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SWAC Notebook - April 29
April 29, 2009
OUTDOOR TRACK – Conference Championship Meet Begins Friday The 2009 Southwestern Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships are set for Friday-Sunday, May 1-3 in Houston.
Texas Southern’s Durley Stadium will host the running events while Rice University’s Soccer/Track Stadium will host the field events.
Jackson State will look to defend its women’s title, while Prairie View A&M is the defending men’s champion.
The SWAC’s official website, www.swac.org, will have live stats of the championship meet that begins Friday at 9 a.m.
BASEBALL – Still questions to be answered in final full weekend of Conference action As the final official weekend of Conference baseball gets underway Saturday, several questions regarding the postseason have been answered but there is still a lot to be decided.
Here’s what we do know about the upcoming SWAC Tournament, scheduled for May 20-24 at Southern’s Lee-Hines Field in Baton Rouge, LA:
However, still to be determined are:
In the East, Mississippi Valley State (15-4 in SWAC), Jackson State (12-9), Alcorn State (9-9) and Alabama A&M (10-12) are still battling for positioning. Valley can clinch the top seed in the East by winning one game of its three-game home series vs. Alcorn State. Jackson State plays at Alabama State this weekend, with JSU looking to wrap up the number two seed. Also on the horizon in the next two weeks are three makeup games between Alcorn State-Alabama State and a pair of makeup games between Mississippi Valley State-Alabama A&M, as those games were postponed earlier this year due to weather.
In the West, Prairie View A&M (8-12), Grambling (8-12) and Texas Southern (8-13) are in the hunt for the final two spots. A pair of heated rivalries are renewed this weekend as Prairie View plays at Texas Southern and Grambling State plays host to Southern (16-5).
TSU won two of three at Prairie View earlier this year and the defending champion Tigers would love nothing more than to all but wrap up a tournament berth for themselves while severely hurting PV’s hopes. Grambling, which was swept at Southern earlier this year, will look to win its home series and strengthen its tournament hopes. Also still to be played is a makeup game between Grambling and Prairie View A&M that could factor into which team goes to Baton Rouge and which stays home.
SWAC FOOTBALL OFFICIALS PARTNER WITH ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE The SWAC’s football officials have partnered with its Atlantic Coast Conference counterparts.
Football officials from the ACC participated in the recent SWAC Football Officials Clinic held in Baton Rouge April 16-19.
"The partnership that we have developed with the ACC is further indication of the progress SWAC Football Officials are making on a national scale,” said Harold Mitchell, SWAC Coordinator of Football Officials. “The expertise and professionalism demonstrated by SWAC Football Officials is being recognized by the ACC and other BCS Conferences.”
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ON THE HORIZON FOR CONFERENCE TITLE TEAMS As the calendar turns to May, the SWAC’s Spring Sports Champions will now focus their attention toward upcoming NCAA Tournaments.
As announced earlier this week, women’s tennis champion Jackson State will play at Georgia Tech and men’s tennis champion Alcorn State will play in-state foe Ole Miss in Baton Rouge in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Both SWAC tennis champions will play on May 8 at their respective sites.
In golf, women’s champion Jackson State will play in the NCAA Regional May 7-9 in Gainesville, FL. SWAC men’s golf champion Jackson State will learn its NCAA Tournament destination Monday, May 4, as will Alabama State freshman John Montgomery. Montgomery was the both the SWAC’s Freshman and Tournament low medalist and is an individual qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Mississippi Valley State’s Devilettes, Conference champions in softball, will learn their NCAA Tournament fate May 10.
THIS WEEKEND’S SWAC SCHEDULE SWAC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP- Houston, TX
Friday, May 1 Events begin at 9 a.m.
Saturday, May 2 Events begin at 8 a.m.
Sunday, May 3 Field events begin at 9 a.m. Running finals begin at 1 p.m.
BASEBALL Friday, May 1 Concordia at Alabama A&M (DH), 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 2 Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern (DH), 1 p.m.* Southern at Grambling State (DH), 1 p.m.* Jackson State at Alabama State (DH), 1 p.m.* Alcorn State at Mississippi Valley State (DH), 1 p.m.*
Sunday, May 3 Alcorn State at Mississippi Valley, 1 p.m.* Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern, 1 p.m.* Southern at Grambling State, 1 p.m.* Jackson State at Alabama State, 1 p.m.*
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