PV rules the SWAC

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Promoted to head coach of the Prairie View baseball team four years ago, Waskyla Cullivan struggled early on.

During his first two years in charge, the Panthers missed the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, finishing last in the Western Division after winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and ’08. Fans had to wonder how long Cullivan might last.

“There was a transitional period for me,” he said. Evan Richard, a catcher from Sugar Land, Texas, with a good bat and leadership skills, came to Prairie View with one goal in mind: to win the SWAC championship. After three seasons, he was ringless.

On a steamy, sweat-soaked Sunday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field, after the Panthers held off Mississippi Valley State for a 7-4 victory in the championship game of the conference tournament, Cullivan and Richard shared a congratulatory hug. Along with some very important hardware.

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University of the District of Columbia Women’s Tennis Team’s Storybook Season Comes to Close in NCAA Round of 16

ROSTER
HEAD COACH: T. Richard Mahaffey, III

(PHOTO COURTESY UDC SPORTS INFORMATION)

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – The University of the District of Columbia women's tennis team's storybook 2011-12 season has come to an end in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Tournament Round of 16 as the Firebirds succumbed to the reigning national champion Barry University, 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon at EP Tom Sawyer State Park.

The Firebirds surrendered to a 3-0 deficit after dropping all three doubles matches, and the Buccaneers went on to secure the match victory with singles wins at No. 3 and 6, respectively. Barry, ranked No. 2 in the nation, improved to 25-0 on the season and advances to play the winner of the Cal (Pa.) vs. Cameron match tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

District of Columbia finished the season with a mark of 17-4, more than doubling their win total (7) from the previous year. The Firebirds also earned the school's first-ever East Coast Conference championship this Fall, which earned them an automatic bid to the school's first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament. There, they knocked off No. 6 Adelphi, 5-4 in the first round and then upset the tournament host and No. 2 seed Southern New Hampshire, 5-3 to advance to the Sweet 16 as the East Region's No. 2 representative.

ECC Coach of the Year Dickie Mahaffey returns five of the six players on this year's roster, including First Team All-ECC honorees Kristyna Nepivodova and Jessica Nunez and Second Team All-ECC honoree, Maxime Duijst.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTS INFORMATION

WSSU Receives Green Light by Governors for Stadium & Deck

EXCERPT:

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- UNC’s board of governors will ask state legislators in their upcoming session to approve more than $60 million in construction projects at Winston-Salem State University and UNC-Greensboro and to authorize planning for more than $100 million in future projects at WSSU and N.C. A&T State University.

All of the projects approved to move forward in the budgeting process at the governors April 13 meeting are “non-appropriated capital improvement projects,” meaning the money for them comes not from the state budget but from long-term debt repaid over time by user fees. Dorm buildings, dining halls and athletic facilities are among the projects that generally fall under that process.

Also given the green light by governors for WSSU was $7.5 million for the acquisition and renovation of Bowman Gray Stadium from the city of Winston-Salem, and $7 million for the construction of a 300-500 car parking deck near the K.R. Williams Auditorium and adjacent to the sciences campus.

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Morgan State mourns loss of former student-athlete, Gene Johnson

Gene H. Johnson, Jr. 
OCT. 6, 1987 - MAY 17, 2012
Photo Courtesy: Morgan State University Media Relations

BALTIMORE, Maryland – Morgan State former basketball student-athlete, Gene Johnson, died in his sleep last night (5/17/12) while at home in Hagerstown, Maryland. Emergency medical crews were called but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. The exact cause of the 24-year old's death has not been confirmed and our thoughts are with his family, friends and former teammates at this time.

Johnson, a Hagerstown, Maryland native, began his career in 2007-08 as a walk-on and during his career he has been a member of one of the most dominant squads in the MEAC. He played a role in the Bears three regular season championships, finished with two MEAC championship rings, including an NIT appearance and two berths in the NCAA Tournament.

He was a versatile and athletic player who was one of the most liked players during his time as a Bear. Johnson graduated with a Sociology degree from Morgan State in May of 2011.

"Gene Johnson was one of MSU Athletics' brightest young talents who was loved by everyone in the Bears Family,” said MSU Athletics Director Floyd Kerr.

“His sudden loss has sent a ripple of sadness throughout the Morgan community. Gene was one of the best examples that gave meaning to the saying 'teamwork makes the dream work' because of his significant contributions and dedication to the championship basketball teams he played on. More importantly, he was a classy young man who had a dream to be successful, and I had high confidence that Gene would succeed. He will be missed by all. Personally, I will always remember him fondly as 'Radar Gene, with the built-in screen.'”

“This is a very sad day and a devastating loss of a great young man that we were very proud of,” said MSU head coach Todd Bozeman. “He played four years and started in a couple of games for us. Upon graduation, he started pursuing his master's degree. Our sincere condolences go out to his family and to all of those who knew him. He will be missed by many friends, teammates and others throughout campus.”

By MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS

2012 ASU Football Schedule Announced

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A nationally-televised season opener and the opening of the new on-campus football stadium on Thanksgiving Day highlights the 2012 Alabama State University football schedule.

2012 Alabama State Football Schedule

The Hornets will play five games in Montgomery, four of them at Cramton Bowl prior to the inaugural game in New ASU Stadium on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22 vs. Tuskegee in the 89th Turkey Day Classic.

In addition to the 71st Magic City Classic in Birmingham, one of nine Southwestern Athletic Conference games, Alabama State will open the season in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney vs. Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, Sept. 2 in Orlando, Fla. in a nationally televised game (kickoff TBD) on one of the ESPN family of networks.



“I'm very excited about our 2012 schedule,” said 6th-year head coach Reggie Barlow, coming off posting an 8-3 campaign in 2011 which included a 7-2 mark in conference play. “To be able to open on national television against Bethune-Cookman is a good way to start the season. The conference schedule will bring excitement and is a challenge as it is every year. The final regular season game against Tuskegee on Thanksgiving Day to open our new stadium will be something we all will remember. It should be a fun year.”

Alabama State will play its home opener Sept. 8 vs. Mississippi Valley State, before travelling to face defending SWAC Champion Grambling State on Sept. 15. The Hornets will return home Sept. 22 to host the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and end the month at Alcorn State on Sept. 29.

October will bring back-to-back home game games, as the Hornets will host Texas Southern on Oct. 6 and Jackson State Oct. 13. Following an open date on Oct. 20, Alabama State will take on arch-rival Alabama A&M in the Magic City Classic at historic Legion Field on Oct. 27.

The Hornets will play consecutive road games to open November, with contests at Prairie View A&M Nov. 3 and at Southern Nov. 10. Following an open date, ASU will open its new on-campus football stadium in the 89th Turkey Day Classic vs. Tuskegee on Nov. 22.

The 2012 SWAC Championship game is set for Dec. 8 in Birmingham.

2012 ALABAMA STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME
Sept. 2 Bethune-Cookman Orlando, Fla. TBD
(8th MEAC/SWAC Challenge Presented by Disney)
Sept. 8 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ST.* Montgomery, Ala. 6 p.m.
Sept. 15 at Grambling St.* Grambling, La. TBD
Sept. 22 ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF* Montgomery, Ala. 6 p.m.
Sept. 29 at Alcorn St.* Lorman, Miss. 2 p.m.
Oct. 6 TEXAS SOUTHERN* Montgomery, Ala. 1 p.m.
Oct. 13 JACKSON ST.* Montgomery, Ala. 1 p.m.
Oct. 20 open date
Oct. 27 ALABAMA A&M* Birmingham, Ala. TBD
(71st Magic City Classic)
Nov. 3 at Prairie View A&M* Prairie View, Texas 1 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Southern* Baton Rouge, La. 6 p.m.
Nov. 17 open date
Nov. 22 TUSKEGEE Montgomery, Ala. TBD
(89th Turkey Day Classic)
Dec. 8 SWAC Championship Birmingham, Ala. TBD
Home games in CAPS; * denotes SWAC games; all dates and times subject to change.




COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Wilson's Davis to play hoops at Johnson C. Smith University

FLORENCE, South Carolina -- Alandre Davis has improved as a player during his last three seasons on the Wilson basketball team. Now, Davis hopes to continue that in college as he signed a letter of intent to play at Johnson C. Smith, a Division II school in Charlotte, N.C.

“I haven’t nearly reached my potential yet and I feel like if I keep working hard then the possibilities are endless for me,” Davis said.

The 6-foot-7 Davis also considered Francis Marion and USC Aiken before settling on Johnson C. Smith. The Golden Bulls play in the CIAA and went 12-15 this season. Davis will probably play power forward in college.

Davis came off this bench as a sophomore and junior before cracking the starting lineup this year. He averaged 11.9 pts, 9.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks this year and selected to play in the North-South All-Star game.

“He has had continuous improvement during his last three years and he was better at the end of the season than he was at the beginning,” said former Wilson coach DeAndre Scott, who coached Davis the last three years. “At the end of the year, he was playing great ball and really think his best basketball is in front of him.

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XU's Green selected NAIA Region IV Coach of the Year

COACH ALAN GREEN

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Alan Green has been chosen Wilson Coach of the Year in NAIA Region IV men's tennis by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association.

It's the first regional coaching award for Green, a New Orleans native who has bachelor's and master's degrees from Xavier.

Green's Gold Rush were 18-8 this year and set a school record for victories in a season. The XU men earned their highest ever ranking (No. 7) in the national poll, won a conference/group championship for a school-record seventh straight season and, for the first time since 1973, became the first XU team in any sport to reach the quarterfinals of an NAIA National Championship. The Gold Rush had 10 victories against ranked NAIA opponents, including a school-record four against the top 10, and three victories against NCAA Division I.

Region IV comprises nine southern states. The other regional coaching recipients were Oklahoma Christian's Kris Miller, Spring Arbor's Terry Darling and Fresno Pacific's Neil Castro. Miller was selected national coach of the year for the fifth time.

All five of Xavier's head coaches won at least one coach-of-the-year award on the conference, state or regional level in 2011-12.

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