LSU, Nicholls sports at a glance

Dolan lands All-LSWA first team; Flowers placed on second team; Meeks named TSN All-American:

Nicholls junior punter Patrick Dolan was named the All-LSWA First Team punter for the 2009 season.

Dolan earned the award for the second-straight season after averaging 42.7 yards per punt this season – a statistic that was No. 6 in the nation.

Senior offensive lineman Aric Flowers earned second-team honors.

Flowers anchored the Colonels’ offensive line that rushed for more than 200 yards per game this season.

Senior fullback Marlin Meeks also was honored and was named a third-team All-American by The Sports Network.

Meeks was the Colonels leading rusher this season and had 675 yards on 123 caries with three rushing touchdowns.

Former Tigers and Colonels named into Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2010:

Two former LSU athletes and two former Nicholls athletes received one of Louisiana’s highest sports honors this past week and were named to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Former Tiger football player Lee Hedges and former LSU baseball pitcher Ben McDonald were the two Tigers elected to the Hall of Fame and were joined by former Nicholls wide receiver Mark Carrier and former Colonels’ basketball player Larry Wilson.

The former athletes will officially be enshrined on June 26 in Natchitoches.

LSU stumbles and falls at Washington State; ready for Utah this weekend:

LSU coach Trent Johnson returned to the West Coast last week and led his Tigers into Seattle to take on Washington State.

Johnson spent nine years as the head coach at Nevada and Stanford before going to Baton Rouge.

But Johnson’s homecoming was not a memorable one as the Tigers clanked nine free throws in the team’s 72-70 overtime loss to the Cougars.

Following a Tuesday trip to Xavier, the Tigers will return home and will host Utah – a team that trounced the Tigers by 30 points last season.

Former Lady Tiger Augustus named to All-Decade Team

Former LSU women’s basketball player Seimone Augustus was named to SI.com‘s Women’s Basketball All-Decade Team.

A two-time National Player of the Year at LSU, Augustus was one of five players selected for the team.

Augustus scored 2,702 points in her career in Baton Rouge, which ranks second in school history.

Joining Augustus are Uconn guards Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, Tennessee forward Candace Parker and Oklahoma center Courtney Paris.

Colonels softball announces 2010 schedule:

The Nicholls softball program announced its schedule for the 2010 season on Dec. 23.

The Colonels open the season by playing 19-straight games on the road.

“Our non-conference schedule is tough, but it is a great way to get better,” said Nicholls softball coach Jenny Parsons. “We look forward to the competition and are excited to start this upcoming season.”

The Colonels will also take a road trip to Baton Rouge to play LSU on April 14.

LSU linebacker Sheppard named Louisiana’s best defensive player:

LSU junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s defensive player of the year.

Sheppard earned the honor after a season that saw the Stone Mountain, Ga. Native record 103 tackles and 8.5 tackles for a loss.

Sheppard was one of seven Tigers named to the Sports Writers Association’s First Team. He was joined by teammates Ciron Black, Brandon LaFell, Chad Jones, Patrick Peterson, Josh Jasper and Trindon Holliday.

Derrick Fourroux of McNeese State was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Southeastern’s Mike Lucas was named the state’s Coach of the Year.

Tigers, Nittany Lions team up prior to Capital One Bowl meeting:

With the teams set to square off less than a week from now, the LSU and Penn State football teams have teamed up and have spent time with more than 250 disadvantaged children in the Orlando area.

The event took place at DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney’s West Side and was hosted by the “Day for Kids Festival”.

“It appears everybody had a great time,” Miles said. “LSU and Penn State are in the same area, enjoying each other. It speaks to what football is about – sportsmanship.”