OBITUARY
James Sweat, who coached Hampton University to the 1988 NCAA Division II women’s basketball championship and coached Norfolk State from the 1988-89 season through 2007, has died.
Sweat’s Hampton teams went 183-44 from 1981-88, culminating with a victory over West Texas State in the NCAA final to highlight a 33-1 campaign. He also coached the Pirates to CIAA titles in 1985 and ’87.
His NSU teams were 343-210 in 19 seasons. They won five CIAA championships and the 2002 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament, which gave the Spartans their first NCAA Division I tourney bid. NSU got to the 1991 D-II Final Four during a 33-victory season.
He and his wife, longtime track and field coach, LaVerne Sweat, are in the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame. He is in numerous other halls of fame as well.
COLLEGE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Regent goes five sets for first victory
Regent (1-2) gained its first victory of the season Friday, outlasting Averett 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9) in Norfolk Christian’s gym for Colby Yawn’s first coaching victory.
Jaxson Gray, a Western Branch High graduate, set a school record with six blocks and had eight kills. Ariel Downer set a school record with 27 digs, and Lucas Whitman — a senior from Suffolk and StoneBridge School — had a school-record 37 assists, 10 digs and two aces. Keith Larkin had 15 kills.
COLLEGE MEN’S GYMNASTICS
W&M fifth at West Point Open
William & Mary opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the West Point Open hosted by Army on Friday evening.
Penn State claimed the team title with a 313.5 and was followed by Army (306.65), Navy (302.55), Springfield (301.0), W&M (294.6) and Simpson (294.3).
Highlighting the Tribe’s individual performances were five gymnasts who advanced to Saturday’s 7 p.m. individual event finals with top-eight finishes. Gavin Zborowski earned a spot in two events with career highs on pommel horse (13.2) and high bar (12.9), while Connor Barrow (vault, 14.15), Ricky Pizem (high bar, 12.85), Nicholas Kosarikov (parallel bars, 13.2) and Luke Tully (high bar, 13.1) also advanced.
Tully tied for second on the high bar,Barrow shared third on vault. Tully was W&M’s top all-arounder and placed sixth with a 75.1.
COLLEGE WRESTLING
No. 7 Hokies shut out App State
No. 7 Virginia Tech (6-2) shut out Appalachian State 39-0 on stage at a sold-out Center for the Arts in Blacksburg, winning all 10 bouts. The Mountaineers fell to 5-5.
Jaden Bullock’s 8-6 victory at 184 pounds over No. 25 Tomas Brooker highlighted the night, avenging a loss two weeks ago. Six Hokies earned bonus points, though App State didn’t suffer a pin.
No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (125), No. 11 Dillon Campbell (133), Drew Gorman (141), No. 10 Collin Gaj (149), No. 16 Ethen Miller (157), Mac Church (165), Sergio Desiante (174), No. 17 Sonny Sasso (197) and No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (285) also won their matchups.
This location… are you KIDDING?! #NCAAWrestling x @HokiesWrestling pic.twitter.com/fcMmPpFjMG
— NCAA Men’s Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) January 17, 2026
No. 13 UNC stops UVA
No. 13 North Carolina (8-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won 25-10 over Virginia (8-5, 0-2) at John Paul Jones Arena despite victories by the Cavaliers’ Wynton Denkins (149 pounds), Nick Hamilton (174) and Keyveon Roller (125).
Roller is ranked 23rd nationally and Hamilton 28th in their weight classes.
COLLEGE MEN’S TENNIS
ODU starts season by handling Hoyas
Three-time defending Sun Belt champion Old Dominion started its season with a 6-1 victory over Georgetown at Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
The Monarchs won a pair of 6-2 sets for the doubles point before Adam Majchrzak, Zechariah Hamrouni, Aryan Saleh, Piet Steveker and Felix Obermair beat their singles foes in straight sets. The Hoyas’ only point came when Arthur O’Sullivan beat Yanis Moundir 6-2, 6-4 at the top spot.
