New Paltz Sports Information Department
NEW PALTZ, NY — The NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Basketball Selection Show was held Monday afternoon with the Hawks basketball program's road to their respective first national championship officially cemented.
The Hawks women's basketball team will host the first two rounds of tournament play for the third time in their history. They will face Penn State-Harrisburg for a first-round matchup at 7:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center Friday with Trinity (Conn) and Baldwin Wallace playing in the Hawk Center prior at 5 p.m. The winners will then face off in the second round held in the Hawk Center for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.
SUNY New Paltz claimed its seventh SUNYAC title this past weekend after earning a semifinal win over Oswego, before knocking off Geneseo in the championship game Saturday in the Hawk Center. Brianna Fitzgerald was named tournament MVP after scoring 51 points with 22 rebounds, seven steals, six assists and four blocks. She also became the team's all-time points leader on the weekend, surpassing the previous record set by Kit Small in 2017. Seniors Jenny Walton and Julia Sabatino were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Hawks, which improved to 24-3 on the year entering their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, will face a Lions team which also earned an automatic bid into the national tournament after defeating St. Elizabeth in the United East Championship Saturday, 64-54. Penn State-Harrisburg enters the weekend at 17-11 overall. On the other side of the bracket, the Bantams earned an at-large bid after a semifinal's appearance in arguably the toughest conference in the country, the NESCAC. Trinity lost to Bates, 74-68, but had defeated the Bobcats earlier in the season. Trinity will take on the Yellow Jackets who will travel all the way from Berea, Ohio for the matchup. Baldwin Wallace earned an at-large bid as well after falling to Ohio Northern in the OAC Tournament semifinals. The Yellow Jackets enter the tournament at 20-6 overall with two of their losses coming against then No. 13 Trine and No. 4 Rhode Island College.
The Hawks men's basketball team earned their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance after claiming their first SUNYAC title after pulling the upset over No. 6 nationally ranked Oswego on its home floor Saturday. SUNY New Paltz will make the 460-plus mile travel to John Carroll where it will face the hosting Blue Streaks in the first round Friday at 8:20 p.m. eastern standard.
The Hawks continue a historic season where they have already secured the most wins in program history as they enter the tournament at 20-7 overall. They defeated SUNY Oneonta in the semifinal round handily, 80-59 before overcoming a 14-point deficit to take down the nationally ranked Lakers, 85-80 at Max Ziel Gymnasium. Kobe Bogart was the catalyst, scoring 47 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds with three steals and two assists en route to being named the tournament MVP. Guards A.J. Knight, Rylan Blondo and Sean St. Lucia were also named to the All-Tournament team.
SUNY New Paltz will need to pull off another upset to get into round two, as it will have to knock off No. 2 nationally ranked John Carroll which enters the tournament at 25-2 overall. The Blue Streaks visited Oneonta, NY early in the year and easily defeated the hosting Red Dragons by a 31-point margin, while also claiming a 10-point win over SUNY Geneseo. The team's only two losses came against now the No. 1 team in country in Hampden-Sydney and OAC rival, Otterbein. The Blue Streaks earned an automatic bid after winning the OAC with an 88-86 overtime victory over No. 24 Mount Union.
If the Hawks advance, they will face either No. 10 nationally ranked Calvin or No. 17 Elmhurst. The Knights are 22-4 overall and earned an at-large bid after getting upset in the semifinal round of the MIAA by No. 22 Hope. The Bluejays, meanwhile earned a spot by becoming the CCIW Champions after defeating then No. 22 Illinois-Wesleyan Saturday in the finals. They are 22-5 overall and have top-25 wins over the Titans, Carthage College and Trine University.
To view the full NCAA DIII men's basketball bracket, click here.
To view the full NCAA DIII women's basketball bracket, click here.
