The Southwestern Athletic Conference’s version of Championship Week will commence Friday April 17 – Sunday April 26 with five championship titles to be decided.
Alexandria, LA will be the location of both the SWAC Tennis and SWAC Golf Championships. The Women’s and Men’s tennis championship will be held April 17 and 19 at Alexandria City Park and Alexandria Aquatic and Tennis Club, while the Women’s and Men’s golf championships will be held April 20-22 at Links on the Bayou Golf Course. The SWAC Championship scene will shift to Hattiesburg, MS for the 2009 Softball Championship April 23-26 at Timberton Park.
SWAC Tennis uses the two-division format of five teams each during regular season play and the top three teams in each division qualify for the Conference tournament. Defending women’s champion Alcorn State (5-2) from the East and Southern (8-0) from the West earned first-round byes. In men’s play, Alcorn State (5-2) and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-0) earned the top seeds from the East and West divisions, respectively, and first-round byes as well.
Play begins Friday at 9 a.m. Women’s play has the #2 East seed Jackson State facing the West’s #3 seed Prairie View A&M (5-3) and the #2 West seed Grambling State (6-2) squaring off against the #3 East seed Alabama A&M (4-4).
Men’s action also begins at 9 a.m. with Grambling State (7-1), the #2 West seed taking on the East’s #3 Mississippi Valley State (2-5). In the other first-round match, #2 East seed Jackson State (3-4) will face 2008 defending champion Southern (4-4), the #3 West seed.
Friday morning’s winners will advance to the semifinals at 4 p.m. No matches will be played Saturday, and the championship matches will take place Sunday at 10 a.m.
In golf, eight women’s teams will compete in a 36-hole competition Monday-Tuesday April 20-21. Play begins Monday at Noon and Tuesday at 8 a.m.
On the men’s side, the 10 men’s teams compete in a 54-hole event Monday-Wednesday April 20-22, with play beginning Monday at 8 a.m., Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 a.m.
The SWAC Softball Tournament will begin at 2 p.m. next Thursday. Using the two-division format of five teams each during regular season play, SWAC Softball will bring the top four teams from each division (eight total) to the Conference Tournament for the first time.
SOFTBALL TEAMS, SEEDS TO BE DETERMINED THIS WEEKEND While the East’s four teams have been determined, just two teams in the West have been decided heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
In the East, five-time defending SWAC Champ Mississippi Valley State (14-0 in SWAC) will look to finish conference play undefeated when they face Jackson State (10-3) in a matchup of the top two seeds in the East. Alcorn State (6-8), currently the fourth seed from the East, can earn the #3 seed by winning two of three games at Alabama A&M (1-13) this weekend. Alabama State (8-9) has clinched its SWAC Tournament berth.
In the West, Southern (8-5 in SWAC) can clinch the West’s #1 seed with a three-game sweep at home over Texas Southern (5-9), whom itself is fighting for a tournament berth. Anything less than a sweep by Southern would give Grambling State (11-6) the West title and the top division seed. In the other West matchup this weekend, Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-9) plays at Prairie View A&M (4-10) with a SWAC Tournament berth on the line.
FOOTBALL OFFICIALS CLINIC THIS WEEKEND The 2009 SWAC Football Officials Camp and Clinic will be held today-Sunday in Baton Rouge, LA at the Holiday Inn South hotel.
Participants will receive classroom and on-field training sessions from college and NFL officials. Among the scheduled on-field sessions include Southern University spring football practices this weekend.
BASEBALL – Southern, Mississippi Valley continue to set pace Southern and Mississippi Valley State lead their respective divisions as SWAC Baseball moves deeper into the second half of Conference play.
Southern (13-2 SWAC) plays at Univ.-Arkansas Pine Bluff (9-9) this weekend in a matchup of the West’s top teams. Southern swept a three-game set last month in Baton Rouge. Prairie View (7-11), the only team to defeat Southern in Conference action, will play at Grambling State. The Panthers took two of three in last month’s series over the Tigers.
The East-leading Delta Devils (13-3 SWAC) will play at West Florida in non-conference series. Second-place Jackson State (9-5) plays at Alabama A&M (6-9), while Alabama State (2-10) plays at Alcorn State (6-9).
TRACK – Miss. Valley to host Twilight Invitational, Jackson State to host first meet since 2006 Today, the Mississippi Valley State track team will host the MVSU Twilight Invitational.
SWAC teams Alabama A&M and Grambling are among the teams scheduled to participate. Field events begin at 2 p.m., with the running events starting at 4 p.m.
The Jackson State University track and field team will host the JSU Relays on Saturday, April 18 at the Martin Epps Track and Field Complex.
The meet will be the first that JSU has hosted in over three years. Admission for the event is free and concessions will be available for spectators.
J-State’s women’s and men’s teams will participate, along with University-Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi Valley State and Mississippi College.
Field events will begin at 10:30 am and the running events are set for noon.
THIS WEEKEND’S SWAC SCHEDULE
SWAC TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Friday, April 17
Women’s Bracket – 1st Round
Grambling State vs. Alabama A&M, 9 a.m.
Jackson State vs. Prairie View A&M, 9 a.m.
Men’s Bracket – 1st Round
Grambling State vs. Mississippi Valley State, 9 a.m.
Jackson State vs. Southern, 9 a.m.
Women’s Bracket – Semifinals
Alcorn State vs. Grambling-Alabama A&M winner, 4 p.m.
Southern vs. Jackson State-Prairie View winner, 4 p.m.
Men’s Bracket – Semifinals
Alcorn State vs. Grambling-Mississippi Valley winner, 4 p.m.
Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Jackson State-Southern winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 19 – Championship
Semifinal Winners, 10 a.m.
SOFTBALL
Friday, April 17
Alcorn State at Alabama A&M, 2 p.m.*
Texas Southern at Southern, 3 p.m.*
Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State, 6 p.m.*
Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Prairie View A&M, 6 p.m.*
Saturday, April 18
Alcorn State at Alabama A&M (DH), Noon*
Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State (DH), Noon*
Texas Southern at Southern (DH), Noon*
Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Prairie View A&M (DH), Noon*
BASEBALL
Friday, April 17
Alabama State at Alcorn State, 2 p.m.*
Jackson State at Alabama A&M, 2 p.m. *
Saturday, April 18
Alabama State at Alcorn State, 1 p.m.*
Grambling State at Prairie View A&M, 1 p.m.*
Jackson State at Alabama A&M (DH), 1 p.m.*
Southern at Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (DH), 1 p.m.*
Texas Southern at Texas-Pan American, 1 p.m.
Mississippi Valley State at West Florida (DH), 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 19
Grambling State at Prairie View A&M, 1 p.m.*
Southern at Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 1 p.m.*
Texas Southern at Texas-Pan American, 1 p.m.
Mississippi Valley State at West Florida, 1 p.m.
*denotes Conference games
TRACK
Alabama A&M at MVSU Twilight Invitational (Thur.)
Alabama State at Auburn Track Meet
Grambling State at MVSU Twilight Invitational (Thur.)
Jackson State hosting JSU Relays
Mississippi Valley hosting MVSU Twilight Invitational (Thur.), at JSU Relays (Sat.)
Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern at Michael Johnson Invite
Southern at LSU Alumni Gold Invitational
