After thinking another outstanding season had come to a close with a loss in the NESCAC Tournament February 19, the Wesleyan women’s basketball received a surprise invitation as one of 50 teams selected for the NCAA Division III Championship.
Wesleyan, seeded third in its six-team bracket, will host Chestnut Hill College, seeded sixth, Wednesday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. Chestnut Hill stands 19-9 on the season and received an automatic bid to the tournament as the winner of the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference (AWCC) post-season tournament. Wesleyan finished the year 20-4, its third consecutive 20-win season, and was seeded fourth in the NESCAC Tournament.
Of the 50 teams, 39 received an automatic bid as a conference winner. Four others were selected at large as independents or from conferences that do not have an automatic bid to the tournament. The final seven teams were at-large choices from the non-champion teams of 39 automatic-bid conferences. Surprisingly, two of those seven bids went to members of the NESCAC, as both tournament runner-up Bates College (24-2) and Wesleyan were picked for the national field. Bowdoin College (24-2), which played in the NCAA title game in 2004, was the NESCAC Champion for the fifth straight season.
The other teams in Wesleyan’s bracket include NEWMAC champion Springfield College (22-5), which Wesleyan defeated 74-53 on Dec. 10; Richard Stockton (18-9), the New Jersey Athletic Conference winner; Mount St. Mary’s (N.Y.) (27-1), winner of the Skyline Athletic Conference; and Staten Island (26-2), the CUNYAC champion.
Springfield hosts Richard Stockton Wednesday with the winner advancing to play Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday. The Wesleyan-Chestnut Hill winner plays at Staten Island Saturday at 4 p.m.
“I’m thankful our season is not over,” said Wesleyan head coach Kate Mullen. “You rarely get a second chance in sports and we intend to make the most of it. I’m especially happy for our two seniors who were not ready to have the season end as it did.”
This is Wesleyan’s first trip to the national tournament after coming close with a 21-4 record in 2002-03, and being the last team not chosen for the tournament a year ago with a 20-4 mark.
All tickets for the Wesleyan-Chestnut Hill game Wednesday in Wesleyan’s Freeman Athletic Center Gymnasium are general admission. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students. As an officially sanctioned NCAA tournament game, improper conduct by fans will not be tolerated and will be grounds for immediate removal from the facility. Signs are discouraged and no noisemakers of any kind will be permitted. Wesleyan athletics department would like to thank the Wesleyan community in advance for its cooperation.
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