| AU
to host Patriot League volleyball tournament for the fourth straight
year
Photo by Larry
French
AU’s
volleyball team won its fourth-straight Patriot League regular-season
title this season and will host the Championship tournament
at Bender Arena this weekend.
|
BY
MIKE UNGER
By
now, the AU volleyball program is used to staging the Patriot League
championship tournament in Bender Arena. The past three years, the
Eagles earned the right to host the games by winning the league’s
regular-season crown.
This
season, however, the team’s perfect 14-0 conference record
didn’t secure AU a fourth opportunity to host the spectacle.
That happened before the season’s first serve was hit, when
league officials announced the 2004 tournament would be held in
Washington regardless of the regular season’s outcome. The
decision was made at the behest of College Sports TV, which will
broadcast Saturday’s 7 p.m. final as its national game of the
week. It will air the game tape-delayed Sunday at 4 p.m.
“It’s
a unique opportunity for our league and our sport,” AU volleyball
coach Barry Goldberg said. “It may not have caught on by a
national audience, but certainly this game of the week is being
seen by recruits all over the country.”
The
Eagles open the tournament Friday at 6 p.m., when they’ll play
Navy in the first of two semifinal matches at Bender. At 8, Army
takes on Bucknell. The winners advance to Saturday’s title
game, set to begin at 7 p.m. Only the tournament champion will earn
a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s 64-team field.
“We’re
a strong contender this year,” Goldberg said. “I’ve
been pleasantly surprised with what we’ve been doing. There
are five good hitters on the floor for us, that is what’s made
us as competitive as we are. The teams can’t focus on one player
per se, because literally we have four or five players spiking the
ball regularly.”
If
the Eagles make it to the championship tilt, as they expect to do,
they’ll begin warm-ups an hour before game time and are hoping
for a large and enthusiastic crowd turnout.
“Be
early,” Goldberg urged.
Tickets
to the semifinals and final can be purchased at the door. With an
AU ID, staff and faculty tickets are $5, while students get in free.
Regular ticket prices are $8 for adults, $5 for high school age
children, and free for children age 12 and under. Group ticket packages
also are available. For ticket information, call 202-885-8499. Field
hockey wins Patriot League title, competes in NCAA Tournament
Could
it be the start of a dynasty?
The
AU field hockey team captured its second straight Patriot League
title on Nov. 7 by beating Colgate 3-0. The win capped a nearly
perfect tournament for the Eagles, who romped to victory without
giving up a goal in two games.
“I
really think that we came out very, very focused at the start of
each match,” Coach Steve Jennings said. “We got an early
lead in each match, and we really wanted to prove a point that we
were the best team in the league and nobody was at our same level.”
Freshman
Denise Infante was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player
after tallying a goal and an assist in AU’s 4-0 semifinal win
over Lehigh. She also registered an assist in the final.
The
Eagles left Hamilton, N.Y., site of the tournament, with a record
of 18-2.
“I
really think that they’ve elevated themselves in terms of their
mental game to another level,” Jennings said of his players.
“We can handle any situation that’s thrown our way.”
The
win secured AU a birth in the 16-team NCAA Tournament. See “Field
hockey loses in round two of NCAA Tournament”. |
