BCSP Notes . . .

Southern California won the team title with a +19, 863, nipping Duke who shot +21. JSU finished at 161-over par to end the tournament 42 shots ahead of last-place St. Francis (Pa.).

Averyhardt posted the best individual score for the Lady Tigers with rounds of 85-79-78. She was tied for 76th out of 105 golfers. She struggled mightily in the opening round carding just one birdie and ten bogeys on the day. She also had one double-bogey and a triple bogey. The Lady Tigers team finished the first day at +55, 288 in 20th place, a position they maintained throughout the tourney.

Tennis Shutouts
_ Baylor's men's tennis team raced to a 4-0 win over Southwestern Athletic Conference championTexas Southern in the first round of the NCAA Championships in action at the Baylor Tennis Center on Saturday morning. No. 4 Baylor, the championship's No. 5 seed, raised its record to 22-6 while Texas Southern saw its season end at 14-11.

_ The No. 11-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round for the second time in the last three years as the Tar Heels stormed past Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion South Carolina State 4-0 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center Saturday morning. North Carolina improves to 24-4 while South Carolina State's season ends at 19-7.

_ The South Carolina State women's tennis team dropped a 4-0 decision to host UNC-Chapel Hill in first-round action of the NCAA Tennis Championship at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Lady Bulldogs, who were making their second straight trip to the prestigious tournament, ended their season at 19-3. The postseason match was the first-ever meeting between SCSU and the eighth-ranked Tar Heels (25-6).

Despite the 4-0 margin by the UNC-CH women Friday, the match was more competitive than the final score, according to SCSU head coach Hardeep Judge, who had to juggle his lineup when junior Milana Borisev did not make the trip. "We played a very good, consistent team today," said Judge. "We started flat and never seem to get going after that, and it may have been due to the two-week layoff."

NCAA Div. II Softball eliminations
_ Eighth-seeded North Carolina Central dropped games to Lock Haven and California (Pa.) and was eliminated from the NCAA Div. II Mid Atlantic Regional softball tournament in Shippensburg, Pa. Friday.

The Lady Eagles lost to Lock Haven 8-4 Friday morning and dropped a 9-0 decision to California Friday afternoon.

Heather Johnson hit two home runs and drove in four runs to lead No. 1-seeded Lock Haven to their victory. Her bomb in the third frame was a two-run shot that broke a 2-2 tie. NCCU's Lakeshia Sheppard managed to tie the game in the top of the fourth after driving in a run with an RBI double and then scoring on a throwing error. Clarisse Stearns (20-7) was tagged for the loss after giving up eight runs, five of which were earned on eight hits and three walks. 

NCCU's loss to California came via a no-hitter form Cal pitcher Becky Mezyk who struck out 11 Lady Eagles. Stearns took the loss. NCCU finishes with a 35-16 record.

_ Top-seeded Florida Southern had three pitchers combine for a no-hitter as they knocked off the Kentucky State 9-0 in the opening round NCAA Div. II South Region softball championship. Kentucky State lost to North Alabama, 8-0 in five innings in an elimination game in the regional in Lakeland, FL.

FAMU, MVSU get NCAA Div. I softball invites
The Florida A&M Lady Rattler and Mississippi Valley State Devilette softball teams will open their quest for the 2006 NCAA Division I Softball Championships Friday in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Regional at the University of Alabama.

FAMU (39-23), winners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title, will tangle with Atlantic Coast Conference foe Georgia Tech (46-20) at 4 p.m., while host and #5 national seed Alabama (49-9) of the Southeastern Conference, will take on Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion MVSU (23-28)at 6:30 p.m.

This will be Florida A&M's third regional trip since 1999 and their second straight regional invite. They took part in the Auburn Regional last season and earned a trip to the West Regional at Fresno (Calif.) State in 1999.

Having won the SWAC Softball title three years in a row, this will be the second consecutive trip for MVSU to the Tuscaloosa Regional where the Devilettes faced Alabama in 2005.

DelState pegs Young-Sanders as new track coach
Delaware State has announced the appointment of former U.S. Olympian Candy Young Sanders as head women's track & field/cross country head coach.

Sanders, a former world-class performer, brings more than 16 years of Division I coaching experience to Delaware State. Since 2005, she has worked with two-time Olympic gold-medalist Roger Kingdom as his assistant men's and women's track & field/cross country coach at California University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her coaching duties, Sanders was recruiting coordinator for the program. Sanders has also worked as an assistant at Pitt, Ohio State and Seton Hall.

JSU out of SWAC baseball tournament
While conducting a review regarding the eligibility of a Jackson State baseball player, university officials discovered that two additional ineligible players competed during the 2006 season. As a result, the university has decided to withdraw the baseball team from the SWAC Baseball Tournament set for this weekend, May 18-21 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.

JSU Head Baseball Coach Mark Salter has been relieved of his duties with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Omar Johnson, assistant baseball coach, will serve in the interim.

JSU Athletics Director Robert Braddy said the matter has been reported to Southwestern Athletic Conference Commissioner Robert Vowels and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

"While I must commend the student-athletes who have displayed tremendous dedication and work ethic this season, we felt that it was in the best interest of the university to act expeditiously on this matter," Braddy said. The Tigers, who were leading NCAA Div. I in hitting at .351, had their record dropped to 1-23 in SWAC play.

NCAA Div. II baseball tournament
SIAC champ Albany State (23-31, South Region) and WVIAC champ West Virginia State (43-7-1, North Atlantic Region) are among the 48 teams named to compete for the NCAA Div. II baseball title.

The regionals will comprise six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments. Eight regional competitions will be played May 18-21, at eight on-campus sites.

© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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