Here's To The Winners

Plus: Perfection in Women's Hoops, Hockey. Bring The Thunder. Augsburg Tops On The Mats.

Author

Steve Ulrich
March 18, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

MARCH 18, 2024 | written by STEVE ULRICH

The news that you need to know about non-scholarship college athletics and those that love it.
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courtesy NYU Athletics

“Perfection!

The 2023-24 New York University women's basketball dream season concluded the way it began ... with a victory ... and nothing but victories in-between.

In a defensive struggle from the outset, the Violets ended their 31-0 season with a 51-41 victory over Smith College on Saturday, March 16, in Columbus, Ohio.”

» Court Awareness. “It was NYU's second-ever NCAA Division III title, with the only other one secured in 1997.”

» Stats. “Morgan Morrison finished with teams highs of 14 points and nine rebounds. Belle Pellecchia finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Natalie Bruns, who was named Tournament MVP, contributed nine points, nine rebounds and five blocks.”

BASKETBALL (M)
2. Bring the Thunder

courtesy of Trine Athletics

“In the team's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, the Trine University men's basketball team ran the table and won the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championship with a 69-61 victory over Hampden-Sydney College. The victory came in front of a crowd of 4,546, a new record for the best attendance for an NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship game.”

After his struggles to score in the semifinal round, senior guard Cortez Garland paced the team with 22 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Off the bench, sophomore Nate Tucker had 13 points, while junior Aidan Smylie (12) and junior Drew Moore (10) were also in double figures.”

» Why It Matters. It was Trine’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, much less a national final.

» Honored. Garland was selected as the Most Outstanding Player.

ICE HOCKEY (W)
3. Wire-to-Wire For River Falls

courtesy of UW-River Falls

The UW-River Falls women's hockey team defeated Elmira College 4-1 Sunday afternoon at Hunt Arena to win the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Championship.

The national title is the first in UWRF's history during its 25th anniversary season, finishing with a 31-0 overall record, the most single-season wins in NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey history and the fourth-ever undefeated season.

Jordan O'Connor made 16 saves to earn the win, finishing the year with a 23-0 record which ties a UWRF single-season record for most wins as a goaltender.

» Worth Noting. It is the second time in three seasons that the NCAA champion has gone unscathed during the season. Middlebury won the 2022 title with an unblemished 27-0 record.

WRESTLING
4. Auggie For The Win

courtesy of Augsburg Athletics

“With two individuals winning national titles and six earning All-American honors, the Augsburg University men's wrestling team claimed its record-tying 15th NCAA Division III national title, and second in a row, at the national tournament at the La Crosse Center on Saturday.

Augsburg won the national title with 95.0 points, bettering second-place Wartburg (Iowa) with 87.5 points and third-place Wisconsin-La Crosse with 82.5 points. The lead shifted back and forth between the three schools throughout the day on Saturday, with the Auggies clinching the crown after the first of its two individual titles in the evening session.”

» Of Note. “With its 15th national title, Augsburg has now tied Wartburg for the most NCAA Division III men's wrestling team titles in tournament history.”

» Individual Champions: 125: Joziah Fry (Johnson & Wales); 133: Chase Randall (Coast Guard); 141: Josh Wilson (Greensboro); 149: Michael Petrella (Baldwin Wallace); 157: Nolan Hertel (UW-La Crosse); 165: Nicholas Sacco (TCNJ); 174: Jared Stricker (UW-Eau Claire); 184: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg); 197: Massoma Endene (Wartburg); 285: Tyler Kim (Augsburg). | Brackets.

ICE HOCKEY (M)
5. Then There Were Four

The 2024 NCAA DIII men’s ice hockey championship tournament is down to four teams after a memorable Saturday night - into Sunday morning.

Top-ranked Hobart (26-2-1) survived against Curry, dispatching the Colonels on a tally by Bauer Morrissey at the 15:17 mark of the fourth overtime. The Statesmen will face Utica (24-2-3), a 4-1 victor against Plymouth State in one semifinal.

Adrian (24-6-1) will represent the West after knocking off St. Norbert, 5-3. Opposite the Bulldogs will be the Bantams of Trinity (24-3-1), who blanked Elmira, 2-0.

» Worth Noting. It was the second longest game in NCAA Division III men’s hockey history, clocking in at 135:17. Curry keeper Shane Soderwell tied a single-game record by turning away 98 shots.

NEWS
6. Lightning Round

» Membership. The DIII Membership Committee approved a single-sport application, forming the Collegiate Field Hockey Conference. It also approved exploratory year applications from Johnson & Wales (Charlotte), Mayville State (N.D.) and Regent (Va.), while signing off on a provisional membership for Penn State Brandywine.

» News. In an op-ed in Sunday’s AL.com, Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer writes that if Birmingham-Southern College closes, it’s on them not the state treasurer. “I stand by my decision to deny using Alabama taxpayer dollars for a loan to an institution which I believe has been grossly mismanaged for many years. It is beyond distressed.”

» News. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Southwestern Pennsylvania’s small colleges are hurting. An analysis found that over four-fifths of small, private institutions in the region experienced overall enrollment declines between fall 2013 and fall 2022, including two that saw student populations fall about 37%.

TRANSACTIONS
7. Comings and Goings

  • MARIAN - Michelle Majewski announced her retirement as president

  • MARY BALDWIN - Amanda Evans stepped down as head women’s soccer coach

HIGHLIGHTS
8. Plays of the Weekend

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