AUM beats XU's Howell, Flowers in regional doubles final

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Auburn Montgomery's top-seeded Jade Curtis and Morgane Zowczak rallied Sunday for a 6-4, 6-0 victory against Xavier University of Louisiana's Kourtney Howell and Brion Flowers in the women's doubles championship of the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional.
    

Howell and Flowers led 4-2 in the opening set before Curtis and Zowczak won 10 consecutive games. The victory qualified the AUM pair for the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships next month.
    

AUM denied the Gold Nuggets their first NAIA regional championship. The XU men won singles and doubles championships in this event a year ago.
    

Howell was a runner-up for the second consecutive weekend. She reached the singles consolation final of the Big Easy Classic at the University of New Orleans in Xavier's opening tournament of the fall semester.
    

Howell, a junior, and Flowers, a freshman, are 5-2 as a doubles team.
    

Curtis, No. 1 in the final ITA/NAIA doubles rankings each of the past two seasons, won a regional doubles title for the second consecutive year.

Results

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 

THE SHOW: 2012 Atlanta Football Classic

Classic a game of two halves

ATLANTA — After a performance against Southern University that demonstrated the good and the bad of the FAMU defense, players insisted they’ll band together to find the consistency needed to get through the season without another loss.

“We are a family and this can’t do nothing but make us stronger,” said cornerback Marvin Ross, who had one of two FAMU interceptions in Saturday’s 21-14 defeat here at the Georgia Dome.

“I’ve got to be a leader on the field and if something goes wrong we’ve got to come back and make a good play.”

Ross and the Rattlers (2-3) return to the road at Howard (3-1) in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Kickoff is 1 p.m. The Bison blitzed Savannah State 56-9 last Saturday.

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Southern holds off Florida A&M in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Georgia  — Florida A&M quarterback Damien Fleming lofted the ball for the back corner of the end zone. To send the Atlanta Football Classic into overtime, all he needed was a pair of friendly hands.

Instead, the ball found nothing but Georgia Dome turf.

One kneel-down later, Southern’s sideline burst into celebration with chest-bumps and the now-weekly tradition of spraying interim coach Dawson Odums with water.

In the stands, the SU faithful screamed and cheered, and on the club level, a group of Jaguars fans twirled umbrellas and danced carefree to the sounds of the Human Jukebox.

Ah, that’s what two in a row feels like.  The Jaguar Nation might have forgotten that feeling in recent years, but after Southern’s 21-14 win against Florida A&M, the team has its first back-to-back wins since 2009, not to mention something that seemed inconceivable two weeks ago: momentum.

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Southern sticks with Dray Joseph after FAMU victory

ATLANTA — In a 21-14 win over Florida A&M that was often a struggle offensively, Southern’s coaches showed just how confident they are in starting quarterback Dray Joseph.  After saying last week that he planned to put backup J.P. Douglas in for a series or two per game, interim coach Dawson Odums and his staff stuck with Joseph throughout Saturday’s Atlanta Classic.

A change could have been expected just after halftime, when Joseph was 9 of 15 for 88 yards and threw an interception on his first pass of the second half. At that point, Southern trailed 7-0.

“We believe in our starting quarterback,” Odums said. “We just felt like it wasn’t anything that he was doing that was preventing us from scoring. We went into halftime and made some adjustments and corrections, got some protections together, and we challenged him.”

It worked, as Joseph rebounded in a big way. He was a perfect 8 of 8 on a game-tying touchdown drive, then finished 25 of 35 for 226 yards and two touchdowns to earn the game’s MVP award.

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Dawson Odums has Southern believing it can win

ATLANTA — At halftime of Saturday’s Atlanta Classic, Southern interim coach Dawson Odums had his work cut out for him.

The Jaguars had played a sloppy and sluggish first half, with four punts, two turnovers and only 94 yards of offense. They trailed Florida A&M 7-0, with the lone score coming after a fumble led to an easy Rattlers touchdown.

At that point, it was eerily similar to Southern’s 6-0 loss against Mississippi Valley State two weeks earlier — the kind of performance that has already proven deadly to an SU coaching career.

Not that a negative result would have cost Odums his job, but he and the Jaguars were well on their way to losing the momentum they had built in a win at Jackson State. They were in dire need of a second-half turnaround.

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West Virginia State University Celebrates Homecoming 2012

“New Visions, Timeless Traditions” theme for weeklong celebration

INSTITUTE, West Virginia - Thousands of alumni will return to West Virginia State University to join students, faculty, staff and friends in a celebration of Homecoming, Oct. 1-6. With the theme New Visions, Timeless Traditions, events will continue the momentum brought to campus by new President Brian O. Hemphill, while honoring and remembering the University’s proud history.

Hemphill will give his first State of the University address at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 in Ferrell Hall Auditorium. Friends of WVSU are encouraged to attend.

Homecoming begins Oct. 1 with festive events for students in the early part of the week. The following activities are a few of the week’s headliners:

·  Campus carnival on the Student Plaza, Oct. 4, will set the tone for the weekend with fun and food

·  Coronation of Mr. and Ms. State and the royal court Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. in Ferrell Hall auditorium.
·  Black and Gold Day, Friday, Oct. 5, everyone is encouraged to show spirit by wearing the WVSU colors.
·  ROTC Induction Ceremony, 11 a.m. Oct. 5, Davis Fine Arts Theater.
·  NAACP Oratorical contest returns for its second year, 1 p.m. Oct. 5, in the Davis Fine Arts Theater. Students will speak on the topic "I Am State."

·  President Hemphill holds an open forum with alumni, 3 p.m., Oct 5, Davis Fine Arts Theater.

·  Bonfire and pep rally, 10 p.m., Oct.5.

 

Homecoming Day, Oct. 6, gets off to a quick start at 7:30 a.m. with a 5K run/walk to raise money for the Students Matter Most scholarship fund. Following that, the “W” Club will hold its traditional Hall of Fame induction brunch at 8:30 a.m. in the Wilson University Union. After the inductees don the traditional gold jackets and enter the Canty House, the Homecoming parade will make its way down the red road through campus at 11 a.m.  At its conclusion, the Alumnus of the Year will be recognized at the Erickson Alumni Center.

The game begins at 1:30 p.m., as the Yellow Jackets take on the West Liberty Hilltoppers.

 

Following the game at 5 p.m., the Greek step show in Ferrell Hall Auditorium gives fraternities and sororities a venue to show their talent and spirit.

After the Step Show, alumni can enjoy the Taste of State buffet and dance at 8 p.m. at the Embassy Suites, while students dance the night away at the Dusk ‘til Dawn dance in Fleming Hall, beginning at midnight.

           

For a complete Homecoming Schedule, visit www.wvstateu.edu/alumni/homecoming-information.

Fifth-Ranked Winston-Salem State Rolls Pass Bowie State

BOWIE, Maryland  -  Defending Central Interscholastic Athletic Association (CIAA) and 2011 NCAA semifinalist Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) scored 21 points in the second half and rolled to a 35-3 victory over Bowie State University (BSU) on Saturday Sept. 29 in Bowie, Md.

The Bulldogs fell to 3-2 overall on the season and 0-2 in CIAA play, while Winston-Salem State improves to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the CIAA.

The Rams struck first on their very first possession of the game, going 64 yards in five plays before junior quarterback Kameron Smith threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jahaunn Butler. Kicker Alejandro Suarez, a sophomore, added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Bowie State wasted no time cutting into the early first quarter Rams lead, taking the second possession 63 yards in six plays, but only managed three points on a 28-yard field goal by redshirt sophomore kicker Mario Diaz-Aviles at the 8:54 mark. Unfortunately, those would be the only points the Bulldogs would score for the rest of the game.

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WSSU extends Collins' contract

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - Bobby Collins, the longest tenured men's basketball coach at Winston-Salem State since Big House Gaines, has had his contract extended.

Collins, who will start his seventh season at WSSU this month, was given a three-year extension by school officials.
 

"I thought coach Collins did a good job, especially down the stretch last season," athletics director Bill Hayes said. "He won the tournament championship and kept that team together — and it was a young team. They got to the playoffs and he brought them together and represented the school very well."

 Collins, who was making around $97,000 a year, was given a raise to around $110,000 a year. The three-year extension will take him through the 2015-16 season.

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