AD Newsletter - March 2018
March Madness Begins for Men's Basketball
After an emotional Senior Night, our men's basketball team enters tomorrow's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal riding wins in four of its last five games to finish the regular season 21-10 overall and 10-8 in the best basketball conference in the country.
All the metrics have the Pirates rated high, and we fully expect Coach Willard and his student-athletes to hear their names called on Selection Sunday for a third consecutive season. Be sure to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show Sunday night on TBS from 6-8 p.m. If you have not heard yet, the format of the show is slightly different; TBS will announce all 68 tournament teams within the first 10 minutes and then go into revealing the brackets and matchups.
But before we get to Sunday though, the Pirates have an opportunity to further pad their impressive resume at the BIG EAST Tournament. They will play Butler in the Thursday late game at 9:30 p.m. We have recently seen how talented Butler can be, so it will be a tough test for our Pirates. But we also all know how much our team enjoys playing at The World's Most Famous Arena. A win would put Seton Hall in the semifinals for the fourth time in five years, and since the league reboot in 2014, less than half the teams in the conference have reached the semifinals at least three times: only Xavier, Villanova, Providence and Seton Hall have.
If you don't already have your tickets to Thursday night's game or any of the tournament sessions, you can still purchase them on Ticketmaster.com.
And if you are attending the games in New York this week, please join Pirate Blue at the pregame reception at Hudson Station Bar & Grill from 6-8 p.m. Thursday night. The cost is only $50 and includes open bar for the entire two hours and hors d'oeuvres. Pirate Blue will repeat the reception each night that the Pirates are playing.
Register for Thursday night's reception now!
As a Reminder to Our Fans & Donors...
If you are attending the BIG EAST Tournament this week and/or are planning to attend the NCAA Tournament next week, please take the time to read this letter. It is important that while we cheer on our teams during postseason play that we also raise awareness of situations that can arise while attending these events.
Women's Basketball's Season Expected to Continue
Our women's basketball team competed valiantly at the BIG EAST Tournament last week in Chicago, defeating Xavier before falling to eventual champion DePaul.
However, do not count out Coach Bozzella and his team just yet. The Pirates are still working hard and practicing in anticipation of a postseason berth, which would be the fourth in five seasons for this program. We are prepared to host a WNIT game if given the opportunity, and we hope you'll come out to Walsh Gym to support the Pirates if we do get that chance.
WNIT selections will take place late Monday night, and the first-round games can occur between Wednesday March 14 and Friday March 16. Be sure to follow the women's basketball team on Twitter (@SHUWBB) or visit SHUPirates.com for the latest updates on our postseason possibilities.
Congratulations to Swimming & Diving!
Our men's & women's swimming & diving programs put in another stellar performance at the BIG EAST Championship, as the men captured their second straight title and the women finished third for a second straight year while posting a program-record point total.
The men's team won nine gold medals and recorded seven program records in the event, and the women won two gold medals and set 11 program records in the process.
Congratulations to all the student-athletes and congratulations to Coach Sapp, who in his first season as the head coach was named the women's BIG EAST Co-Coach of the Year.
You can check out more about the championship performances here: Men's Recap | Women's Recap
Save the Date: Corks & Forks April 26
Pirate Blue's fourth annual Corks & Forks event, hosted by James and Judy O'Brien, is set for Thursday, April 26 at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J. It will be a terrific evening of wine tasting, dinner and mingling with fellow Pirates fans. Registration information will be forthcoming at PirateBlue.com, but be sure to save the date!
GO PIRATES!
