BOWLING RETURNS TO ACTION IN SWAC ROUNDUP The nationally ranked Prairie View A&M University bowling team returns to action this weekend in the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Roundup in Houston at Emerald Bowl Jan. 20-22.
 
"I am excited to get the season started again," said PVAMU head coach Glenn White.  "We had such a successful first half. I know we have been improving, and I am excited to see how much we have improved this second half.  Conference is always tough and I am really excited to see how we will perform in conference play."
 
The Lady Panthers are ranked 15^th nationally, the highest in the history of the program and the highest rank ever for a SWAC Bowling team. Prairie View A&M opened the season ranked 22^nd and moved up at the end of the fall after posting 11 victories against ranked opponents during the first three tournaments.
 
"It feels good to be ranked this high," Coach White said.  "This shows the progress of this program. We've been nationally ranked now the last three years, but this is the first time that we have been ranked this high.  Knowing that we are ranked 15^th in the latest poll is huge, especially knowing we haven't maxed out of what we are capable of.  Understanding that we have room for improvement, our plan is to try to continue to move up the polls."
 
SOFTBALL, BASEBALL SEASON TICKET SPECIALS AVAILABLE NOW! Season ticket specials for the upcoming PVAMU softball and baseball seasons are available online at pvpanthers.com/homerun. Enter code homerun2 for the special softball ticket rate, and homerun1 for special baseball ticket rate.

Both specials are available online only through Saturday, Jan. 28.
 
FOOTBALL SIGNING DAY EVENT FEB. 1 Join Prairie View A&M University football for the 2017 Signing Day Event Wednesday, Feb. 1 starting at 6 p.m. in the Panther Room in the Athletic Administration Building.
 
Admission for the event is $10, with tickets available in person upon arrival at the event or online at pvpanthers.com/fb2017. There will be plenty of food, fun, and football, and fans will have the chance to win door prizes and participate in silent auctions for Panther football experiences and tickets. Head coach Willie Simmons will discuss the Panther Football Signing Class, and the 2017 PVAMU football schedule will be officially announced.
 
For more information, contact Kye Brathwaite at kvbrathwaite@pvamu.edu.
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS TO HOST LAMAR IN SEASON HOME OPENER, MEN AT RICE After being off half of the week due to weather, women's tennis will host Lamar for its season opener on the newly resurfaced PVAMU tennis courts  Saturday at 10 a.m. before playing at Houston later Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
For second year head coach Duane Williams, the season is looking promising as he opened the regular season with a pair of matches in Huntsville, Texas last week.
 
"I am really excited about this weekend's match," Williams said. "The ladies' last matches were away, (7-0 loss to Sam Houston St., 5-2 loss to Texas Rio-Grande Valley) and they performed really, really strong.  We have only been able to get in a couple of days of practice this week despite the weather, so I think that we should have a really good showing this weekend. Lamar has a really good team and we will definitely have some work to put in, but I feel that we are ready for them."
 
The men's tennis team had its home opener this past Sunday against Texas Rio Grande Valley rained out, and will play at Rice Sunday at noon.
  
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL KICKS OFF TWO GAME ROAD TRIP After playing three straight home contests, PVAMU women's basketball (7-10, 2-3 SWAC), will travel to Itta Bena, Mississippi on Saturday to take on Mississippi Valley St. (5-11, 2-3 SWAC) at 2 p.m.
 
"Mississippi Valley is a really good team, they have been playing well all year," said Lady Panthers' head coach Ravon Justice.  They play with a lot of energy at home and that's something we will have to match is their energy.  They are going to play us hard on the road and we will have to be prepared to play."
 
Saturday's game will be only the third conference road game and the Purple and Gold are looking to string together three consecutive wins. Following the game on Saturday, PVAMU will travel to Pine Bluff, Ark to take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff Monday in a 5:30 tipoff.
 
"UAPB is tough to beat on the road," said Justice.  "The thing about them is that they are a complete team and play both inside and outside. We have to do our job of making sure that when we go in there that we are solid defensively.  This is the type of team that does all the small things, so you definitely have to do your job with them."
 
All basketball games this weekend will be on KPVU 91.3 FM.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO CONTINUE WINNING WAYS AT VALLEY The Prairie View A&M University men's basketball team (5-14, 2-3) seeks its first three-game winning streak since the 2014-15 season when the Panthers play at Mississippi Valley State (2-16, 2-3) Saturday afternoon.
 
A win over the Delta Devils would give the PVAMU its longest winning streak since winning seven in a row in league play from Feb. 7-March 2, 2015. Prairie View A&M and MVSU split the season series last year, with each team winning on the road.
 
Zachary Hamilton (30), Troy Thompson (23) and Tevin Bellinger (20) combined for 73 of the Panthers' points in the 94-82 Monday night home win over Grambling State. It was the second-highest point total of the season for both Hamilton and Bellinger, whom also had a career-high 11 assists. It was a season high point total for the second straight game for Thompson.
 
The Delta Devils (2-16, 2-3) split a pair of road games last week at Alcorn State and Southern.

 
"It's a tough road trip for our team," PVAMU head coach Byron Smith said. "We will have to defend and rebound and match these teams' intensity. Both opponents are very good at home.