April 1, 2009

BIRMINGHAM – With all conference roundups completed, the 2009 SWAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship Brackets have now been determined.

Scheduled for April 17 – 19 in Alexandria, LA, the tennis tournament will see the top three teams from both the Eastern and Western division meet in a single elimination format.

In the women’s bracket, the East top seed Alcorn State and the West top seed Southern University will both receive byes in the first round of the tournament. Alcorn, the defending 2008 champion, secured its top spot in the East by posting a 5-2 record and defeating Jackson State, who was also 5-2, in the head-to-head match-up. Southern won the west by registering a perfect 8-0 conference record.

As the #2 seed out of the East, J-State will face the West’s #3 seed, Prairie View A&M (5-3) in the first round. Rounding out the women’s bracket will be the #2 seed Grambling State (6-2) squaring off against the #3 seed from the East, Alabama A&M (4-4).

Alcorn State and the Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff earned first round byes in the men’s bracket as they are the top seeds from the East and West, respectively. Alcorn tallied a 5-2 conference record this season, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff went undefeated with an 8-0 slate.

Grambling State (7-1), the #2 seed from the West will take on the East’s #3 Mississippi Valley State (2-5). Also in first round action for the men will be #2 Jackson State (3-4) from the East competing against the 2008 defending champions Southern University (4-4), who claimed the #3 spot in the West.