CIAA, MEAC and SWAC crown spring champs

PETERSBURG, VA _ The Bowie State Lady Bulldogs captured the 2006 CIAA women's track & field championship as they defeated the runner-up and perennial power Lady Falcons of Saint Augustine's by 18 points, 176 to 158.

The Lady Bulldogs placed in the top five in 14 of the sixteen events that would be scored in the championships en route to the title. St. Aug's would stay near the Lady Bulldogs throughout the track events, but it would be the Lady Bulldogs stellar performance in the field events that would propel BSU to victory.

The Lady Falcons had won the last nine championships. Bowie State finished second in 2005.

PETERSBURG, VA _ Saint Augustine's Falcons easily captured the 2006 CIAA men's track and field championship as they defeated the runner-up Eagles of North Carolina Central by and astounding 69 points, 212 to 143 on Sunday.

The heavily-favored Falcons showed why they are one of the nation's top track and field programs as they placed in the top ten in all 17 of the 17 events that would be scored in the championships en route to the title. The title is the Falcons ninth straight.

N.C. Central prevails in Softball

PETERSBURG, VA _ The North Carolina Central Lady Eagles earned a 7-4 victory over Bowie State to capture the 2006 CIAA women's softball championship title-on the campus of Virginia State University.

The Lady Eagles, led by CIAA Rookie of the Year Sophia Blue, needed to defeat the Lady Bulldogs only once in the double-elimination championship to claim the 2006 title. Bowie State advanced to the title game from the consolation bracket after defeating the Lady Rams of Winston-Salem State, 3-0 earlier in the day. NCCU had defeated Bowie State 5-2 earlier in the tournament. Clarisse Steans earned the win for the Lady Eagles as she pitched a complete-game seven hitter, striking out two batters en route to All-Tournament Team honors.

Shaw repeats in Baseball

PETERSBURG, VA - The Shaw Bears tallied five runs over the final four innings to break open a 2-2 tie game en route to defeating Virginia State 7-2 Sunday in the championship game of the 2006 CIAA Men's Baseball Championships.

The Bears, who came into the double-elimination format championship needing to only defeat the Trojans once, were hammered 15-4 in the first championship game as Virginia State forced a second, and final, championship matchup.

Shaw's Casey Welch turned in seven solid innings as he allowed only five hits and two runs while striking out four VSU batters. Jeffery Cannon earned the save for the Bears as he pitched two innings, allowing two hits, no runs and recorded a pair of strikeouts.

The Bears scored two runs in the sixth inning and one run in each of the final three innings en route to their second consecutive CIAA baseball title.

. . . and in men's tennis

PETERSBURG, VA -The Shaw men's tennis team swept the championship singles round of the CIAA Men's Tennis Tournament and came away with their second consecutive title, scoring 72 points to outscore second-place Johnson C. Smith by ten points. Host Virginia State finished third with 48 points.

The Golden Bulls and Shaw Bears met in all three doubles finals matches on Wednesday and met in five of the six singles finals on Sunday.

Shaw's No. 1 singles player, Kabiru Ibrahim extended his three-year win streak to 57, winning three straight matches in the tournament. Ibrahim was also named tournament MVP for the second straight year. Ibrahim defeated Justin Stuckey of J.C. Smith 6-2, 6-4 to win the No. 1 singles title.

PETERSBURG, VA - The Shaw Lady Bears snapped Fayetteville State's four-year hold on the CIAA women's tennis league as the Lady Bears earned a four-point victory over the Lady Broncos to capture the 2006 CIAA women's Tennis championship.

The Lady Bears and Lady Broncos met in all three championship matches in doubles action on Wednesday and met in all six singles championships on Sunday in a rain-extended championship that stretched over five days of play.

SU won five of the six singles match championships in the tournament to squeak out the title over FSU, 55-51. FSU won the regular season dual match between the two tennis powers 5-4.

Tournament MVP Ffion Fletcher of Shaw extended her two-year win streak to 44 matches, winning the No. 1 singles championship over FSU's Ines Nieves 6-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Fayetteville State prevails in Golf

Chester, VA - The Fayetteville State Broncos captured the 2006 CIAA men's golf championship on Friday at River's Bend Golf Course as individual medallist Ian Milne recorded a round of 65 that led the Broncos to a two-day total of 592 en route to the CIAA Golf title. The Eagles of North Carolina Central finished only 17 strokes behind the front-running Broncos as NCCU recorded a two-day total of 609.

The Rams of Winston-Salem State, behind Joshua Vogler's round of 74 turned in a two-day total of 641.  Vogler's round of 74, coupled with his tournament-leading round of 70 on Thursday earned him All-Conference golf honors, the first WSSU golfer to do so in 19 years. 

Joining Vogler on the All-CIAA Men's Golf Team were Milne (FSU), Dustin McCrary (NCCU), Keathan Stewart (SAC), Brandon Smith (FSU), and Dell Barber (FSU). Elizabeth City State's Lavern Jones was named the 2006 CIAA Men's Golf Coach of the Year following the conclusion of the tournament.

RALEIGH, NC _ South Carolina State defeated Florida A&M, 4-3, to earn their third consecutive MEAC men's tennis championship and sixth overall on Monday at the Millbrook Tennis Center. The Bulldogs were led by Parantrap Chaturvedi. Chaturvedi was named the tournament's outstanding performer after posting an undefeated record in tournament play.

Head Coach Hardeep Judge (S.C. State) was named the outstanding coach for the second consecutive year. Hardeep guided his team to a 3-0 record in tournament play and upset both the number two (Norfolk State) and number one (Florida A&M) seeds to capture this year's title.

South Carolina State defeated Bethune-Cookman, 4-0, to earn their second consecutive MEAC women's tennis championship Sunday at the Millbrook Tennis Center. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Mirian Cruz. Cruz was named the tournament's outstanding performer after posting an undefeated record in tournament play.

SWAC
Jackson State sweeps golf

PHILADELPHIA, MS _ The Jackson State Tigers captured the 2006 SWAC men's golf championship played at the Dancing Rabbit Golf Course here. The title gives head coach Eddie Payton's Tigers their 19th consecutive conference title. Payton, in his 20th season, has coached every JSU Tiger team which has claimed a title during the streak. Southern finished second.

JSU's Kortland Ware was awarded top individual medalist with a three-round total of 217. After a first round 76, he finished the event with two rounds under par _ a 70 (2-under par) in the second round and a 71 (1-under par) in the final round. Jackson State also had two players tie for second as Michael Bailey (75-81-73) and Raul Cortes (74-78-77) each shot a 229 for the three-day event. Texas Southern's Jacob Sriven also had a good weekend finishing tied for second with a 229 (87-73-69). Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Daron Kirkendall rounded out the top five individual performances with a 230 (81-76-73).

Following the lead of Shasta Averyhardt, the Jackson State Lady Tigers captured the 2006 SWAC women's golf championship. Averyhardt, a sophomore from Grand Blanc, Mich., fired a sizzling 69 (3-under-par) for the second consecutive day for a 138 total to claim individual medalist honors. She was the only player to finish under par for the tournament. The JSU Lady Tigers completed the two-day event with a 632, 33 strokes ahead of second-place Alcorn State (665). Texas Southern, Southern, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff rounded out the top five. Individually, Southern's Josephine Ainley shot a 154 (second overall) while Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Christa Spahmann shot a 156 for the third-best score of the event.

Texas Southern sweeps tennis

The Texas Southern tennis teams pulled off the daily double as they captured the 2006 SWAC men's and women's tennis championships Sunday in Alexandria, Louisiana. The women defeated defending champion Southern, 4-2 in a competitive contest. TSU's Janet Namutebi was named the tournament's MVP.

The Tigers downed the Braves of Alcorn State, 4-0 to claim the men's title. TSU's Francisco Riveroll was the MVP. Texas Southern head coach Alberto Jimenez was named coach of the year following the tournament.

© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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