Gold Rush record first victory; Nuggets win their opener

NEW ORLEANS — NAIA-ranked Xavier University of Louisiana defeated city rival Loyola Saturday in the first dual matches of the spring semester at XU Tennis Center. The Gold Rush won 8-1, and the Gold Nuggets won 9-0.
    
The XU men (1-2), ranked fourth, got singles and doubles victories from Karan Salwan, Tushar Mandlekar, Kevin Chaouat and Adam Albrecht. For the XU women (1-0), ranked 11th, Charlene Goreau, Jana van der Walt, Brandi Nelson and Sha'Nel Bruins won in singles and doubles.
    
Also scoring for Xavier were Kyle Montrel and Manav Chakma in men's singles and Dasia Harris in women's singles.
    
"It was a good day overall," 13th-year XU coach Alan Green said. "The women took care of business. Our men had one hiccup in doubles as we're still trying to figure out our best lineups."
    
Salwan, ranked eighth among singles players by the ITA, defeated Steven Le 6-3, 6-0. Montrel, ranked 10th and a three-time All-American, beat Maxime Rumeau 6-0, 6-0. Mandlekar, ranked 43rd, clinched the dual by beating Sean Presti 6-1, 6-0.
    
Albrecht defeated Ernesto de Diego 6-3, 6-1, Chaouat defeated Ricardo Mercado 6-3, 6-1, and Chakma beat George Fourmaux 6-1, 6-1.
    
"I was impressed with Kevin Chaouat," Green said. "He played pretty good singles. He didn't play a lot of singles for us last year, but I'm looking for him to maybe stay in our lineup this year. He's been working hard a lot on his singles, so we'll see."
    
Salwan and Mandlekar, the NAIA's 13th-ranked doubles team, defeated Le and de Diego 8-2.

Chaouat and Albrecht defeated Sebastian Gomez and Mercado 8-0. But Loyola (0-2) recorded its first-ever on-court victory against the Gold Rush in six duals when Presti and Rumeau beat Montrel and Chakma 8-5 at the second flight.

The Gold Nuggets lost two games in seven played matches. Loyola (0-2) had five players and defaulted matches at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.
    
Goreau, a freshman in her XU debut, beat Margaret Adams 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles and teamed with Nelson for an 8-0 victory against Adams and Lauren Rosales at the top doubles flight.
    
Also winning 6-0, 6-0 were Nelson against Rosales, van der Walt against Alexa Mancuso and Bruins against Madeline Smith. Harris beat Wesley Dejoie 6-2, 6-0. Nelson clinched the dual.
    
In doubles, Bruins and van der Walt defeated Mancuso and Dejoie 8-0.
    
The Rush and Nuggets will play William Carey — whose women are ranked sixth in the NAIA and whose men are seventh — at 11 a.m. next Saturday at XU Tennis Center. Admission is free to all XU home tennis events.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Tennessee State Big Blue to Face Vanderbilt, Georgia State

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State football announced the addition of a pair of FBS opponents to future schedules. The Tigers will face Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt and Sun Belt member Georgia State in the upcoming years.

“Vanderbilt is a good opportunity for our players to compete against an FBS opponent without having to leave the city,” said Director of Athletics Teresa Phillips. “Georgia State is an opportunity for us to get back to Atlanta. We played in the Atlanta Classic for so many years, and we have a lot of alumni in that area. It’s a good recruiting base for us student wise, and we’re excited for the opportunity to go back to Atlanta.”

TSU will face the Commodores twice in the next three years. The first matchup is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2016, with the second matchup set for 2018. Both games are slated to be played at Vanderbilt. The Tigers last faced the Commodores in 2006, a 38-9 loss.

The Big Blue will travel to Atlanta to open the 2017 season at Georgia State. It will be the first meeting between the two programs. The game is scheduled for Sept. 2, 2017 with a venue to be determined.

The Tigers last played an FBS opponent in 2011 when they faced Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo. TSU fell to the Falcons, 63-24.

The 2016 slate is in the finalization stage and will be released in the following weeks.



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Former TSU Star DRC Added to 2016 Pro Bowl Roster

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Former Tennessee State standout Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was added to the 2016 Pro Bowl roster on Tuesday morning. This is his second Pro Bowl game in during his seven year career. He last went in 2010, his rookie season, as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.

Rodgers-Cromartie collected three interceptions and 13 passes defended in his second year as a member of the New York Giants. He returned one interception for a touchdown against the Cowboys on Oct. 25. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown in the season opener in Dallas.

DRC is one of four Giants to be named to the Pro Bowl this season, which will be played on Sunday, Jan. 31, and will be televised live on ESPN. The game will be held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai’i and will serve as the signature event to kick off Super Bowl week.

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Tennessee State Sprints Past Jacksonville State, 78-53

JACKSONVILLE, Alabama – Balanced scoring and a dominant rebounding performance lifted the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to a 78-53 road victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday at the Pete Mathews Coliseum. The win improves TSU to 15-6 on the season, tripling last year’s win total of five.

Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) led five TSU players scoring in double figures with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, while Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded his ninth double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Marcus Roper (Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.) and Xavier Richards (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) scored 12 points apiece with Keron DeShields (Baltimore, Md.) adding 10. Aiding the offense was Armani Chaney (Chicago, Ill.), who led the Tigers with a career-high five assists.

The Tigers (15-6, 6-2 OVC) held a 42-27 rebounding edge over Jacksonville State (8-17, 4-6) and finished with a 44-10 advantage in points in the paint.



“I thought we came out a little sluggish in the first half offensively, but once we stopped turning the ball over, we were able to get some separation,” second-year Head Coach Dana Ford said. “Our defense was pretty consistent for 40 minutes. I thought their guys played really hard. They’re a little bit short handed today, and we were able to take advantage of that.”

After falling behind early, McCall drove the lane and delivered a two-handed dunk to level the scoring at 6-6. Later on, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Roper for a 19-10 lead at the midway point of the first half.

When the Gamecocks cut the TSU lead down to four at 31-27, the Tigers reeled off seven-consecutive points for their largest lead of the half of 11 points with the score at 38-27 in the final minute. Jacksonville State’s Erik Durham finished a layup on the last possession of the half to put the score at 38-29 through 20 minutes.

TSU kept Jacksonville State without a field goal in the first 5:37 of the second half as the visitor’s edge ballooned to 53-31. McCall came up with another dunk on a putback for a 58-39 lead with just under 10 minutes left.

The Tigers led by double figures for the entire second half and outscored Jacksonville State by a 40-24 in the closing 20 minutes.

Jacksonville State, which shot 32.7 percent from the field, was led by 13 points from DelFincko Bogan.

TSU is back in action on Thursday, Feb. 4, for a home game versus Eastern Kentucky at the Gentry Center at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: TSU moves to 16-11 in the all-time series versus Jacksonville State… TSU tripled last year’s win total of five games… TSU improves to 8-5 away from home and 6-5 in true road games… Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded his ninth double-double of the season and third of Ohio Valley Conference play.

Tennessee State Head Coach Dana Ford

“That makes us a better team when opponents can’t zero in on a couple guys. We know we have guys who are capable of big nights, and there are going to be times when we need them to have big nights. Tonight was just a little bit more of a balanced attack and we need to get some of our younger guys who aren’t playing as many minutes a little confidence heading down the stretch.”

•On TSU’s Balanced Scoring

“I think it was huge. Our guys showed a lot of character tonight. Just two nights ago, we had a heartbreaking loss and we could have hung our head and let that affect us, but I thought we got past that.”

•On coming back from a loss at Tennessee Tech

“We’re happy. If you want to have a chance to win the league, you have to win on the road. Now, it’s up to us to go back home and protect our home court with three straight home games.”

•On a convincing road win

BOX SCORE

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Tenney Named Chowan Head Volleyball Coach

MURFREESBORO, North Carolina -- The Chowan University athletic department announced the hiring of Melody Tenney as Head Volleyball Coach on Wednesday.

Tenney noted, "I'm very excited to be joining the staff at Chowan University. I look forward to building on the previous success of the Hawks' volleyball program while maintaining a winning tradition. I love the family atmosphere that Chowan has on campus."

Vice President/Director of Athletics Ozzie McFarland added, "When Meredith Long and I began looking for volleyball coaches, we wanted an enthusiastic coach who had previous head coaching experience on a similar level, and who knew how to manage a team. Melody Tenney fits that description perfectly. I am so excited about what she brings to both our volleyball program and our University. Her Christian witness, academic expectations, and emphasis on being successful exemplify exactly what I feel our University stands for."

Tenney spent the past two seasons as Head Coach at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia. After inheriting a team that won five games in 2013, Tenney doubled the program's number of wins in her first season (10-26) and advanced to the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time in program history. The Lady Bears also produced two NAIA Academic All-Americans that same season.

In 2015, Tenney led the Lady Bears to a school-record eleven wins. The team also saw several student-athletes earn individual honors with two All-AAC Freshman Team honorees (including AAC Freshman of the Year Jocelyn Mahayag), one AAC First Team recipient and three AAC All-Academic Team members. Truett-McConnell posted an 11-19 overall record over the course of the season and finished 7-13 in AAC play during Tenney's final season with the squad.

Prior to her time at Truett-McConnell, Tenney gained experience as an assistant coach at Piedmont College. There, Tenney helped the Lions earn a 28-9 overall record during the 2013 season highlighted by a school record 13-match win streak.

Tenney prepared herself to coach at the collegiate level through head coaching positions with the Orlando Volleyball Academy and Club Bomba. She also served as head coach of the varsity volleyball program at Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland, Florida.

Tenney began her college playing career at Warner University before transferring to the University of Mobile. In three seasons with the Rams, Tenney earned Setter of the Year and All-Conference accolades while ranking as high as third in the NAIA for service aces (75). Tenney also set school records for assists per match (55), assists per season (1,376) and ranks second all-time with 2,755 total assists and third all-time in total aces (187) and aces per season (75).

Tenney earned a Bachelor's of Science in Accounting from the University of Mobile in 2012 and obtained a Masters of Business Administration from Piedmont College in 2014.

The Tallahassee, Florida native currently resides in Murfreesboro.

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Southern Mississippi names Jay Hopson head football coach

HEAD COACH JAY HOPSON LEAVES ALCORN STATE
WITH A 32-17 CAREER RECORD
 

Official Twitter of Southern Miss Athletics
Bill McGillis ‏@SouthernMissAD 30m30 minutes ago

Welcome Jay Hopson to the @USMGoldenEagles #SouthernMiss family. Recruit Sunday. Team Sunday. Press Conference Monday!

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Jay Hopson is coming back to Hattiesburg.

Hopson has been hired to replace Todd Monken as Southern Miss football coach.

It’s the third stint with the Golden Eagles for the 47-year-old, who spent a combined six seasons in Hattiesburg as defensive backs coach from 2001-03 and defensive coordinator from 2005-07 under former Southern Miss head coach Jeff Bower.

Hopson is the 21st head coach in Golden Eagle history.

The Vicksburg native has spent the past four seasons at Alcorn State as the Braves’ head coach. During his tenure in Lorman, Hopson led the SWAC squad to a 32-17 overall record at and back-to-back conference championships in 2014 and 2015. Hopson, the first white football coach in SWAC history, led Alcorn State to the SBN Sports College Football National Championship in 2014.

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