon Parker In The NFL Draft

ARLINGTON, Texas -- For the second year in a row, a North Carolina A&T football player is heading to the NFL.

The Oakland Raiders traded up to the third round to take A&T offensive tackle Brandon Parker off the board with the 65th overall pick.

Parker was the MEAC's Offensive Lineman of the Year and a first-team all-conference member in three years in a row. He also earned AP FCS first-team All-American honors as a senior.

The Kannapolis native was a key part of an A&T team that won its second HBCU National Championship in three seasons and became the first MEAC school to ever finish a season undefeated.

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Documents: Southern, coach Sean Woods agree to three-year, $125K incentive-laden contract

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Sean Woods, who was officially introduced as Southern’s new men’s basketball coach April 12, has agreed to a three-year contract worth $125,000 a year with additional incentives possible, according to documents obtained by The Advocate.

Woods’ contract must be officially approved by Southern’s Board of Supervisors at its meeting Friday.

Laden with “exemplary performance” incentives, Woods’ three-year term with Southern officially begins May 1 and continues until April 30, 2021.

Woods has several possible bonuses written into his contract:

• $10,416.67 (one month's salary) for a Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season championship; $1,000 for each assistant coach

• $10,416.67 for a SWAC tournament title; $1,000 for each assistant

• $5,000 for each 20-win season; $1,000 for each assistant

• $10,416.67 for each NCAA tournament win; one month's salary for each assistant

• $25,000 for a Final Four appearance; $10,500 for each assistant

• $50,000 for a national championship; $20,000 for each assistant

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Kendrick is state coach of the year; Tomasoni 1st team

NEW ORLEANS — This time Xavier University of Louisiana volleyball won a close vote for Louisiana Coach of the Year.
    
Pat Kendrick, who in her first season led the Gold Nuggets to a record-breaking 23-3 season, outpolled LSU's Fran Flory 5-4 to earn the coaching award from a Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel of college publicists.
     
XULA also is represented on the All-Louisiana team. Juliana Tomasoni made the first team, Kayla Black made the second team, and Eva Le Guillou received honorable mention.
     
Kendrick's predecessor, Hannah Lawing, was runner-up in state voting each of her four seasons at XULA, including a 6-5 outcome in 2016 against Tulane's Jim Barnes. But Kendrick captured the 2017 award after leading her Gold Nuggets to Louisiana's highest winning percentage since 1991 and the third highest in state history. XULA also became the first Louisiana team to not lose a set against conference opponents. The Gold Nuggets set school season per-set records of 13.33 kills, 2.32 aces, 1.76 blocks and 12.50 assists. All six freshmen Kendrick signed contributed significantly.
     
Tomasoni, a senior outside hitter from Nova Trento, Brazil, hit .287 with 282 kills, 60 aces and 364 digs. Her honors included AVCA NAIA All-Southeast Region first team and — for the second consecutive year — Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament MVP and first-team All-GCAC. 

Tomasoni was second-team All-Louisiana a year ago. This year she received the third-most votes.
     
Black, a freshman outside hitter from Magnolia, Texas, and a graduate of St. Pius X High School in Houston, hit .238 with 254 kills, 38 aces, 212 digs and 32 blocks. She was first-team All-GCAC and All-GCAC Tournament.
     
Le Guillou, a freshman setter from Velizy-Villacoublay, France, produced 482 assists, 28 aces and 127 digs. She was GCAC Setter of the Year and second-team All-GCAC.
     
All-Louisiana nominees were compiled in December, but voting was postponed until this month.
     
XULA for the seventh straight year won GCAC regular-season and tournament championships and qualified for the NAIA National Championship tournament.

2017 All-Louisiana Women's Volleyball Team

FIRST TEAM Taylor Bannister, freshman, LSU Marta Monne, senior, Louisiana Tech Regan Rogers, junior, Northwestern State Shanna Spree, sophomore, McNeese Juliana Tomasoni, senior, XULA Hali Wisnoskie, freshman, Louisiana-Lafayette Libero: Raigen Cianciulli, freshman, LSU SECOND TEAM Dree'Ana Abram, sophomore, Louisiana-Lafayette Kayla Black, freshman, XULA Justine Bowers, senior, Tulane Desiree Frey, senior, Centenary Stacey Reilly, senior, Louisiana-Lafayette Anna Zwiebel, sophomore, LSU Libero: Channing Burleson, senior, Northwestern State PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Taylor Bannister, LSU      Voting:  Bannister 7, Rogers 3, Reilly 1, Tomasoni 1 LIBERO OF THE YEAR:  Raigen Cianciulli, LSU      Voting:  Cianciulli 5, Burleson 4, Sydney Davis (Louisiana-Lafayette) 2, Kacey LeBlanc (Louisiana-Monroe) 1 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:  no nominees FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:  Taylor Bannister, LSU      Voting:  Bannister 11, Hannah Brister (Northwestern State) 1 COACH OF THE YEAR:  Pat Kendrick, XULA      Voting:  Kendrick 5, Fran Flory (LSU) 4, Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot (Louisiana-Lafayette) 3 HONORABLE MENTION Jessica Bartczyszyn, senior, Louisiana-Lafayette; Eva Le Guillou, freshman, XULA; Gina Tillis, senior, LSU Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

Nuggets No. 3 nationally; fourth climb in five polls

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana, still awaiting its postseason details, climbed Tuesday from fourth to third in the NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25.
     
The Gold Nuggets (17-7) possess their highest national ranking since Feb. 17, 2015, when they were No. 3. Excluding the 2005-06 academic year, when XULA did not compete, the Nuggets are in the top 25 for 100th time in the last 110 polls.
     
XULA has climbed in four of the last five polls.
     
XULA was 4-0 since the previous poll April 10 to close the regular season with a school-record 14-dual-match win streak. The Gold Nuggets won 5-3 April 15 at West Florida, then-No. 2 in the NCAA Division II rankings and currently No. 3.
     
XULA will not compete in a conference or unaffiliated group tournament. The NAIA will announce May 7 the next top 25 poll and the 24 women's teams and 24 men's teams that qualified for the NAIA National Championships. Tournament brackets will be revealed May 8, and the first round will begin May 15 at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. This year the women will play the morning matches. The championship finals are scheduled for May 19.
     
If the Gold Nuggets are one of the top eight seeds, they would receive a first-round bye and play their first match at nationals May 16 in the round of 16.
     
Here are all the Gold Nuggets' active poll streaks:
     •  55 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began May 1, 2012.
     •  55 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began May 1, 2012.
     •  14 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 28, 2017.
     •  5 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began Feb. 27, 2018.
     •  4 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began March 13, 2018.
 

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through April 22)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Keiser (Fla.) [14]	20-2	374
2	2	Georgia Gwinnett	14-2	362
3	4	Xavier (La.)	17-7	350
4	5	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	12-2	334
5	6	William Carey (Miss.)	11-5	316
6	12	Brenau (Ga.)	15-7	306
7	3	SCAD Savannah (Ga.)	10-5	300
8	7	William Woods (Mo.)	13-5	298
9	8	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	9-6	286
10	9	Indiana Wesleyan	29-4	257
11	14	Northwestern Ohio	13-4	253
12	10	LSU-Alexandria (La.)	8-6	251
13	11	San Diego Christian (Calif.)	11-6	244
14	13	Middle Georgia State	10-6	218
15	15	Westmont (Calif.)	9-11	202
16	15	SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)	11-6	201
17	19	Arizona Christian	10-11	171
18	21	Union (Ky.)	15-5	167
19	RV	Cumberlands (Ky.)	10-10	161
20	17	Campbellsville (Ky.)	12-7	142
21	23	Loyola (La.)	12-7	140
22	20	Cumberland (Tenn.)	13-10	125
23	22	Reinhardt (Ga.)	12-7	108
24	18	Mobile (Ala.)	11-6	100
25	25	Marian (Ind.)	17-4	75

Dropped from the Top 25: St. Thomas (Fla.)

Others Receiving Votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 68; St. Thomas (Fla.) 57; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 29; Southwestern (Kan.) 28; Missouri Baptist 19; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 19; Tennessee Wesleyan 8; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 6; Huntington (Ind.) 6; Hastings (Neb.) 3; Asbury (Ky.) 3

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Gold Rush No. 4 in poll after rare late-April drop

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana made a rare late-April drop in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Tuesday. The Gold Rush dropped ftom third to fourth.
     
It was the first time since 2011 that the Gold Rush (11-11) dropped in the final April poll. The next poll will be announced May 7, the same day that the NAIA announces the 24 men's teams and 24 women's teams that qualified for the national tournament. The XULA men, who will not compete in a conference or unaffiliated group tournament, are expected to receive a bid for the 10th consecutive year.
     
XULA was the national runner-up in 2016 and 2017.
     
On the positive side of the poll, this is XULA's 93rd consecutive appearance in the top 25 — that's the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis. The top-10 appearance is the Gold Rush's 63rd in a row.
     
NAIA tournament brackets will be revealed May 8, and the first round will begin May 15 at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. This year the men will play the afternoon matches. The championship finals are scheduled for May 19.
     
If the XULA men are one of the top eight seeds, they would receive a first-round bye and play their first match at nationals May 16 in the round of 16. The Gold Rush earned byes six of the last seven years and each of the last three.
 

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through April 22)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett [13]	23-0	343
2	2	Keiser (Fla.)	14-6	332
3	4	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	13-0	317
4	3	Xavier (La.)	11-11	310
5	14	William Carey (Miss.)	12-3	294
6	6	William Woods (Mo.)	12-6	281
7	7	Cumberland (Tenn.)	21-2	279
8	5	Mobile (Ala.)	19-2	271
9	8	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	11-4	260
10	9	Campbellsville (Ky.)	13-6	227
10	11	Arizona Christian	18-6	227
12	10	Northwestern Ohio	11-5	225
13	12	Middle Georgia State	10-4	214
14	15	Reinhardt (Ga.)	16-3	212
15	16	Westmont (Calif.)	8-9	195
16	20	Tennessee Wesleyan	11-4	170
17	13	San Diego Christian (Calif.)	8-7	166
18	17	Union (Ky.)	13-5	153
19	18	Asbury (Ky.)	13-1	135
20	21	Lawrence Tech (Mich.)	19-4	125
21	19	Coastal Georgia	11-7	124
22	22	Indiana Wesleyan	27-8	105
23	24	Point (Ga.)	15-8	91
24	23	McPherson (Kan.)	12-3	89
24	RV	Cumberlands (Ky.)	7-12	89

Dropped from the Top 25: St. Thomas (Fla.)

Others Receiving Votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 50; Texas A&M-Texarkana 50; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 28; Loyola (La.) 28; Bethany (Kan.) 25; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 23; Aquinas (Mich.) 16; Judson (Ill.) 12; Hastings (Neb.) 5; Bluefield (Va.) 4; Missouri Valley 3; Marian (Ind.) 3

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Southern women's basketball coach Sandy Pugh in talks to become next coach at Prairie View

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern women's basketball coach Sandy Pugh may be elsewhere in the Southwestern Athletic Conference next season.

Pugh had not resigned from Southern as of Tuesday night but has spoken with Prairie View about the open job there.

Prairie View expects to name a new women's basketball coach in the next two weeks, the school confirmed Tuesday.

When reached for confirmation Tuesday night, athletic director Roman Banks said neither he nor Southern has been informed of a resignation, but SU expects talks between Pugh and Prairie View to
"come together" quickly in coming days. Talks began last week after Southern granted permission, Banks said.

Pugh did not immediately respond to The Advocate when reached for comment.

Pugh, the 2017-18 SWAC Coach of the Year, just finished her 18th season at Southern, having guided the Jaguars to an outright regular-season championship, the No. 1 overall seed in the SWAC tournament and a 14-4 record against the conference last season.

This season marked the fourth time in five years Southern earned at least a share of the regular-season title. The Jaguars became the first SWAC women’s basketball team to win an outright regular-season crown since Southern also accomplished the feat in 2013.

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Southern expected to sign deal with Under Armour to be school's official apparel, equipment provider

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern University will have a new look by the start of fall.

Southern is expected to announce an exclusive deal with Under Armour in the coming weeks to become the Jaguars’ official apparel and equipment provider, athletic director Roman Banks said.

The deal has not been signed as of Tuesday afternoon with both sides working out contract details, but Banks said the university looks forward to a partnership with Under Armour.

Banks was unable to give further specifics about the pending deal, but is hopeful to make the official announcement soon with a debut news conference later next month.

While the deal is primarily centered on the athletics department, Banks said Under Armour is also expected to be the official apparel provider for the whole university, providing fans the opportunity to purchase official merchandise such as shirts, polos and authentic game jerseys. Southern athletics will also have access to all of Under Armour products.

“I knew that, with a chance, I could get an apparel company to buy into the history and the legacy of Southern University athletics and its fans, Jaguar Nation, and what they bring to the table,” Banks said. “I think a lot of times, it’s not about the money exchanged on the spot, but it’s the value. I think Southern has shown we have a great value.”

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DSU mourns passing of former head football coach Al Lavan

DOVER, Delaware — Delaware State University Athletics is mourning the death of former Hornet head football coach Alton “Al” Lavan, who died early Monday in Colorado.

Lavan was DSU’s head football coach for seven seasons, from 2004-10, posting an overall record of 41-37 and a 34-21 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

In 2007, Lavan led the Hornets to a 10-2 overall record and the school’s first MEAC championship in 16 years with a perfect 8-0 league mark, the second team in conference history to achieve the feat. The 10 overall wins still stand as a team record.

With the conference title, Delaware State earned a trip to the NCAA playoffs for the first time, matching up against Delaware in the first-ever meeting between the state’s two Division I programs.

Delaware State rose as high as 10th in the ‘07 Football Championship Subdivision national rankings and finished the season at No. 15 in the Sports Network poll and 16th in the ESPN Coaches poll. The American Sports Wire selected the Hornets as its 2007 Black College National Champions, while DSU was second in the final Sheridan Broadcast Network HBCU poll.

Lavan was selected as the 2007 Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., Coach-of-the-Year and finished second in the voting for the national FCS top coach award.

In 2006, Lavan led the Hornets to an 8-3 record, finishing second in the MEAC standings with a 6-2 conference mark. The team received national attention, garnering a No. 23 ranking heading into the final regular-season game. The national ranking was DSU’s first since the 1992 season. During his second season as DSU head coach in 2005, Lavan guided Delaware State to a 7-4 overall record (6-2 MEAC). Finishing No. 2 in the MEAC standings that season, DSU registered a perfect home record (5-0) for the first time since 1985.

Lavan coached the Hornets to a 4-3 MEAC record in 2004, giving DSU a winning conference mark for the first time in four years.

Prior to accepting the Delaware State position, he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University. Lavan was promoted to assistant head coach for the 2003 football season. Upon the late-season firing of then-head coach Jeff Woodruff, he was named as interim head coach. After taking over the 1-8 football team, Eastern Michigan won two of its final three games under Lavan.

In more than 18 years as a NFL assistant, Lavan’s resume’ includes stints with the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, and Kansas City Chiefs.

A member of NFL Hall-of-Fame coach Tom Landry’s staff with the Dallas Cowboys, Lavan served as running backs for greats Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker during his time with the Cowboys.

He was a member of George Seifert’s 1990 Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff.

Lavan’s collegiate coaching tenure also included stops at Colorado State, Louisville, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, Stanford, and Washington.

A college standout at Colorado State, Lavan played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons before his career was cut short due to injury.

He was inducted into the Delaware State University Athletics Hall-of-Fame in 2013.

Funeral arrangements have yet to be released by Lavan's family.

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Henry: Simmons enjoys homecoming, gets to work

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- At the 11-minute mark in the second quarter, the public address announcer at Bragg-Memorial Stadium urged the crowd to welcome Willie Simmons home.

Not that anyone needed to be asked, but applause and cheers erupted in orange and green unison.

‘Ray-Ray’ is home.

Now the heavy lifting starts, though Simmons couldn’t have scripted Saturday’s spring game any better.

Even before the crowd of 7,622 settled in, the Rattlers’ offense struck for a 75-yard touchdown against the defense on the game’s first play, compliments of quarterback Ryan Stanley to electric receiver Chad Hunter.

From that moment, FAMU’s future was on display under Simmons.

This could be fun.

The Tallahassee native and former Quincy Shanks star quarterback couldn’t help but smile when he looked into the stands before the game.

He posed for photographs, shook the hands of well-wishers and hugged family and friends.

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