Championship Weekend for Rider
Championship Weekend for Rider
Basketball, Wrestling at Conference Tournaments, Track at Easterns
LAWRENCEVILLE--Five Rider University athletic teams will be competing in Championships this weekend.
The men’s and women’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championship tournament will held at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY. The women begin play Thursday and the men Friday.
The Colonial Athletic Association Wrestling Championship tournament will take place at Drexel University in Philadelphia Friday and Saturday. “You always go trying to win it,” said head coach Gary Taylor. “(20th ranked) Hofstra is the team to beat, and we will have to wrestle extremely well to finish in the top two. So that’s what we’re going to do, and we certainly intend to have several national qualifiers.” The CAA Championships will advance 23 wrestlers on to Nationals in Oklahoma City, OK March 16-18.
The indoor track & field teams have already placed runner-up in the MAAC Championships, and will now advance 22 athletes to the Eastern Championships, the men at the ICAAAA Championships and the women at the ECAC Championships, both taking place in Boston, MA Saturday and Sunday. “This is the largest group we’ve ever had qualify,” said coach Rob Pasquariello. “We are capable of having a very good weekend.”
The Rider men’s team will face the fifth seed, Saint Peter’s, on Friday, March 3 at 4:30 pm. The winner of that game plays Saturday at 5:00 pm against the fourth seed and host team, Siena. “I do believe we are playing good basketball right now,” said coach Tommy Dempsey. “If a couple things go our way we can be a factor this weekend. We have enough talent to do some good things.” The men’s Championship Game is Monday, March 6, at 9:00 pm, televised on ESPN2.
The Rider women play Thursday, March 2 at 4:00 pm against the sixth seed, Manhattan, and the winner of that game plays Friday at 1:15 pm against the third seed, Loyola. “We have a brand new season beginning Thursday,” said head coach Tori Harrison. “We’ll take it one game at a time and see what happens. Last year we upset Loyola in the tournament, and no one expected that. So you never know.” The women’s Championship Game is Sunday at 12 noon.
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