Xavier advances 4 to singles semifinals in NAIA regional

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis teams won 14 of 23 main-draw matches Friday at the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional.

Reaching the quarterfinals were Loic Didavi, Amir Rahbar and Steffen Giles-Osborn in men's singles and Kourtney Howell in women's singles. Advancing to semifinals were the men's doubles teams of Didavi and Zach Taylor and Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson. Howell and Nicole DeLoach reached the women's doubles semifinals.

Didavi, seeded second, improved to 5-0 in singles for the fall semester with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Shorter's Arturo Lifshitz.

Howell beat Shorter's Katie Wilmer 6-0, 6-0, then upset SCAD Atlanta's seventh-seeded Daniela Vukadinovic 2-6, 6-1, 2-0, retired.

Rahbar defeated Shorter's Colt Kelley 6-1, 6-0 and William Carey's fourth-seeded Thomas Rizk 5-7, 7-6, 7-5. Giles-Osborn beat Auburn Montgomery's Josh Reason 6-4, 7-5 and will play Rahbar in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Howell and DeLoach upset Brenau's fourth-seeded Hannah Thompson and Theresa Neumeyr 8-3.

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

Alabama State hopes to avenge 2010 loss as they host Alcorn

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Alabama State opens October at home when the Hornets host Alcorn State Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Cramton Bowl.

"I think these guys have put in the work this week," head coach Reggie Barlow said of his team's preparation. "Friday is really a jog-through day for us. Spirits are good and they have good energy. Guys seem to be pretty relaxed. We'll meet later tonight and get them ready for tomorrow."



The Hornets have started strong this season with a 3-1 record to begin the 2011 season. The September schedule had Alabama State on the road three times and ASU will play just its second home game Saturday night.

"We've been gone for a while, to only have one home game to start after traveling to Mississippi (twice) and Michigan," Barlow said. "It's going to be good for us to be back at home. We know our fans will come out, support us and give us good energy and hopefully our guys will feed off of that."

READ MORE

2011 Road To The SIAC Championship Episode 3

Savannah State Names New Athletic Director

SAVANNAH, GA. -- Sterling Steward, Jr. has been announced as the new Athletic Director at Savannah State University.

Steward worked at Mississippi Valley state, Kentucky State, Eastern Oregon and Xavier of  Louisiana and Alabama State before coming to Savannah State.



Steward has been a Senior Consultant for Athletics Administration at Mississippi Valley State University since April. Before that, he was Alabama State's Interim Athletic Director from September 2009 until June 2010.

READ MORE

ASU VS. KSU EARNS HSRN "GAME OF THE WEEK" HONORS

Albany, Georgia - Because Saturday's game between Albany State and Kentucky State is the HSRN Game of the Week, it can be heard live on the internet and satellite radio.

"We encourage our fans who want to hear the action of the Golden Rams game against the KSU Thorobreds to listen to the game on HSRN. The broadcasters will provide live action, play-by-play of the game," said Richard H. Williams, ASU's interim athletics director.

Fans can listen to the live broadcast on Sirius XM Satellite Radio Network, Channel 137, and XM Radio. Fans may also visit www.hsrn.com and click the "Listen Live" link on the HSRN home page.

Other internet resources for the HSRN broadcast are www.HBCUConnect.com, www.HBCUDigest.com, www.TuneIn.com, www.Blacksportsonline.com, www.BSTM.com and www.Urbaiamag.com.

Other radio network coverage includes WOKS 1340 AM out of Columbus, WAGF 1320 AM out of Dothan, Ala., and WEUP 1700 AM out of Huntsville, Ala. Coverage for the game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. with the pre-game show.

Color analyst Mike Walker will join play-by-play announcer Lamont Germany in the booth, with LeCounte Conaway providing sideline coverage. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m.

READ MORE

Helmet cam debuts at FAMU practice

Coach Joe Taylor

Tallahassee, FL - From a distance the little silver gadget strapped to the helmets of quarterbacks Austin Trainor and Damien Fleming looked weird. It almost seemed like a distraction.

But both said the device, which is actually a helmet camera, can only make them better at their job from under center. Coach Joe Taylor said he approved its use for practices because it serves as a third eye that lets him and his staff see exactly what the quarterbacks see.

"I think it's going to have a pretty good amount of upside; it gives you a perspective from the quarterback's eyes," Trainor said. "We can't tell coach one thing and he sees another thing. It should help us in our development as quarterbacks; nothing but positives from it."

That's exactly what the team's videographer ...

READ MORE

With Budd, Bowie State Hopes to Bloom

OgheneMaro Erhie

Bowie, MD - An overcast sky, with a few drops of rain, was the scene on Tuesday afternoon as the Bowie State football team held practice in preparation for another road game on Saturday.

The dreary weather on the back side of campus, just off Laurel-Bowie Road, was hopefully not an omen for the Bulldogs, who are coming off their first loss of the season and will play the second of six straight road games this coming weekend at Virginia State in Petersburg.

Bowie State, 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the CIAA, may be at a crossroads. The Bulldogs lost last Saturday, 32-29, at Virginia Union in a CIAA contest and Virginia State will be the second of four league games in a row away from Bowie.

"From here on out we have to win," said starting right tackle OgheneMaro Erhie, a 296-pound junior from Laurel High. "We need to play better on defense." The normally stingy Bowie State defense gave up 523 yards of total offense to Virginia Union, including 354 through the air at Hovey Field in Richmond.

READ MORE