Xavier Rush, Nuggets will run at 2 SEC-hosted meets in 2016

NEW ORLEANS — For the first time in 13 years, Xavier University of Louisiana's men's and women's cross country teams will compete in a pair of meets at SEC schools.

The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will travel to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU Invitational Sept. 17 and to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the University of Alabama's Crimson Classic Oct. 14.

Joseph Moses, beginning his 12th season as head coach, announced Tuesday the 2016 schedule of the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets. The first meet will be the third annual Xavier Big Easy Opener Aug. 26 at City Park, about four miles from the XU campus.

Xavier will compete Sept. 2 and Oct. 7 in meets at NCAA Division II's Mississippi College. The other XU local appearance will be Sept. 10 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival at Lafreniere Park in suburban Metairie, La.

The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships will return in late October after a year's absence. Date and venue of the meet have not been determined. Xavier was the GCAC men's and women's team champion nine consecutive seasons (2006-14).

"We are excited about the 2016 season and our schedule," Moses said. "Our runners are excited about competing in the large SEC meets. The LSU and Alabama meets will help us prepare well for the GCAC and NAIA championships."

The GCAC team champions will qualify automatically for the NAIA National Championships Nov. 19. Charlotte, N.C., will be the site of that meet for the second consecutive year.

Xavier University of Louisiana 2016 Men's and Women's Cross Country Schedule Friday, Aug. 26 XAVIER BIG EASY OPENER, City Park, 5:30 p.m. women, 6 p.m. men Friday, Sept. 2 Mississippi College Season Opener, Clinton, Miss., 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival, Metairie, La., 7:50 a.m. men, 8:25 a.m. women Saturday, Sept. 17 LSU Invitational, Baton Rouge, La., 7:30 a.m. men, 8:20 a.m. women Friday, Oct. 7 Watson Ford Invitational, Clinton, Miss., 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 Crimson Classic, Tuscaloosa, Ala., TBA TBA Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships, site TBA Saturday, Nov. 19 NAIA National Championships, Charlotte, N.C., 10:30 a.m. EST women, 11:45 a.m. EST men Home meets in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS      All times are Central except where noted      Schedules are subject to change

XU schedule has 5 NAIA tourney teams in 1st 7 matches

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's 2016 volleyball schedule will include five 2015 NAIA national tournament teams among the first seven opponents, plus a school-record 10 matches in August.

Fourth-year coach Hannah Lawing — who is 65-22 with the Gold Nuggets and has won three Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships apiece — announced Monday the schedule, which consists of 30 regular-season matches, 12 at home.

Xavier (19-8 overall, 11-1 GCAC in 2015) will open the season with matches against NAIA tourney qualifiers Wayland Baptist, Our Lady of the Lake and Evangel in OLLU's Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Aug. 19 matches against Wayland Baptist and OLLU will be Xavier's earliest-ever season opener.

The following week, Xavier will play two more NAIA tourney qualifiers: Aug. 26 against Coastal Georgia and Aug. 27 against Missouri Baptist in the STU Invitational at Miami Gardens, Fla. Missouri Baptist was the national runner-up a year ago.

"We have tried very hard with this schedule to play more matches, especially those against nationally competitive teams, and to play more pre-conference tournaments," Lawing said. "We'll play a lot of August matches because we're trying to push our girls from the start and hold ourselves to a higher standard."

The Gold Nuggets will play a pair of Aug. 30 matches at city rival Loyola — against St. Thomas (Texas) and Loyola — before playing their home opener at 11 a.m. Sept. 2 against William Carey in the second annual Big Easy Blastoff. William Carey is a longtime NAIA member but in its first season of intercollegiate volleyball.

The other Big Easy Blastoff teams will be Southwest (N.M.) and Pikeville.

"In all we'll play nine times against first-time opponents, which was another scheduling goal," Lawing said.

Additional non-conference highlights include a pair of matches apiece against Mobile and Spring Hill. During the past two seasons, Mobile was 63-10, and Spring Hill was 49-14. Spring Hill will visit Xavier Sept. 15, and Mobile will visit Oct. 15 on Senior Day.

Xavier's first of 12 GCAC regular-season matches will start at 5 p.m. Sept. 6 at Tougaloo. The Gold Nuggets' first GCAC home match will start at 5 p.m. Sept. 12 against Philander Smith.

Xavier will play host to SUNO at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 and to Dillard at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in a Dig Pink match. Both are city and GCAC rivals. SUNO is a five-time GCAC Tournament runner-up in the last six seasons.

The regular-season finale will start at 7 o'clock Halloween evening at home against Tougaloo. It will be Fan Appreciation Night, and there will be a costume contest.

The GCAC Tournament will be played the first or second weekend of November at Dillard's Dent Hall.

NOTES: This will be the ninth season of XU intercollegiate volleyball and the fourth season of matches at the Convocation Center . . . In the previous eight seasons combined, Xavier played 26 times in August, four times a year ago . . . In the 2015 NAIA postseason coaches poll, Missouri Baptist ranked second, Evangel 16th and Coastal Georgia 20th. OLLU, Wayland Baptist and Mobile were among others receiving votes . . . The preseason top 25 will be announced Aug. 16, and the first regular-season rankings will be unveiled Sept. 6 . . . Xavier is scheduled to play seven more regular-season matches than it did in 2015 . . . Xavier seeks a sixth straight GCAC regular-season and tournament championship apiece, along with a sixth straight NAIA National Championship berth . . . Including tournaments, Xavier has won 72 of its last 73 matches against GCAC opponents.

Xavier University of Louisiana
2016 Women's Volleyball Schedule

Aug. 19 (Fri.):  Wayland Baptist, 9 a.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 19 (Fri.):  at Our Lady of the Lake, 1 p.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 20 (Sat.):  Evangel, 11 a.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 20 (Sat.):  Tennessee Wesleyan, 1 p.m. (Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic, San Antonio, Texas)
Aug. 26 (Fri.):  at St. Thomas (Fla.), noon EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 26 (Fri.):  Coastal Georgia, 4 p.m. EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 27 (Sat.):  Missouri Baptist, 10 a.m. EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 27 (Sat.):  Indiana Tech, 4 p.m. EDT (STU Invitational, Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Aug. 30 (Tue.):  St. Thomas (Texas) (at Loyola [La.]'s The Den), 5 p.m.
Aug. 30 (Tue.):  at Loyola (La.), 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 (Fri.):  WILLIAM CAREY, 11 a.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 2 (Fri.):  PIKEVILLE, 5 p.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 3 (Sat.):  SOUTHWEST (N.M), 11 a.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 6 (Tue.)  •  at Tougaloo, 5 p.m.
Sept. 10 (Sat.)  •  at Edward Waters, noon EDT
Sept. 12 (Mon.):  •  PHILANDER SMITH, 5 p.m.
Sept. 15 (Thu.):  SPRING HILL, 6 p.m.
Sept. 22 (Thu.)  •  at Dillard, 6 p.m.
Sept. 23 (Fri.):  FAULKNER, 3 p.m.
Sept. 24 (Sat.)  at Mobile,3 p.m.
Sept. 29 (Thu.):  •  SUNO, 6 p.m.
Oct. 1 (Sat.):  •  TALLADEGA, 1 p.m.
Oct. 2 (Sun.):  •  EDWARD WATERS, 1 p.m.
Oct. 8 (Sat.)  •  at Philander Smith, 1 p.m.
Oct. 13 (Thu.):  •  DILLARD, 6 p.m. (Dig Pink Match)
Oct. 15 (Sat.):  MOBILE, 3 p.m. (Senior Day)
Oct. 20 (Thu.)  •  at SUNO, 6 p.m.
Oct. 24 (Mon.)  at Spring Hill, 6 p.m.
Oct. 29 (Sat.)  •  at Talladega, 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 (Mon.):  •  TOUGALOO, 7 p.m. (Fan Appreciation/Costume Contest)
TBA:  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, New Orleans (at Dillard's Dent Hall)
Nov. 19 (Sat.):  NAIA National Championship opening round at campus sites, TBA
Nov. 29-Dec. 3 (Tue.-Sat.):  NAIA National Championship final site at Sioux City, Iowa, TBA

Home matches in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS
All times are Central except where noted
Schedules are subject to change

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Tickets on sale for Savannah Invitational basketball tournament

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Tickets on sale for Savannah Invitational

The Savannah Sports Council has announced that tickets are on sale for the Savannah Invitational, which features six women’s and eight men’s college basketball teams Nov. 22-26 at the Savannah Civic Center.

Participating women’s teams and conferences, which are scheduled to play Nov. 22-24, are Auburn (SEC), Ball State (MAC), East Carolina (AAC), Marist (MAAC), North Carolina A&T (MEAC) and West Virginia (Big 12).

Participating men’s teams and conferences, which are scheduled to play Nov. 25-26, are Akron (MAC), the U.S. Air Force Academy (MWC), East Carolina (AAC), , Georgia Southern (Sun Belt), Mercer (Southern), Radford (Big South) and Stetson (Atlantic Sun).
Florida A&M (MEAC)

Tickets may be purchased at SavannahInvitational.com or by calling the Savannah Civic Center box office at 912-651-6556.

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UMES women will face the Terps again in 2016-17

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- For the second straight season, the University of Maryland's women's basketball team will face the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks.

The Terps released their non-conference slate for the 2016-17 season on Wednesday, July 20 and it includes a Nov. 16 meeting with Fred Batchelor's side in College Park. The time of the game has not been set. It is the second game on the Terps' schedule.

The Terps and the Hawks met last season in Princess Anne and Maryland handed UMES its largest margin of defeat in history, with Brenda Frese’s side winning by 76 points. This will be the fourth time that the Terps and Hawks have met in women’s basketball – Maryland has won every contest.

Maryland was 31-4 last season and won the Big Ten title before falling in the NCAA tournament to Washington. The Hawks took a six-game winning streak into the MEAC tournament, but fell in the first round.

UMES has not released its non-conference women’s basketball schedule. The men’s schedule hasn’t been released either, but George Washington and UTEP have released men’s basketball slates that include match-ups with the Hawks.

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Haynes repays Alcorn State for its trust

LORMAN, Mississippi -- On the day she graduated from Meridian Community College, Norianna Haynes learned of news that would drastically change her life for the foreseeable future.

Haynes was a standout basketball player at Northeast Lauderdale High School and later helped lead the Lady Eagles to an NJCAA Region 23 Championship in during the 2011-12 season. At the time of her graduation from MCC, Haynes held scholarship offers from a number of Division 1 women’s college basketball programs.

But on her graduation day, she found out she was six months pregnant.



“I didn’t have any symptoms,” Haynes, 24, recalled. “I played basketball, and I didn’t feel it. The doctor told me that with me playing a lot, I was at high risk. I had to let the schools know. When I told certain schools, they kind of fell back and told me basically I couldn’t give (them my all) because of me being pregnant.”

The pregnancy sidelined Haynes for a year, and also prompted a number of Division 1 programs to alter the conditions of their scholarships. The full-ride offers became partial offers. Haynes said the situation was difficult to accept at the time.

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Texas Southern coach Mike Davis is shooting for more than just a SWAC championship

HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Southern head coach Mike Davis is not afraid of a battle. You would think that after his team’s 1-11 start last year against a loaded non-conference schedule -- featuring losses to Syracuse, Baylor and Mississippi State -- that the Tigers would have folded up shop early last year.

But although his team got off to a rough start, it righted the ship against its SWAC conference foes, going 16-2 and ending within one game of the NCAA tournament.

You would think after faltering out of the blocks to start, that perhaps this year Davis would consider a different strategy moving forward for the Tigers. Not so.

Once again, Davis has his Tigers pitted against a formidable list of non-conference opponents to start 2016-17, including road games against Arizona, Louisville, Baylor, Cincinnati and TCU among others.

"I’m trying to build a team that has no relax time," Davis said. "My whole mindset is to go and play as many teams as we can on the road and never play a home game in non-conference."

He feels that having his players compete in those hostile environments would help reap some long-term benefits for his players, not to mention the checks that pour in from playing so many guarantees.

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Walter Payton remembered on his 62nd birthday

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Sneak away from the monotony of your work day today and do a Google video search for Walter Payton. You won’t be disappointed.

Monday would have been his 62nd birthday, after all, and you deserve some “you” time.

The Walter Payton-style running back — bruising, durable, workhorse — is indeed a thing of the past. It’s why we loved Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch, whose style most resembled that of “Sweetness” — a back who punished defenders, who initiated contact and who perfected the shoulder dip.



Mike Ditka, who coached the former Jackson State University star during the last half of an illustrious 13-year NFL career, called him “’the very best football player I’ve ever seen, period, at any position.”

Payton’s son, Jarrett, admitted in 2011 that it’s not always easy to be the son of a famous person — particularly in sports. But he embraces the legacy his father left behind. “It’s truly an honor,” said Jarrett Payton, who proudly champions the two awards in his dad’s honor: the Walter Payton Achievement Award, which is affiliated with the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, given annually by the NFL honoring a player’s volunteer and charity work, as well as his excellence on the field.

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