XU Gold Rush can't solve Embry-Riddle in NAIA quarterfinals

MOBILE, Alabama — Adrian Bayh and Patrick Besch won a battle of top-4 doubles teams Thursday, then Bayh added a singles victory to carry second-ranked Embry-Riddle (Fla.) past No. 7 Xavier University of Louisiana 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship.

The Eagles (20-3), the national runner-up a year ago, advanced to the semifinals for the eighth consecutive year and improved to 12-0 this season against NAIA opponents. They snapped the six-dual winning streak of the Gold Rush (18-8), in the quarterfinals for the first time.

Bayh and Besch, ranked first among NAIA doubles teams by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, beat fourth-rated Loic Didavi and Zach Taylor 8-5 to put Embry-Riddle ahead to stay at 2-1. Bayh increased the lead to 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Viktor Swoboda at No. 3 singles, and Embry-Riddle clinched when Peter Francis rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 decision against Amir Rahbar at No. 4.

Xavier scored its point at No. 3 doubles, where Svoboda and Corey Huggins picked up their first victory of the season against a ranked opponent. They snapped the 15-match win streak of 20th-rated Simon Felix and Peter Francis with an 8-4 decision. Svoboda and Huggins closed with eight consecutive victories, giving Xavier a 22-4 record at that flight this season.

Embry-Riddle got its other points from Chris Freeman and J.R. Leonik — whose 8-0 decision against Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richardson was XU's first doubles shutout loss of the spring — and from David Spennare, a 6-2, 6-2 winner against Richardson at No. 5 singles.

Xavier led in two of the three unfinished matches. Didavi, ranked eighth, led second-rated Freeman 7-6 (9-7), 3-2. Huggins also won a first-set tiebreaker and led Leonik 5-3 in the second set when the dual ended.

"We gave everything we had today and it just wasn't enough," XU coach Alan Green said. "I guess this is a learning process where we show progress every year. Next year should be better for us hopefully. We were down a bit after the match, but we showed that we are among the top eight teams in the nation. We will be back."

It was the final collegiate competition for XU seniors Taylor, Giles-Osborn and Richardson.

It was the fourth straight year in the tournament for the XU men, who set a school record for victories in a season. Ten of those triumphs occurred against ranked NAIA opponents, with a school-record four against top-10 teams. The national quarterfinal appearance was the first by an XU team in any sport in 39 years.

Results

NAIA National Championship (seedings in parentheses) First Round — 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15 Cumberland (16) d. Warner (17) 9-0 William Carey (9) d. Graceland (24) 9-0 Concordia (Calif.) (12) d. Asbury (21) 9-0 Aquinas (13) d. Spring Arbor (20) 7-2 Bethany (Kan.) (14) d. Olivet Nazarene (19) 6-3 Lindsey Wilson (11) d. Hastings (22) 9-0 Point Loma Nazarene (10) d. Mobile (23) 8-1 Belhaven (15) d. Campbellsville (18) 5-4 Second Round — 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16 Fresno Pacific (1) d. Cumberland (16) 5-0 Westmont (8) d. William Carey (9) 5-4 Auburn Montgomery (5) d. Concordia (Calif.) 5-1 Azusa Pacific (4) d. Aquinas (13) 5-0 Oklahoma Christian (3) d. Bethany (Kan.) (14) 5-0 Vanguard (6) d. Lindsey Wilson (11) 5-3 Xavier (7) d. Point Loma Nazarene (10) 5-0 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (2) d. Belhaven (15) 5-0 Quarterfinals — 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 17 Fresno Pacific (1) d. Westmont (8) 5-0 Azusa Pacific (4) d. Auburn Montgomery (5) 5-4 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (2) d. Xavier (7) 5-1 Oklahoma Christian (3) d. Vanguard (6) 5-0 Semifinals — 1 p.m. on Friday, May 18 Fresno Pacific (1) vs. Azusa Pacific (4) Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (2) vs. Oklahoma Christian (3) Championship — 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 19 Xavier at Nationals (3-4) May 12, 2009 (first round): Xavier 5, Oklahoma Christian 4 May 13, 2009 (second round): Auburn Montgomery 5, Xavier 0 May 18, 2010 (first round): Xavier 5, Tennessee Wesleyan 3 May 19, 2010 (second round): Fresno Pacific 5, Xavier 1 May 18, 2011 (second round): Vanguard 5, Xavier 3 May 16, 2012 (second round): Xavier 5, Point Loma Nazarene 0 May 17, 2012 (quarterfinals): Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 5, Xavier 1

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

SWAC baseball tourney: Prairie View outlasts TSU, earns spot in title game

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Prairie View A&M didn’t have a spectacular day at the plate against Texas Southern, being out-hit for the second straight day.
Except this time, the Panthers made those few hits count.

Prairie View produced three of their seven hits in a five-run third inning and capitalized on TSU’s three errors en route to winning 8-5 in Saturday’s Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament semifinal at Lee-Hines Field and advancing to the league championship game for the first time since 2008.

The Panthers (27-23) will meet Mississippi Valley State (17-38) in the title game at 1 p.m. Sunday, looking to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

TSU fell just short of ...

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GSU out of SWAC tourney

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Grambling picked maybe the most inconvenient time to play arguably its worst defensive game of James Cooper's three-year head coaching career.

The Tigers (22-26) committed seven errors Thursday morning in an elimination game against host team Southern (32-15) at Lee-Hines Field and allowed six unearned runs en route to the 8-0 loss.

"We picked the most inopportune time to have a game with all those errors," Cooper said. "The first time in my career we've made seven errors in one game."

The Jaguars, playing as the visitors in their home park, struck quickly as leadoff speedster Tyler Kirksey reached on an infield single, stole second base, advanced to third on an erred pickoff attempt and scored on a wild pitch. The initial run was just a sign of the Grambling gifts to come.

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Native New Orleanian becomes 4th signee of Gold Rush

NEW ORLEANS — Native New Orleanian Gary Smith is Xavier University of Louisiana's fourth men's basketball signee for the 2012-13 season.

Smith, a 6-foot-1 point guard, lives in Sugar Land, Texas, and will graduate Thursday from The Village School in Houston, where he started on the varsity the past four seasons, was a four-year team captain and became the school's all-time assists leader. He was chosen the team's top defensive player four consecutive seasons.

Smith averaged 14.5 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals per game as a senior.

Reggie Rankin of Scouts Inc., writing on ESPN.com, had this analysis of Smith at the 2009 National Prep Alliance Invitational Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas: "Smith has a nice midrange game, finds the open man and plays under control."

Smith was a four-time all-tournament selection. As a sophomore he averaged 13 points and six assists per gane.

Previously signed with the Gold Rush were guard RJ Daniels of New Orleans, guard Xavier Rogers of Denton, Texas, and forward John Gibson of Marietta, Ga.

Xavier was 23-9 this past season, shared the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship, qualified for the second straight year for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship and ranked 24th in the postseason coaches poll. Xavier's 27 seasons of 20 or more victories are the most in the history of Louisiana men's college basketball.


#5 Gary Smith II highlights from the National Prep Alliance Tourney 2012

2012-13 Xavier men's basketball signees 
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.* Hometown High School (College)
RJ Daniels G 6-4 190 Fr. New Orleans, La. St. Augustine
John Gibson F 6-7 195 Fr. Marietta, Ga. Walton
Xavier Rogers G 6-2 175 Jr. Denton, Texas Lake Dallas (Grambling)
Gary Smith G 6-1 180 Fr. Sugar Land, Texas The Village School
* athletic classification at Xavier in fall of 2012

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

MVSU Devils’ pitching shuts down SU in tournament

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - At 6:01 p.m. Friday, at the end of a long, steamy and devastating afternoon for the Southern baseball team at the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, Southern right-hander Brian Foster stood outside the first-base dugout at Lee-Hines Field, physically and emotionally spent after the wildest day of his life.

He got a handshake and a hug from assistant coach Fernando Puebla. Then, for the second time, Foster burst into tears.

Earlier that morning, inside the F.G. Clark Activity Center, Foster received his pre-med diploma at SU’s spring commencement. Meanwhile, about 100 yards away, his teammates momentarily staved off elimination with a thrilling win over Alcorn State.

Six hours later, Foster had thrown 151 pitches against Mississippi Valley State. He earned a standing ovation after the eighth inning, crying as he walked off the mound.

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Harris, Smith increase Gold Nuggets' signee total to five

PATRICE SMITH

DARIAN  HARRIS

NEW ORLEANS — Defensive specialist Darian Harris of Gretna, La., and Louise S. McGehee School and right-side hitter Patrice Smith of Glenn Heights, Texas, and DeSoto High School signed women's volleyball scholarships Wednesday with Xavier University of Louisiana.

Xavier has signed five high school seniors for the 2012 season.

Harris recorded 757 digs, 107 aces and 70 kills the past three seasons at McGehee. She helped the Hawks finish second in the Division IV state
playoffs in 2009 and reach the semifinals in 2010. They won district championships both seasons.

Smith started as a junior and senior on DeSoto teams which were 27-8 overall and 9-1 in district in 2010 and 27-14 and 10-0 in 2011. Both teams were district champions and won in the first round of the state playoffs. Smith produced 193 kills, 150 blocks and 124 digs as a senior and was first-team all-district. She was selected her district's top newcomer in 2010.

Harris and Smith will be biology / pre-medical majors at Xavier.

Previously signed with the Gold Nuggets were middle blocker Jodi Hill of Prairieville, La., outside hitter CeCe Williams of Houma, La., and middle blocker Claudia Haywood of Memphis, Tenn.

Xavier was 23-7 in 2011, won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and qualified for the NAIA National Championship. The Gold Nuggets will begin the 2012 season in late August.



Facebook photos of their signings: Darian Harris and Patrice Smith

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

Shaw University Completes Football Coaching Staff

RALEIGH, North Carolina - Shaw University head football coach Robert Massey has completed his football coaching staff. Massey keeps a number of the coaches collected by former head coach Darrell Asberry, while adding three new members to the staff.

"I feel this is a nice blend of returning coaches - who understand the traditions of Shaw football," said Massey. " And also new coaches who can and will take Shaw to the next level."

Serving as Associate Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach will be Maurice Flowers, who most recently served as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at his alma mater, Johnson C. Smith. In all, he has 17 years of coaching experience, with 16 of those spent as a head coach or lead coordinator. Last season, JCSU had one of the top offenses in the CIAA and quarterback Keahn Wallace was named Offensive Player of the Year.

De'Andre' Okonji, who finished his college career as Shaw's all-time leading receiver, returns to his alma mater as the Wide Receivers Coach. Last season, he was the Student Assistant Coach at Feather River Community College where he was responsible for wide receivers, special teams, and recruiting. He coached one All-American receiver last season.

Marcus Webb joins the coaching staff after two years at Contra Costa College in Richmond, CA, where he most recently served as the Tackles/Tight Ends Coach as well as having primary responsibility for recruiting and video.

Rounding out the coaching staff are five coaches who served on the Bear staff last season. Richard Gray will continue as Offensive Line Coach while Markus McElveen - who served as a student assistant coach last season - takes over the Defensive Line coaching duties.

Felton Page continues as the Running Backs Coach and Kenneth Williams remains the Defensive Backs Coach. Sherman Simmons, who coached the defensive line last year, moves to the Linebackers Coach position.

Shaw opens its 2012 campaign on Thursday, August 30 when they travel to Charleston (WV). They open their home season the following Saturday, September 8 when they host Miles.

COURTESY SHAW UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION