Pieri becomes GCAC all-time leader; Reuther wins third

Matt Pieri

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Matt Pieri became the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference's all-time leader with his ninth Runner of the Week award, and Taylor Reuther collected her third Player of the Week honor in women's volleyball.

The conference announced late Monday the honors, which cover competition from Sept. 26-Oct. 2.

Pieri, a junior from New Orleans and a graduate of Brother Martin High School, ran Xavier's fastest 8,000 meters — 26 minutes, 51.1 seconds — since Farris Gransberry set the school record of 25:54 in 1998. Pieri broke a tie with Spring Hill female Kate Imwalle for the conference mark. Pieri won the award once as a freshman, five times as a sophomore and three times this season.

Pieri placed 21st out of 98 runners Saturday in the Gulf Coast Stampede at Pensacola, Fla., and led the Gold Rush to fifth place out of 13 schools.

Taylor Reuther

Reuther, a freshman from Metairie, La., and a graduate of St. Mary's Dominican High School, is the first XU volleyball player to be GCAC Player of the Week three times. Reuther produced kill-dig double-doubles in both of the Gold Nuggets' matches, including 19 kills and a season-high 21 digs Saturday in a 24-26, 25-16, 25-12, 25-18 victory at defending GCAC Tournament champion Dillard. It was the first time in 29 tries that Xavier won on an opponent's floor after losing the first set.

Xavier's next cross country meet will be the University of Dallas Invitational at Irving, Texas, on Saturday morning. Xavier's volleyball team, winner of nine of its last 10 matches, will play NCAA Division I opponents at The Barn on consecutive days — 7 p.m. Wednesday against the University of New Orleans and 5 p.m. Thursday against Prairie View A&M. It will be Breast Cancer Night at the UNO match, with raffles for prizes and proceeds donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement.


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

Alabama A&M football: Cruz's courage inspired Bulldogs in Saturday's win

Huntsville, Alabama -- HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Right offensive tackle Alan Cruz went down with a knee injury midway through the second quarter Saturday night against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

When Alabama A&M took the field to start the third quarter, Cruz was back in the lineup and played rest of the game as the Bulldogs scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to claim a 28-27 victory.

A&M coach Anthony Jones praised Cruz Monday.

"That kid showed a lot of heart," Jones said. "He went in at halftime and got some treatment on it and came back and played the rest of the game. I don't know how bad he is. I asked him was he going and he said yes and he played well. His courage inspired a lot of people on that sideline."



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UAPB Sports Weekly

SSU NOTEBOOK: Tigers make changes on offensive line

Savannah, Georgia - After surrendering eight sacks during a 34-14 loss to Howard in their renovated stadium’s first game, the Savannah State Tigers went to work Tuesday renovating their offensive line.

SSU has surrendered 16 sacks and 45 tackles for losses accounting for 211 lost yards during its first five games. The Tigers rank 101st among the 120 teams in the Football Championship Subdivision with 3.2 sacks allowed per game.

“It’s one of those things where we’ve got to get better, and I’ve got to find ways to put these kids in better situations,” SSU offensive coordinator Terance Mathis said. So Mathis decided to move some players around. You might need a scorecard to keep up with all the changes.

Thelmore Jackson (6-foot-5, 291), who was moved to ...



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Former Xavier employee becomes Savannah State's AD

Savannah State University athletic
director, Sterling Steward Jr.

NEW ORLEANS — Savannah State University announced Friday the hiring of Sterling Steward Jr. as director of intercollegiate athletics. Steward is a native of New Orleans and a former Xavier University of Louisiana employee.

Steward, 40, worked at Xavier from 1999-2004 — first as director of campus recreational sports, then as assistant athletics director. He also worked in the athletics departments at Mississippi Valley State, Alabama State, Kentucky State and Eastern Oregon.

"Xavier was my first professional job with major athletics responsibilities," Steward said.

"Xavier gave me a solid foundation on how to operate a successful athletics program without winning at all costs yet still graduate a high percentage of student-athletes. I am thoroughly thankful to have had that opportunity to serve at Xavier."

Steward is a 1988 graduate of St. Augustine High School and received degrees from Southern Mississippi in 1993 and 1996. His wife, the former Rachael Thompson, is a 2001 Xavier graduate.

Steward is not the first with connections to Xavier and Savannah State. Theodore "Ted" Wright coached basketball, football and track at Xavier in the 1930s and '40s and later did the same at Savannah State, which named its football/track stadium after him.

Savannah State, an NCAA Division I member in Savannah, Ga., became a full member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on Sept. 1 after 14 months of provisional membership.

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

Mississippi Valley wide receiver knows discipline

ITTA BENA, MS -- Back home in Franklin, Mississippi Valley State wide receiver Paul Cox (#84) had discipline instilled in his household at an early age. After all, his dad, Paul Cox Sr., is a master sergeant in the U.S. Army and his mom, Monica Cox, works at the clerk of courts for the St. Mary Parish court house.

“They always talked about discipline, discipline, discipline,” Cox said. “When I was younger, I never understood why my family was so hard on me.”

It was his family’s discipline that molded him into the man and football player he is today, Cox said. At seven years old, he recalls playing flag football in Morgan City, where his grandfather constantly told him to never quit, never stop, and to be the fastest person on the field.

After playing at Patterson High under Timmy Minton, Cox decided to play his college football outside of Louisiana. Despite interest from schools like Louisiana Tech, Nicholls State and Louisiana-Lafayette, Cox turned to Mississippi Valley State, in Itta Bena, Miss.



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S.C. State coach says he made error in key play before halftime

Orangeburg, SC - A week ago, Buddy Pough was concerned about keeping his South Carolina State football team level-headed after a resounding victory over Delaware State.

Coming off a crucial Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference road loss at Norfolk State, the challenge for the Bulldog head football coach is keeping the team's morale and spirits up.

"We've got our work cut out for us," said Pough at Monday's press conference. "We've got to regroup. It's one of the tougher regroups we've had in a while. One of the toughest Sundays we've had in a while. A little bit unusual, but this team is a proud one. We've struggled a little bit with the understanding and the handling of this past Saturday's game, and we need to hurry up and get by this one so we can on to the next game."

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