Jasmine Lytle of New Brunswick is going to Hampton University

Coach David Six

Jasmine Lytle of New Brunswick was looking for a school that showed loyalty. As she battled through a knee injury she suffered last summer, some schools stopped pursuing her.

Hampton University never stopped recruiting the 6-1 forward and that's why she's signing a letter of intent to play for the Virgina college on Thursday.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore was a close second for Lytle, and Coppin State and Long Island University were among the other schools in the hunt.

Jasmine Lytle scores 1,000th point in New Brunswick loss

Junior slasher LaRhonda Womack erupted for 30 points Monday to lift the South Plainfield High School girls basketball team past New Brunswick, 68-60, on the night Zebras senior Jasmine Lytle scored her 1,000th career point.

Jasmine Lytle Erupts For A Monster Game, 33 pts, 23 rbs, for New Brunswick High

It takes more than one player to win a basketball game, but Jasmine Lytle certainly came close. Despite outscoring the entire Sayreville High School girls basketball team 18-16 in the first half Tuesday night, the New Brunswick High School senior forward needed a boost from a teammate down the stretch.

“She’s a great player, and it’s hard to win games when a girl scores almost as much as your entire team does” Sayreville coach Tara Currie said of Lytle. “She’s an animal who lives off the boards, and we didn’t achieve our goal in limiting her.”

Jasmine Lytle of New Brunswick signs to play basketball for Hampton

Jasmine Lytle, a Second Team All-Middlesex County selection from New Brunswick, will sign a letter of intent Thursday to play basketball for Hampton University.

"Words can't explain how happy I am to have this opportunity," said Lytle, who plans to major in either business or psychology. "Hampton has been there with me since the beginning of the process and I really like their style of play. They give me a good chance to better myself as a player and academically."

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Fang Mitchell gets three more years with Coppin State University

Legendary Coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell

At 5 o'clock on a fall morning in 2009, Coppin State University basketball coach Fang Mitchell drove then-sophomore Michael Harper to the hospital for surgery on his wrist. Harper, from Milwaukee, appreciated the show of support — then and now.

When Harper finishes his college career next season for the Eagles, Mitchell will be there for him again, just like Harper would want it.

"If they were bringing in a new coach in my fourth year, it would mean a whole new system, a new personality, a different look on the team," Harper said. "Him not coming back would have been horrible."

After two months of uncertainty, Mitchell is coming back for his 26th season and more. Francine Stokes McElveen, the senior advisor to the president for legal affairs, acknowledged Tuesday that Coppin has given Mitchell a new, three-year contract that will allow the legendary 63-year-old coach to finish his career at...

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A Day in the Life of 2011 FAMU Graduate

Videographer: FAMUTUBE1887; A Day in the Life of Gregory Boler Jr., FAMU Rattlers football player and a 2011 FAMU graduate from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Watch as he makes his family proud. This is a Day in his life...


Videographer: FAMUTube1887; On Saturday, April 30, 2011, nearly 1,400 candidates graduated from Florida A&M University (FAMU). These are the students who started classes in 2007 -- the same year Dr. James H. Ammons became president of FAMU. However, before they receive their diplomas, some graduating seniors share their thoughts on Dr. Ammons and his tenure at FAMU.

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FAMU's Holcomb glad to be a Niner

Jacksonville and Green Bay promised they'd take him in the NFL Draft on Saturday. Neither one called. So Florida A&M cornerback Curtis Holcomb dozed off. It might have been because he didn't think his name would be called or he was a little worn out from shooting hoops earlier in the day to calm his nerves.

"I was trying to be patient throughout the whole process," said Holcomb, who eventually was selected by the San Francisco 49ers. He was so into his nap that he might have missed the call from the 49ers if it weren't for his best friend, who had visited from Jacksonville to be with him for the draft.

"My best friend called me and it was a surreal moment," said Holcomb on Sunday. "I didn't even know how to take that but it was a blessing."


Videographer: FAMUTUBE1887; An interview with 2011 FAMU Rattlers/S.F.49ers draftee, Cornerback Curtis Holcomb, a native of Miami, Florida and graduate of Southridge High School.

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Southern University: Living her dream

Sandy Pugh, Head Women's Basketball Coach
Interim Athletics Director, Southern University

As it turns out, Jessica Thomas ended up where she wanted to be all along.

The senior Northwest girls basketball standout inked a letter of intent to play basketball at Southern University next season Tuesday in the Northwest High library with her family and Lady Raiders coach Latosha Malone on hand.

"It's amazing to be where I am because of all the hard work I've put in and coach Malone helping me out a lot on everything I had to do to get to this point," Thomas said. "I had to do a lot of things, keep my grades maintained and stay focused in school and not worry about anything else."

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S.C. State tennis teams get ‘reward’ with Florida rematch

Orangeburg, S.C. - Visit Hardeep Judge's office at South Carolina State University and there's an impressive display of championship glory starting at his desk.

Lined up in order on each side are 13 of the 14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title plaques won by both the men's and women's tennis teams during the head coach's tenure. Other numerous Most Outstanding Coach awards are also posted on the walls.

Given the program's championship resume, Judge was hoping Tuesday for a more favorable seeding for his teams when the NCAA released the tournament brackets. He was especially optimistic for the Lady Bulldogs, who earned key out-of-conference wins this season over West Virginia and North Carolina-Wilmington, won a seventh straight conference title and have a player, Daria Sekerina, listed in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top 125 rankings.

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XU Gold Rush back in NAIA top 10 after climbing two places

NEW ORLEANS — For the fourth time in five polls, Xavier University of Louisiana is among the top 10 in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25.

The Gold Rush (13-9) climbed two spots Tuesday to No. 9 after beating Bethel (Tenn.) 6-0 and Martin Methodist 5-2 to win an NAIA National Championship qualifying tournament at Chattanooga, Tenn. XU's men qualified for the national tournament for the third consecutive year.

Xavier was No. 8, a program record, for three consecutive polls beginning March 8.

The Gold Rush are in the the top 25 for the 31st consecutive time dating to April 4, 2007 — that's the fifth longest active streak among NAIA men's teams — and it's the 22nd straight time dating to April 30, 2008, that the Gold Rush are among the top 18.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 1) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Fresno Pacific (12) 21-2 312 1 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 14-6 302 2 3 Auburn Montgomery 23-3 291 3 4 Oklahoma Christian 21-1 279 5 5 Azusa Pacific 15-6 276 4 6 Westmont 12-5 262 6 7 Point Loma Nazarene 15-7 252 7 8 Vanguard 7-13 228 12 9 Xavier 13-9 225 11 10 Union (Ky.) 17-5 217 10 11 Concordia (Calif.) 8-14 207 8 12 Shorter 12-4 206 15 13 Graceland 11-5 193 13 14 William Carey 12-9 183 9 15 Lindsey Wilson 14-5 176 17 16 Aquinas 24-3 174 14 17 St. Thomas (Fla.) 14-3 157 16 18 Olivet Nazarene 14-3 132 19 19 Lewis-Clark State 10-8 127 18 20 McKendree 20-3 122 tie-20 21 Tennessee Wesleyan 11-6 115 22 22 SCAD Savannah 7-4 109 tie-20 23 Martin Methodist 14-5 90 23 24 Webber International 13-6 79 24 25 Bethany (Kan.) 19-3 69 tie-25 Others receiving votes: Lee (Tenn.) 59; Campbellsville 41, Northwood (Fla.) 23, Huntington (Ind.) 23, Cumberland 22, Lindenwood 19, Northwestern Ohio 13, Walsh 6, Our Lady of the Lake 5, Georgetown (Ky.) 1, Biola 1.

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, May 1) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Fresno Pacific (10) 18-4 281 1 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (1) 20-3 272 2 3 Auburn Montgomery 23-5 260 4 4 Azusa Pacific 19-4 253 6 5 Oklahoma Christian 17-2 244 5 6 Point Loma Nazarene 18-3 242 3 7 Concordia (Calif.) 14-7 226 7 8 Brenau 10-7 218 8 9 SCAD Savannah 10-2 207 9 10 Vanguard 10-10 201 10 11 Southern Nazarene 14-6 184 12 12 William Carey 14-6 182 13 13 Lee (Tenn.) 9-5 171 16 14 Olivet Nazarene 19-1 160 14 15 Shorter 11-4 156 11 16-tie Indiana Wesleyan 21-1 139 17 16-tie Lewis-Clark State 6-14 139 21 18 Martin Methodist 15-5 127 18 19 Lindsey Wilson 13-5 121 23 20 Oklahoma Baptist 9-10 110 15 21 St. Thomas (Fla.) 9-9 102 19 22 Campbellsville 14-5 96 20 23 William Jewell 17-7 90 22 24 Webber International 12-9 68 24 25 Belhaven 14-3 60 25 Others receiving votes: Westmont 42, Milligan 41, Cumberlands 27, Robert Morris (Chicago) 23, Indiana Southeast 19, McKendree 17, Taylor 5, The Master's 3, Northwood (Fla.) 3, Xavier 1, Mobile 1, Georgetown (Ky.) 1, Spring Hill 1,; Marian (Ind.) 1.

Lee (Tenn.) dropped out of the top 25 after being tied for 25th in the previous poll. That snapped the Flames' streak of 47 consecutive appearances in the top 25. There are no new teams in this week's top 25, and Xavier was one of seven teams to climb. The top three teams are the same as the previous poll, with Fresno Pacific ranked first for the 14th consecutive time. Martin Methodist, 0-2 this season against Xavier, remained 23rd.

This was the seventh of eight polls this season. The final rankings will be announced Sunday.

The Gold Rush will play May 17 in the first round or May 18 in the second round of the NAIA National Championship at Mobile, Ala.

Xavier's women, whose season ended Saturday with a 5-0 loss to Milligan in the semifinals of the qualifying tournament, are out of the top 25 for the fourth consecutive time. The Gold Nuggets collected one point to tie for 35th place.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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