Price, Sewell lead XULA teams at McNeese meet

LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana — Taylor Price and Camren Sewell were the first finishers Saturday for Xavier University of Louisiana at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede cross country meet.     

Price finished 45th out of 96 runners in the 5,000-meter women's race. Her time was 20 minutes, 58.3 seconds. Sewell placed 69th out of 99 runners in the four-mile men's race. His time was 25:07.6.
     
The Gold Nuggets' other finishers were Maliya Vaughan (55th place, 21:30.5), Brianna Pace (74th, 22:42.2), Mariah Cox (90th, 26:10.9) and Toni Trail (95th, 28:59.6).
     
Also finishing for the Gold Rush were Jordan Ashmore (79th, 26:07.5), Kadeem Burton(81st, 26:47.7), Francis Patterson (85th, 27:49.9), Darrick Williams (88th, 28:50.9), Oji Wells(91st, 29:10.2) and Langston Scott (93rd, 30:32.3). It was Scott's collegiate debut.
     
XULA scored 337 points to finish 12th out of 14 women's teams. One of the teams the Gold Nuggets beat was NCAA Division I Texas Southern. The XULA men finished 13th out of 14 teams with 354 points.
     
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi swept the team titles (women 24 points, men 39). Individual champions were Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Allyson Girard (17:15.2) in the women's race and McNeese's Daniel Saina (21:07.7) in the men's.
     
It was XULA's second competition of the season. The Nuggets and Rush will travel to Clinton, Miss., for the Watson Ford Invitational next Saturday — men's 8K at 8 a.m., women's 6K at 8:45.

Results (PDF):  Men    Women

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Alabama State Men's Golf in second place after opening round of NBCHOF Invitational

NEWNAN, Georgia -- The Alabama State men's golf team jumped out to an impressive start at the HBCU Golf Invitational on Friday by firing a 293 (+5) and is currently in sole possession of second place.

Thacher Neal and Afnan Chowdhury each carded a 71(-1) at Summer Grove Golf Club. The two Hornets are currently tied with Samuel Bradley (North Carolina Central) in third place. Thomas Caddell turned in a one-over par result and trails closely behind (seventh place) while Noel Sims (+2) is tied for eighth. Senior Mbongeni Maphosa Jr. fired his best round of the season (+3) and sits inside the top-15 via an eight-way tie for 13th place. Ben Swaffield (+6) and Patricio Minondo (+10) rounded out the scoring for Alabama State. Chowdhury and Minondo are competing in the event as individuals.

The Hornets trail Prairie View A&M (+3) – headlined by Lorenzo Elbert's 66 – heading into tomorrow's final round.

Live stats of the event can be tracked here.

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For complete coverage of Alabama State University men's and women's golf teams, follow us on social media at @BamaStateGolf (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook), and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State University athletics at BamaStateSports.com.

ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

The Road To the Championship HBCU Football Schedule, Week 5

SATURDAY, SEPT. 29, 2018

BIG SOUTH
Charleston Southern at Hampton, 2 PM, ESPN+  Stats

OVC
Tennessee State at Vanderbilt, 4 PM, TV: SEC Network

SWAC
Prairie View A&M vs. Grambling State at Dallas, TX, 5 PM, State Fair Classic
Alabama A&M at Jackson State, 5 PM
Alcorn State at Southern, 7 PM, ESPN3
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Florida International, 7 PM, ESPN+

MEAC
Delaware State at Norfolk State, 4 PM, ESPN3
Florida A&M at North Carolina Central, 4 PM, ESPN3
Bethune-Cookman at Savannah State, 6 PM, ESPN3


OTHER HBCUs
Arizona Christian at Texas College, 12 PM
West Virginia State at Glenville State (WV) 12 PM, Stats   Video  Listen
Edward Waters at Keiser, 12 PM, 12 PM   Listen
Wayland Baptist at Langston, 3 PM, Stats   Video
Lincoln (MO) at Indianapolis, 6 PM, Video   Stats   Listen

SIAC
Benedict at Central State (OH), 1 PM,  Stats   Video
Lane at Tuskegee, 1 PM, Video
Morehouse at Kentucky State, 2 PM, Stats
Miles at Albany State, 6 PM, Video
Virginia University of Lynchburg at Fort Valley State, 6 PM
Allen at Clark Atlanta, 7 PM

CIAA
Livingstone at Virginia Union, 1 PM
Saint Augustine's at Elizabeth City State, 1 PM
Johnson C. Smith at Lincoln (PA), 1 PM
Winston-Salem State at Bowie State, 4 PM
Fayetteville State at Chowan, 6 PM
Shaw at Virginia State, 6 PM

ALL GAME TIMES SHOWN IN EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 27, 2018

MEAC
North Carolina A&T 31, South Carolina State 16

Tennessee State Coach Jessica Kern on the first official practice

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State University head women’s basketball coach Jessica Kern gave her thoughts on the first official practice of 2018.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

TSU Tigers Improve to 3-0 in OVC Play with Win Over JSU

JACKSONVILLE, Alabama -- In its first Ohio Valley Conference road game of the season, the Tennessee State Tiger volleyball team defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23) Friday evening at Kennamer Hall.

TSU is now 3-0 in conference play, 5-8 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Julia Pierson recorded her third double-double of the season against the Gamecocks with a match-high 17 kills and 10 digs.
• Laken Te’o registered her career-high 46 assists.
• TSU combined for nine blocks – five Tigers registered three total blocks a piece. Rachel Henderson, Hinalei Fihaki and JoJo Kruize each posting solo blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Gamecocks served the first ball and won the first point with a kill by middle Addie Halverson. TSU’s first point came from a JSU service error. With Julia Pierson at the service line, fellow returner Rachel Henderson took control of the net, going up for and a solo block. From that point, TSU’s front row pushed the Tigers to create a six-point lead over Jacksonville State with a seven-point run that included a JoJo Kruize and Laken Te’o block. TSU finished the set with four team blocks and 13 kills to take the set, 25-23.

TSU took the lead in set two before Jacksonville State’s defense picked up steam halting the Tigers’ hitting accuracy to .081 compared to .219 in the first set. Freshman outside and Gamecock kills leader Lena Kindermann served as JSU’s finisher, posting four of the last six JSU points. Jacksonville State closed the set, 25-22.

The final two sets were battles as the Tigers started off fast, JSU pushed for points in the middle and TSU closed it out, winning both 25-23.

MATCH NOTES

• TSU improves to 11-23 in the all-time series against the Gamecocks.
• Big Blue is 3-0 in OVC play, while JSU sinks to 0-3.
• Jacksonville State won coin toss and served first.

UP NEXT             

TSU continues conference road play at Tennessee Tech tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. in the Eblen Center.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

AAMU Women's Soccer runs past Alcorn State

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama  — Ayanna Gooden was excited about playing in front of a home crowd.

The Alabama A&M forward showed why.

Gooden scored three goals as Alabama A&M ran past Alcorn State 6-0 Friday afternoon to remain perfect in SWAC play.

Alabama A&M (3-6-1, 3-0 in SWAC) entered the contest on a hot streak, and the Bulldogs showed no signs of cooling off.

Gooden put a penalty kick in the back of the net midway into the first half to give Alabama A&M the lead, and momentum never shifted. Nia Thompson stretched the lead to 2-0 a few minutes later, and then Gooden followed with her second goal of the day.

BOX SCORE

Thompson finished with two goals, and Camille Nurse added another.

Gooden and Cailyn Poythress each had an assist for Alabama A&M.

Alabama A&M controlled possession throughout the match. Alcorn State (0-8, 0-3) only attempted three shots while the Bulldogs attempted 25, with seven of those being shots on goal.

Jodi Medina recorded the shutout in goal. She had one save.

Alabama A&M hosts Mississippi Valley on Sunday at 1 p.m.

ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

UAB Announces Historic 2018-19 Bowling Schedule

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Coming off the program's first trip to the USBC National Championships and entering its first season as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), head coach Michelle Crews has announced the UAB bowling team's schedule for the upcoming 2018-19 season.
 
The team is set to travel to 11 different states during the year, including trips to Dover, Delaware (Nov. 10-11), and Greensboro, North Carolina (Feb. 23-24), for head-to-head conference matchups.
 
"With the addition of our conference meets this season, we had to make some adjustments to our schedule to allow us to remain within our maximum of 32 dates of competition," head coach Michelle Crews said. "We are excited to return to some of our favorite events, while adding a few new ones to the mix. We are defending champions at the Hornet Classic, so we look forward to be able to return to Montgomery and try to defend our title."


UAB 2018-19 WOMEN'S BOWLING SCHEDULE
 
UAB's season commences with a trip to Kenner, Louisiana, on Oct. 19 for the Allstate Sugarbowl hosted by Tulane. From there, the team continues its westward journey to Houston, Texas, for the Kat Klash from Nov. 2-4.
 
On Nov. 16-18, the Blazers finish the fall semester by looking to repeat as champions at the Alabama State Hornet Classic in Montgomery.
 
After the Holiday break, the Blazers return for the Mid-Winter Invitational at Arkansas State before taking their talents to the Kutztown Invitational (Jan. 18-20) and the Sunshine State Winter Classic (Feb. 8-10).
 
USBC Sectionals will be held on March 8-9 before UAB concludes their regular season at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic in Smyrna, Tenn hosted by Vanderbilt. UAB wraps up its historic season when it competes in its first-ever MEAC Championship on March 29-31 in Chesapeake, Virginia.
 
Both the NCAA Championships (April 11-13) and USBC Nationals (April 17-20) will be held in the state of Ohio to close out the year, with competition occurring in Cleveland and Dayton, respectively.
 
Finishing their 2017-18 season as the No. 16 team in the country, the Blazers posted a 60-41 record with two top-five finishes. The Blazers capped off the year with a trip to the USBC Intercollegiate Team National Championship for the first time in program history. 
 
The Green and Gold returns 11 players while adding three freshman to this year's squad.
 
For more information on the UAB bowling team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Bowl) or like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABBowling2011).

Russell Named to the Preseason All-MEAC Bowling Team

BIRMINGHAM -- With less than a month until the Blazers begin their first official season as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the UAB bowling team has already made a mark on its new league as junior Taylor Russell was named to the Preseason All-MEAC Bowling Team, the league office announced on Thursday afternoon.
 
Russell, who became UAB's first NTCA All-American last season, is the first Blazer to earn any sort of conference honor.
 
"I am so proud of Taylor for being named to the Preseason All-Conference Team," head coach Michelle Crewssaid. "The Preseason All-Conference award is heavily based on last year's performance and Taylor had a groundbreaking year individually, as she was an Honorable Mention All-American, our first in program history. She has been working so hard already this season to make her performance even stronger."
 
Along with the preseason honor for Russell, league voters projected that the Blazers will finish in fourth place in its inaugural season.
 
"We are very excited for our first preseason MEAC ranking day," Crews said. "Our goal this year in the MEAC is to be competitive with the existing teams and pushing ourselves not only to get to the conference championship, but to make it to the championship finals television show. Joining the MEAC this season gives us two opportunities to get to the NCAA Championship through the normal at-large pick based on our ranking, but now if we win the conference we would get this automatic qualifier to the National Championship."
 
Russell was the Blazers' most prolific player last season, leading the team with a 205.38 average over 40 matches and bowling over 200 23 times during the 2017-18 campaign. Her season average and total pinfall of 8,215 ranked 17th in the nation at the end of the season.
 
Her top score came against McKendree at the Mid-Winter Classic hosted by Arkansas State, when she toppled an impressive 259 pins.
 
The Tupelo, Miss., native also took home two All-Tournament honors and claimed the individual title at the Hornet Classic, where she helped guide the team to a first place finish of its own. She finished the historic season with three top-5 finishes.
 
For her efforts, Russell became the first Blazer in program history to garner National Tenpin Coaches Associate (NTCA) Honorable Mention All-America honors.
 
The program finished 16th in the NTCA final rankings before making its first-ever USBC Intercollegiate Team National Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska.
 
UAB returns its entire squad from the historic 2017-18 season and adds three newcomers for the upcoming campaign. The Blazers also look forward to their first season as members of the MEAC.

"As the season goes on, I truly believe our MEAC peers will be surprised at the depth of talent we have on our team and I look forward to seeing how many players we have on the All-Conference Team by the end of the year," Crews said. "Once again, by joining the MEAC, this adds another wonderful opportunity for our players to be recognized by our peers in areas such as Player of the Week, Rookie of the Week, etc. This is an amazing opportunity the MEAC has given to us to enhance the student-athlete experience."
 
For more information on the UAB bowling team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Bowl) or like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABBowling2011). 

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA- BIRMINGHAM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Monmouth Bowing Picked 5th in MEAC Preseason Poll

NORFOLK, Virginia - The Monmouth University bowling team was picked to finish fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Poll, the league announced Thursday afternoon.

"Our team will not focus too much on the preseason rankings, but I believe we have the potential to exceed these expectations," Director of Bowling Karen Grygiel said. "We are excited to get our season started and match up against the high quality competition in the MEAC."

Defending MEAC Champion North Carolina A&T State was picked to finish first, ahead of Maryland Eastern Shore, Delaware State and UAB, in that order. The Hawks earned one first-place vote and 151 total points in the poll.

Monmouth opens its season on Nov. 2 in Houston, Texas at the Track Kat Klash.

Predicted Order of Finish
First-place votes in parentheses

1. North Carolina A&T State (10) 224 points
2. Maryland Eastern Shore (6) 205
3. Delaware State (4) 194
4. UAB 170
5. Monmouth (1) 151
6. Norfolk State 128
7. Morgan State (1) 106
8. Florida A&M 100
9. Howard 80
10. Coppin State 50
11. Bethune-Cookman 44



Preseason All-MEAC Team
Alexis Neuer, Delaware State
Alexandra Hernandez, Maryland Eastern Shore
Ana Olaya, North Carolina A&T State
Cameron Strombeck, North Carolina A&T State
Taylor Russell, UAB

MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY HAWKS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Chowan University Men's Basketball Unveils 2018-19 Slate

MURFEESBORO, North Carolina  – Chowan Men's Basketball and head coach Brett Vincent released their 2018-19 schedule on Tuesday featuring a Division I exhibition against N.C. State and 16 home contests. 

CLICK FOR FULL SCHEDULE

The Chowan Men's Basketball team finished off the 2017-18 season with an 11-16 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the CIAA.  The Hawks fell to St. Augustine's in the opening round of the CIAA Basketball Tournament.  Chowan returns six players from last year's roster after graduating three players. 

The Blue and White opens the season with an exhibition against N.C. State on October 29 prior to opening the regular season with three straight home contests against Piedmont International on November 12 followed by Mid-Atlantic Christian (Nov. 15) and Regent (Nov. 19).  Chowan will make a short trip down to Mount Olive before the holiday and face cross-town rival Elizabeth City State at home on Nov. 28 in a non-conference battle. 

Chowan will continue their home stretch to open the season as the Hawks welcome CIAA newcomer, Claflin, on December 1.  The Hawks host Cheyney (Pa.) in a non-conference contest during the week before hosting St. Augustine's and Fayetteville State the following week in league action. 

The Hawks will travel to West Virginia State on December 16 to round out 2018. 

To bring in 2019, Chowan will host Shaw on January 3 in CIAA action prior to West Virginia State making the return trip to Murfreesboro on January 6. The Hawks will continue their tour of the CIAA Southern division traveling to Johnson C. Smith (1/10), Winston-Salem State (1/12), and Livingstone (1/14). 

The CIAA Northern Divisional play starts on January 19 as the Hawks host Elizabeth City State.  Chowan will then travel to Virginia State for a midweek contest before hosting B
owie State and Lincoln (Pa.) on January 26 and 30 respectively. 

Then, Chowan will take on Virginia Union on the road to open up February.  The Hawks will take one final step out of league action to face Salem at home on February 6 before traveling three of the final five divisional contests of the season.  The Hawks will host Virginia State on February 13 and Virginia Union in the regular season finale on February 23. 

The 2019 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be held February 26 – March 2 in Charlotte, N.C. at the Bojangles' Coliseum and the Spectrum Center.

CHOWAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Delgado Leads Hampton To First Big South Win in School History

Final Score: Hampton 3, UNC Asheville 1 (25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 25-23)
 
Location: Hampton, Va. (Boo Williams Sportsplex)
 
Records: Hampton – 6-7 (1-2), UNC Asheville – 5-7 (0-2)

Box Score 

The Short Story: The Lady Pirates prevailed in a tight matchup Thursday night to defeat UNC Asheville. The win was the first Big South victory in school history after joining the conference over the summer.
 
BEHIND THE NUMBERS

• Megann Delgado finished with a career day, posting 33 kills on an incredible .450 hitting percentage. Her kill total was two away from the school record for a four-set match, set by Vendula Strakova against Coppin State in 2014. It was tied for the second-most in a four-set match.
• Her 33 kills were the most in a match since Micah Leavell posted 30 against Norfolk State in 2016.
• Lena Reed-Petracek was instrumental in the 72 kills posted by HU on Thursday, finishing with 61 assists. Her total breaks her previous career best of 53 set against Bethune-Cookman last season, shattering the school record in the process.
• Hampton posted 68 assists as a team, breaking the previous four-set record of 67 set in 1999 against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Lady Pirates had 68 assists in a five-set match against Evansville in 2013.
• Kyndall Nicholas and Lena Washington each hit over .220 for the match with 11 kills.
• HU hit .277 for the match while UNC Asheville finished with a .230 mark. The Lady Pirates ended with 72 kills while the Bulldogs tallied just 43. 
• The win was the first in four tries over UNC Asheville for the Lady Pirates.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UNC Asheville led 3-1 in the first set, but the Lady Pirates rallied for a 5-3 edge and held the advantage for the remainder of the set. Delgado had eight kills in the first set to put the Bulldogs behind.
• Hampton jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the third set to quell the momentum gained by UNC Asheville in the second.
• Despite giving up a few points of that five-point lead, HU managed to keep the edge on the Bulldogs to pull out to a 23-20 margin. UNC Asheville scored three-straight points to tie it at 23, forcing a Hampton timeout. Peyton McClinton finished off a kill to put the visitors up for the first time of the set.
• Hampton turned away multiple UNC Asheville attempts, ultimately getting a kill from Delgado to fight off set point. A pair of Bulldog errors won the set for the Lady Pirates.
• The fourth set saw the visitors rally late again to knot it at 23-all. An attack error brought match point to HU with Delgado on the service line. Delgado sent a great attempt over the net and the speed and angle was too much for UNC Asheville as the star of Thursday's match won it for the Lady Pirates.

WHAT'S NEXT
Hampton will host USC Upstate (4-12/0-2) in another match at the Boo Williams Sportsplex on Friday. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start.
 
For more information on Hampton University volleyball, please contact the Office of Sports Information at 757-727-5811 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION