November 11, 2011
Women’s Soccer NCAA Championship Preview
Four BIG EAST women’s soccer teams begin their run in the NCAA Championship this weekend, with three teams in action on Saturday (West Virginia, Marquette and Louisville) while one (Notre Dame) kicks off play on Sunday. All three contests on Saturday are home games for the league teams. No. 10/9 West Virginia hosts Virginia Tech, while Louisville hosts Dayton and No. 12/19 Marquette welcomes Toledo. On Sunday, Notre Dame heads to No. 16/13 Illinois. Over the past two years, the BIG EAST has gone 9-2-2 in the first round of the NCAA Championship for a .769 winning percentage.
BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship Semifinals and Final this Weekend
There are four remaining teams in the BIG EAST men’s soccer championship. At 5 p.m., Louisville will play Connecticut and following that, Villanova will play St. John’s. The winners will advance to the final on Sunday at Noon. All three games will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the league’s automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Championship.
BIG EAST Field Hockey Competes in the NCAA Championship
Two BIG EAST field hockey teams, Syracuse and Connecticut, were selected to participate in the 16-team 2011 NCAA Championship. Syracuse won its second straight BIG EAST Championship, and third in the last four years, to earn the league’s automatic berth into the tournament. The Orange enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed and will play Richmond in a first-round matchup on Nov. 12 in College Park, Md.Connecticut, the league’s regular-season champion, will host Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Nov. 12. UConn was tabbed the No. 4 seed and is making its ninth straight appearance in the national tournament.
BIG EAST Volleyball Fighting for Remaining Three Postseason Spots
With Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, Villanova and Notre Dame all securing spots in the BIG EAST Championship, three slots will be filled in the final weekend of regular season play. Cincinnati keeps the nation’s longest home win streak, now at 48 consecutive wins at Fifth Third Arena, dating back to October of 2007 when the team lost to St. John’s. Villanova senior Kim Maroon continues to lead the nation with 6.93 digs per set, while Louisville junior Lola Arslanbekova is third in the nation with 4.98 kills per set.
Women’ Cross Country Heads to NCAA RegionalsAs teams head to NCAA Regionals this weekend, four BIG EAST teams are ranked in the national top 10 including No. 2 Villanova, No. 5 Providence, No. 7 Georgetown and No. 9 Syracuse. Other teams in the top 30 are No. 13 West Virginia as well as No. 24 Notre Dame. Three teams lead the rankings in the Mid-Atlantic Region as Villanova, Georgetown and West Virginia take the top three spots. The Mid-Atlantic Region Championship will be held on Saturday at UMES Golf Range XC Course in Princess Anne, Md., at 1:15 p.m. Providence is ranked first in the Northeast Region followed by Syracuse. The Northeast Regional will be held at the Audubon Golf Course in Amherst, N.Y., at 1:15 p.m. Notre Dame is ranked third in the Great Lakes Region. The Great Lakes Regional will be at Ottawa Park Golf Course in Toledo, Ohio, at 1:15 p.m. The top two teams in each race qualify automatically for the NCAA Championships, along with the top four individuals not on qualifying teams. In addition, teams around the country are competing for 13 at-large berths, which will be awarded based on a season-long points system developed by the NCAA, with priority toward top regional placers.
Men’s Cross Country Heads to NCAA Regionals
The BIG EAST has five teams ranked in the national top 30 including No. 13 Villanova, No. 23 Georgetown, No. 26 Louisville, No. 29 Syracuse and No. 30 Providence. Villanova and Georgetown are ranked second and third in the Mid-Atlantic Region while Syracuse and Providence are ranked third and fourth in the Northeast Region. The Mid-Atlantic Region Championship will be held on Saturday at UMES Golf Range and XC Course in Princess Anne, Md., at noon. The Northeast Regional will be held at the Audubon Golf Course in Amherst, N.Y. Louisville is ranked fourth in the Southeast Region and will run at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. At 10 a.m. Notre Dame is ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Region. The Great Lakes Regional will be held at Ottawa Park Golf Course in Toledo, Ohio, at Noon. The top two teams in each race qualify automatically for the NCAA Championships, along with the top four individuals not on qualifying teams. In addition, teams around the country are competing for 13 at-large berths, which will be awarded based on a season-long points system developed by the NCAA, with priority toward top regional placers.
