Sportsday 07.30.17
NCCU
Men’s Tennis Tabbed ITA All-Academic TeamFive Eagles, Three Lady Eagles Earn Scholar-Athlete Honors
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its 2017 All-Academic Teams and Scholar-Athletes on Tuesday and North Carolina Central University was well represented on its annual lists.
The NCCU men’s tennis team earned ITA All-Academic Team laurels for having a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale). All varsity letter winners were factored into the cumulative team GPA for the current academic year (including fall 2016 and spring 2017).
The Eagles had five of its six eligible players garnered ITA Scholar-Athlete status, featuring junior Dillon Strepay, sophomore Gabriel Cucalon, sophomore Davide Callegari, freshman Brooks Campbell and freshman Maksym Konovalov.
To earn such distinction, the student-athlete must meet the following criteria: Be a varsity letterwinner, have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
A trio of Lady Eagles also made ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction, including senior Lynsey Cover, junior Jamie Rogers and freshman Frida Cnossen.
In all, 720 teams and 3,908 student-athletes across all five divisions of college tennis (NCAA Division I, II II, NAIA and JUCO) were honored by the ITA for academic success in 2016-17.
NORFOLK, Va. – Ten North Carolina Central University Eagles have been voted to the Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams and NCCU has been picked to repeat as conference champions, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced Friday during its annual football press luncheon in Norfolk, Virginia.
Earning All-MEAC First Team honors for NCCU are junior running back Ramone Simpson (Wilmington, N.C.), sophomore offensive lineman Nick Leverett (Concord, N.C.), senior defensive lineman Ja’Quan Smith (Miramar, Fla.), senior defensive lineman Antonio Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.), senior linebacker Reggie Hunter (Henderson, N.C.), junior defensive back Alden McClellon (Lake Butler, Fla.) and senior punter Nathaniel Tilque (Charlotte, N.C.).
Receiving All-MEAC Third Team recognition are junior running back Dorrel McClain (Cary, N.C.), junior wide receiver Jalen Wilkes (Greenville, S.C.) and junior defensive back Davanta Reynolds (Tucker, Ga.).
In a vote by the league’s head football coaches and sports information directors, NCCU sits atop the predicted order of finish. The Eagles received 13 first-place votes and 430 total points to narrowly finish ahead of rival North Carolina A&T State, who finished with 10 first-place votes and 417 points. South Carolina State was projected to finish third, while Bethune-Cookman was picked fourth. Hampton was tabbed to finish fifth followed by Florida A&M, Norfolk State, Morgan State, Howard, Savannah State and Delaware State.
1. North Carolina Central (13)
2. North Carolina A&T State (5)
3. South Carolina State
4. Bethune-Cookman
5. Hampton (1)
6. Florida A&M
7. Norfolk State
8. Morgan State
9. Howard
10. Savannah State
11. Delaware State (1).
The 2017 North Carolina Central University Football Season Preview is now available online at NCCUEaglePride.com.
Direct Link:
http://nccueaglepride.com/news/2017/7/25/2017-nccu-football-season-preview.aspx
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – We are just 1 week away from the WSSU Coaching Staff welcoming in to camp 100 players that were chosen to repeat for the third time, to earn the CIAA Crown.
This is the seventh straight time the WSSU Rams have been chosen to take the CIAA Title.
For the third consecutive season, the Rams of Winston-Salem State University have been selected to win the CIAA Title. The defending CIAA Champion Rams finished 9-3 last season and 7-0 in the CIAA Southern Division.
Winston-Salem State University will return eight starters on both sides of the ball, making the Rams one of the most experienced teams on the gridiron in 2017.
The first few days on campus, the
team will go through meetings with key Athletic Department Personnel, and go through concussion testing as well as receiving equipment and getting physicals.
The Rams will hit the field for the first practice on Monday morning at 9:30am at Civitan Park.
Pirates Picked to Finish 5th in MEAC Standings
NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2017 Pre-season All-MEAC teams and predicted order of finish on Friday at the annual Football Media Day.
Hampton was pre-season picked fifth in the standings. North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T were picked in the top two spots, while South Carolina State was third and Bethune-Cookman was fourth. Rounding out the poll was Florida A&M, Norfolk State, Morgan State, Howard, Savannah State and Delaware State.
In the pre-season team selections, senior Yahkee Johnson was the lone Hampton first-team selection at running back. Johnson led the team and was fourth in the MEAC in rushing, averaging 69.4 yards per game on the ground. For the season, Johnson ran 135 times for 763 yards and four touchdowns. He had three 100-yard games on the season, including a 15-carry, 121-yard effort at Delaware State. Johnson was a second-team All-MEAC selection in 2016.
On the second team, a pair of honors on defense as Steven Smith was a defensive line selection and Brendan Cole was a defensive back honoree. Cole ranked third on the team in tackles with 54, including 23 solo stops. He had a season-high 11 tackles against South Carolina State. Cole was a third-team All-MEAC selection in 2016.
Smith topped Hampton last year in tackles for a loss (10.5), sacks (4.5) and was second on the team in tackles with 61. He had season highs of 11 tackles and 2.5 for a loss against Morgan State and Coastal Carolina.
Hampton will open its season on September 3 at Ohio University in a 7pm kickoff.
For more information on Hampton University football,visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.