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Jackson State golf reaches new heights
Jackson State golf coach Eddie
Payton, whose men's team made history in 1996 when they were the
first black college team to qualify for the NCAA Div. I Championship Golf
Tournament, can now add his women's team to the historical list. Payton was informed Monday that his Southwestern Athletic Conference champion ladies squad, consisting of five sophomores and one freshman, had received an at-large bid to the NCAA Eastern Regional to be held May 10-12 in Chapel Hill, N. C. at Finley Golf Course, hosted by the University of North Carolina The Lady Tigers, the first black college women's program to make the NCAA Tournament, are seeded 20th in the 21-team field. Altogether, 63 teams play in the NCAA Tournament. "This is a great accomplishment for us," said sophomore Angel Mines (Buffalo, N.Y.). "I'm very excited and a little overwhelmed." "It's historic," Payton said of his women's team's accomplishment. "It's a reward for what these young ladies have done. I knew this group could be special one day because they've got a lot of talent and they work hard. But this happened about two years ahead of schedule. "We brought in a good group of freshmen last year, and we added another freshman this year in Akita Taylor," Payton said. "Her talent alone made everybody else better." Out of twelve events this season the Lady Tigers have eleven top ten and seven top five finishes. They won the SWAC Presidential Tournament, the SWAC Championship and the Women's National Minority Invitational. As of April 9, 2001 their stroke average for 10 tournaments was 333.54, according to GolfStats. The top three players on the team this year are sophomores Tierra Manigault (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Lenise Lyons (Atlanta, Ga.) and Taylor (Claremont, Calif.). Payton, whose men's teams have players from all over the world, fields a women's team of all African-Americans. JSU's men's team captured their 14th straight SWAC golf title and received an automatic bid into a regional this year. They do not know where the men will play. "To have both teams playing in a regional at the same time is significant," Payton said. © 2001 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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