Steelers RB Redman ready to carry heavy load

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — They don't celebrate NFL backups in southern New Jersey. Trust Isaac Redman on this.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers running back returned to his hometown of Paulsboro, N.J., during the offseason after his rookie year in the NFL in 2009, people just kind of shrugged their shoulders.



Three years later, things have changed. The overweight kid from Division II Bowie State who barely made the practice squad during that miserable first season is now the centerpiece for a running attack geared at taking pressure off quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

And the fine folks in Paulsboro know it.

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Kelly Merkel signs with Tennessee State

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State University head women's golf coach Chris Seibel has announced that Kelly Merkel has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play golf for TSU.

Merkel, a native of Columbia, Tennessee, considered several golf offers before committing to Tennessee State, according to the Columbia Daily Herald.

"For a long time, I have wanted to play golf at a Division I school," commented Merkel. "I'm really looking forward to playing for him (Coach Seibel) and continuing my education at Tennessee State."

Merkel advanced through the District 8-AAA tournament to the Region 4 tournament four consecutive seasons at Central High School. She qualified for the TSSAA State as a sophomore shooting an 82-83-165 at Old Fort (Murfreesboro) and again as a senior when she placed 10th behind a score of 160 (82-78) at Willowbrook Country Club.

In 2011 she was runner-up to eventual state champ of Lawrence County in the District 8-AAA tournament. She placed third in the Region 4 meet at Bear Trace Tims Ford in Winchester.

Kelly Merkel signs with TSU
PHOTO COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Central golf coach Chris Lawson had this to say about Merkel: "Kelly worked extremely hard from a young age to develop her golf swing. She never missed any practices and was always ready to work. She showed gradual improvement in the maturity of her game and how she approached it every year."

Merkel also participated on the Tennessee Golf Association Junior Tour the past two summers in the 15-18 Masters Division and tied for ninth place in the tour's postseason state meet at the Cookeville Country Club.

Merkel was the low medalist in the Tennessean Schooldays Tournament at McCabe in Nashville last June, shooting a 68. She also received the annual Joanne Ramsey award for the Outstanding Female Athlete at Central and made All-District 8-AAA in softball for three consecutive years.

"Kelly will be a great leader for the women's golf program," said head TSU Chris Seibel. "She has proven that she can shoot low rounds and compete with other girls. I am excited to bring her in to start building this program to a competitive level in the OVC. I am glad to keep a good player like her in the Nashville area. She will be a top player in the OVC the next four years."

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It's 7th heaven for Gold Rush in NAIA postseason poll

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana capped the best season in the modern era of its men's tennis program with a No. 7 ranking Tuesday in the postseason NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

The XU men (18-8), who maintained their school-record ranking from 15 days ago, are one of eight NAIA teams in the final top 10 for the second consecutive season. The Gold Rush were eighth a year ago. This is the first time since 2002 that the last rating occurs after the NAIA National Championship.

Xavier is in the top 10 for the 11th straight time, including all nine this season, and in 14 of the last 15 polls. It's the 41st consecutive top-25 appearance for the Gold Rush in a streak which began April 4, 2007.

Xavier justified its top-10 status by defeating then-ninth-ranked Point Loma Nazarene 5-0 Wednesday in the second round of the national tournament. That made coach Alan Green's team the first from Xavier in any sport to reach the national quarterfinals since men's basketball in 1973.

2011/12 XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA MEN'S TENNIS ROSTER
HEAD COACH: Alan Green (Xavier 2002), ninth season

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through end of season)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Oklahoma Christian (12) 20-3 312 3
2 Fresno Pacific 25-2 302 1
3 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 20-4 292 2
4 Azusa Pacific 21-3 282 4
5 Auburn Montgomery 17-8 272 5
6 Vanguard 15-10 262 6
7 Xavier 18-8 251 7
8 Westmont 12-10 242 8

9 William Carey 17-5 228 10

10 Lindsey Wilson 19-6 219 12

11 Point Loma Nazarene 13-11 217 9

12 Concordia (Calif.) 9-13 205 11

13 Aquinas 26-3 187 13

14 Bethany (Kan.) 22-4 183 14

15 Belhaven 16-4 174 15

16 Cumberland 18-3 164 16

17 Campbellsville 19-7 148 18

18 Warner 13-5 137 17

19 Lewis-Clark State 11-9 131 19

20 Olivet Nazarene 15-5 126 21

21 Northwestern Ohio 19-7 114 20

22 Shorter 12-15 101 22

23 Webber International 15-7 88 23

24 Spring Arbor 24-3 73 RV

25 Our Lady of the Lake 7-7 69 24

Others receiving votes: Lee (Tenn.) 66, Pikeville 48, Biola 27, Hastings 16, McPherson 14, Bethel (Tenn.) 11, Asbury 11, Roberts Wesleyan 8, Northwood (Fla.) 5, Graceland 3, SCAD Atlanta 3, Davenport 1, Georgetown (Ky.) 1, Oklahoma Baptist 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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Xavier Gold Nuggets in final top 25 for the 7th time in 8

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana climbed one place to 19th Tuesday in the postseason NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

It's the seventh time in eight seasons that the Gold Nuggets (7-22) appear in the final top 25 of the season. This is the first time since 2002 that the last rating occurs after the NAIA National Championship.

Excluding the 2005-06 season, when Xavier did not compete because of Hurricane Katrina, the Gold Nuggets appeared in the top 25 in 48 of the past 58 polls. They were no lower than 20th in the final three polls of 2012 after a stretch of 10-of-11 polls outside the top 25.

Despite their losing record, the XU women won an NAIA unaffiliated group tournament to qualify for nationals for the sixth time in eight seasons. They lost 6-3 to 15th-ranked Vanguard in the opening round a week ago.

Auburn Montgomery, which won the championship for the second straight year and the 11th time in 14 seasons, was a unanimous No. 1 for the sixth straight poll. The Warhawks were first in all nine polls this year. Embry-Riddle (Fla.), a 5-2 to loser to AUM in the championship dual Saturday, finished No. 2.

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through end of season)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Auburn Montgomery (13) 26-2 343 1
2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 23-4 332 3
3 Fresno Pacific 22-5 321 2
4 Oklahoma Christian 18-4 310 4
5 Azusa Pacific 18-4 299 5
6 Brenau 14-6 285 7
7 Concordia (Calif.) 15-8 274 8
8 Lindsey Wilson 17-4 269 11
9-tie William Carey 15-10 251 9
9-tie Point Loma Nazarene 16-6 251 6
11 Shorter 21-9 227 12
12 Southern Nazarene 13-6 226 10
13 SCAD Savannah 9-4 209 13
14 Lewis-Clark State 8-15 196 14
15 Vanguard 10-15 193 15
16 Indiana Wesleyan 25-5 179 16
17 Campbellsville 14-8 155 17
18 Westmont 7-11 148 19
19 Xavier 7-22 142 20
20 Lee (Tenn.) 9-7 141 18
21 Robert Morris (Chicago) 17-3 128 22
22 Martin Methodist 11-4 125 21
23 St. Thomas (Fla.) 5-4 93 23
24 Oklahoma Baptist 10-8 79 24
25 Marian (Ind.) 21-6 74 25

Others receiving votes: Northwestern Ohio 65, Davenport 42, Bethel (Kan.) 36, Nebraska Wesleyan 33, Webber International 26, Olivet Nazarene 20, Belhaven 14, Missouri Valley 12, Georgetown (Ky.) 10, Indiana Southeast 3, Milligan 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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ASU's fast four chasing NCAA glory

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Four members of the Alabama State women’s track team are looking for bigger accomplishments this weekend after leading the Hornets to a sweep of the Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.

Alabama State won the SWAC title in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track, but the NCAA regionals present a steeper challenge for the conference’s top track athletes.

Tia Rolle qualified for both the 200-meter dash and as a member of the Hornets’ 4x100 relay team. Her performance this weekend could also land the Bahamas’ native on her country’s track team in the upcoming Olympics.

“I just take it one step at a time,” Rolle said. “I’ll go this weekend and give it everything I’ve got, and hopefully it’s good enough to take me further. I feel pretty good. During the season, we competed against Auburn, we competed against Penn State, we’ve competed against the majority of the schools we’re going to face this weekend.”


SWAC Women's Championship: 4X100m
Finals 1 Alabama State 'A' 45.03 1) Pope, Jasmine 2) Rolle, Tia 3) Tavernier, Asha 4) Lee, Latrice 2 Prairie View 'A' 46.52 1) Hill, Keely 2) Dixon, Myesha 3) Turner, Raven 4) Moody, Terracia 3 Southern 'A' 46.86 6 1) Parker, Kayante 2) George, Tiffany 3) Doucett, Janessa 4) Sims, Jazzmin

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In the FCS Huddle: Ten FCS receivers to watch

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The prototypical receiver has changed in the last decade with wide receivers taking on tight end height and tight ends taking on wide receiver speed. The ones who have both traits are especially lethal.

The Football Championship Subdivision will feature such receivers this season.

Elon senior Aaron Mellette headlines a contingent of 10 FCS receivers to watch (OK, we've thrown in a tight end to make it 11) and only one of them stands below 6-foot-2.

Yes, it's a group that sizes up well.

Following are FCS receivers to watch this season:

Xavier Boyce, Norfolk State, Sr., 6-4, 220 - The Virginia Beach, Va., product took the MEAC by storm last season after transferring home to Norfolk State from Virginia Tech, catching 68 passes for 750 yards and four touchdowns. He has an ability to break tackles and make yardage after the catch, especially on screen passes. His size doesn't just come up big in the passing game, he uses it well in run blocking.

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Hampton again seeking CAA affiliation?

HAMPTON, Virginia - Might the Colonial Athletic Association respond to the loss of a member located in Hampton Roads by considering another university from the same area?

Hampton University has belonged to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference since 1995. HU president William R. Harvey in the past expressed interest in the CAA, which is losing state schools Virginia Commonwealth University (in July) and Old Dominion University (in 2013).

Harvey, HU's president since 1978, approached the CAA about membership when the Pirates elevated to Division I in the mid-1990s. The CAA opted not to invite HU then, or when the league expanded to include Towson, Delaware, Drexel and Hofstra for 2001-02.

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