BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With a 6-1 conference record, the Alcorn State University Lady Braves picked up the second seed of the 2016 Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship, the league recently announced. The tournament will take place Friday, April 16, through Sunday, April 18, at the City Park Tennis Center in New Orleans, La.
Alabama State Univeristy picked up the top seed, the Hornets (13-7, 7-0 SWAC) will earn a first round bye and face the winner of the No. 4 seed Jackson State (8-16, 4-3 SWAC) and No. 6 seed Alabama A&M (4-15, 2-5 SWAC). JSU will take on AAMU on Friday at 9 a.m. When the two squads met at the West Round Up, the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs, 7-0.
The Lady Braves will take on the winner of the No. 3 seed Southern (6-7, 5-2 SWAC), six-time defending SWAC champion, and No. 5 seed Prairie View A&M (5-18, 3-4 SWAC), also a Friday at 9 a.m. match-up. The Jaguars defeated the Panthers 7-0 at the West Round Up in Baton Rouge.
After the quarterfinal matches on Friday, the semifinal matches will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday with the winners advancing to a 9 a.m. Championship match on Sunday.
In men's tennis action, the Jackson State Tigers have secured the top seed for the 2016 SWAC Men's Tennis Tournament, which is set to take place on Friday, April 16, through Sunday, April 18, at the City Park Tennis Center in New Orleans, La.
After an opening day bye, top seed Jackson State (5-15, 4-1 SWAC) will face the winner of the quarterfinal match up of No. 4 seed Alcorn State (3-12, 3-2 SWAC) and No. 6 seed Alabama A&M (9-14, 0-5 SWAC). The Braves faced the Bulldogs at the East Round Up in Montgomery and came away with a 4-0 victory. Jackson State fell to Alcorn State at the West Round up in Baton Rouge, 4-2, in February.
No. 2 seed Alabama State (6-8, 4-1 SWAC) picked up the other first round bye of the tournament. The Hornets' only conference loss came at the hands of Jackson State, 4-3, at the West Round Up in February. Alabama State will take on the winner of No. 3 seed Prairie View A&M (3-18, 3-2 SWAC) and No. 5 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-19, 1-4 SWAC). The Panthers collected a 4-3 victory over the Golden Lions at the East Round Up in March.
After the quarterfinal matches on Friday, the semifinal matches will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the winners advancing to a 1 p.m. Championship match on Sunday.
