Your weekly news from around the MEAC!
Sydne Vigille | The Famuan
The year 2018 ended with MEAC excellency as North Carolina A&T University won their second consecutive title after their victory over Alcorn State in the Celebration Bowl. The Aggies despite an early upset loss to Florida A&M were still able to fight through the conference and secure their third title in the past four seasons.
The MEAC was able to carry over that success into the New Year as Joe Taylor, former Hampton and FAMU coaching legend will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Taylor holds the record for all-time wins with 233 which spanned over his 30-year coaching career. While being the head coach at Howard, he added three Black College National Championships, five MEAC titles, all while racking up 136 wins over his 15-year tenure as head coach. He would then conclude his coaching career at FAMU where he would become the first coach in history to win 25 games in the span of three seasons.
With spring sports starting up for this upcoming semester, several sports are finally getting their time to shine. MEAC recently posted their 2019 Tennis Preseason Rankings. The poll which is voted on by the head coaches and sports information directors comes out every year prior to the beginning of the season. This year for the Northern Division Morgan State is the clear favorite for both the Men’s and Women’s teams. However, for the Southern Division, South Carolina State received the most first-place votes for the men’s side with 78. The FAMU Women were just able to edge out B-CU with 122 votes.
Week two of MEAC basketball conference play has wrapped up and it did not disappoint. The women had several outstanding performances and even some clutch plays across the conference.
Norfolk State leads the division with a 4-0 conference record and is only one of two teams in the conference to be above .500 with a 9-8 record overall. Kendrea Dawkins of NSU had an impressive 18 point and 10 rebound double-double to help the Spartans defeat B-CU and continue their undefeated streak in conference play.
However, NaJai Polard of Delaware State had the most dominant performance last week as she put up 31 points and snagged 15 rebounds. This dominant performance gave DSU their first conference win of the season as they went on to defeat North Carolina Central 71-61.
On the Men’s side of the Hardwood, the Aggies dominated the Mid-Atlantic Christian Mustangs in every facet of the game. The Aggies recorded 14 threes during the game and were also able to force 14 steals on their way to a 104-56 blowout victory.
Norfolk State leads the Men’s division with a 9-10 overall record and a 4-0 conference record. Their latest victory came over B-CU as Derrik Jamerson Jr. led the Spartans to victory through his career-high 26-point performance. He shot 7-10 from deep and added five rebounds to his stat sheet.
This past weekend at the Track and Field HBCU battle several Men and Women MEAC teams competed in the annual competition. For the Men’s Hampton finished first with a total score of 112. Fellow MEAC competitors Including Morgan State, Coppin State, and Delaware State were all able to finish in the top five. Hampton continued their excellence as the Women’s team placed first with a whopping score of 149.
Going into the spring semester it is shaping up to be an exciting year for the conference. Especially as conference matchups continue to heat up for basketball. Once baseball, softball, golf, and others start their seasons later in the year it will be a thrilling and competitive year for the conference.