Florida A&M is a spring championships host for the eleventh straight season as well as from 1981 through 1983, while Hampton and B-CC are hosting for the first time.
The first championships segment includes women's and men outdoor track and field and women's and men's tennis. On Thursday, April 16, track competition begins at 10:00 am with the start of the women's heptathlon and the men's decathlon. Those events, added in 1995, continue Friday set for a 9:00 am start. The remaining track events start at 12:00 noon Friday and 8:30 am on Saturday. Competition is set for FAMU's 18-year old Track And Field Complex, which has an eight-lane, 400-meter track that is made of a unique ruba-turf surface. The stadium can accommodate over 3,000 spectators.
Tennis, slated for Hampton’s Neilson/Screen Tennis Stadium, starts at 9:00 am each day Thursday through Saturday.
- NCAA YES CLINIC -
In addition to the MEAC Tennis Championships, an NCAA YES Clinic will
be held at hosting
Hampton University featuring the league tennis coaches and
student-athletes. The youth-oriented
clinic is set for Wednesday, April 15 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the
campus Tennis Stadium. YES is
another way that coaches and student-athletes share the NCAA’s
commitment to challenging young
people to strive for higher levels of achievement in both athletics and
academics. The MEAC has also
conducted YES Clinics for volleyball and softball.
- Softball and Baseball -
The second spring championships segment includes women's softball and
baseball, set to begin
Friday, May 1. Both events have double-elimination formats over a
three-day period and are set for
Ormond Beach Sports Complex, just north of Daytona Beach. Start times
will be announced later and
times will vary as eliminations progress.
MEAC member institutions include: Bethune-Cookman College, Coppin
State College, Delaware
State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard
University, University of Maryland
Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North
Carolina A&T State University,
and South Carolina State University.
- 1997 Review -
In last year's tennis, Hampton came away with its second men’s title in
as many attempts and
Florida A&M took the women’s crown. Using the team point-system, the
women’s finish was: 1. FAMU
2. Howard 3. B-Cookman 4. NCA&T 5. Morgan State 6. Hampton.
The men's 1997 finish was: 1. Hampton 2. Florida A&M 3. Howard 4.
Delaware State 5.
B-Cookman 6. NCA&T.
In track, Florida A&M won both the women’s and men’s championships. The women’s scoring was: FAMU (89), B-CC (87), Hampton (76), Morgan (70), SC State (66), Coppin State (41), NCA&T (30), MD Eastern Shore (30), Howard (29) and Delaware State (9). The men's final scoring was: FAMU (135), Morgan (95), NCA&T (90), B-CC (75), Hampton (49), UMES (40), DelState (36), SC State (18), Coppin (12), and Howard (8).
Florida A&M claimed the MEAC softball title after defeating B-Cookman on championship day.
B-CC won the baseball championship for the second straight year.
- NCAA Championships -
With the NCAA's play-in systems continuing to blossom, the MEAC will
receive its fourth
post-season softball berth and its fifth baseball entry. The 1998 MEAC
tournament champions will be
offered those same opportunities. This season, the softball winner will
travel to the Big South
representative, and the baseball winner will travel to the Atlantic Ten
Conference representative. In
1997, FAMU lost at Cleveland State two games to one in the softball
series, while B-CC lost at
Northeastern U. two games to none in baseball.
The track and field athletes will use the championships to continue pursuit of national qualifying standards. This year's NCAA Division I championships are set for June 3-6 at State University of New York at Buffalo.
NCAA tennis qualifiers must proceed through an application process for competition and selections from appropriate committees. The Division I Regionals begin May 15 for both women and men.
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