W&J hits the road for playoff games
The Washington & Jefferson men’s basketball team will travel to Elmhurst University in Illinois to face the host Blue Jays in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Friday.
This marks the third appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since the 1993-94 season for W&J. The Presidents advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 in 93-94. W&J also earned a berth in the 1984-85 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
The Presidents, who finished the regular season as the top team in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, captured the PAC Tournament title with a 68-63 win over Chatham Saturday night at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. The PAC title is the 10th in program history for W&J (24-4). Its last conference title came in 1994-95.
Elmhurst earned the automatic berth out of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. The Blue Jays won the CCIW Tournament title Saturday by defeating North Central (Ill.) by an 82-65 score. Elmhurst finished third in the CCIW during the regular season, as they posted an 11-5 conference record and a 22-6 overall mark.
Elmhurst will be making its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the rest of the championship. Elmhurst beat PAC counterpart Grove City in the 2020 Second Round by an 84-66 score.
Pomona-Pitzer (21-4) and Northwestern-St. Paul (21-6) will meet in Friday’s other first round matchup at Elmhurst. Pomona-Pitzer captured the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament title on Sunday. Northwestern-St. Paul won the Upper Midwest Conference (UMC) Tournament title on Sunday.
Both games will be played at R.A. Faganel Hall on the campus of Elmhurst University.
W&J women to Transylvania
The Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team will travel to Transylvania University to face the host Pioneers in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Friday.
This marks the eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since the 2009-10 season for W&J. The Presidents also earned bids in 1994-95, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2008-09.
The Presidents, who finished the regular season as the top team in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, captured the PAC Tournament title with a 58-42 win over second-seeded Westminster College Saturday evening at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. The PAC title is the sixth in program history for W&J (23-4). Its last conference title came in 2005-06.
Transylvania earned the automatic bid out of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Pioneers won the HCAC Tournament title Saturday by defeating Anderson University by an 81-51 score.
Transylvania enters Friday’s game with a 24-0 overall record. They finished 13-0 in HCAC play. W&J and Transylvania have one common opponent in 2021-22. Both teams beat Capital University. W&J beat the Comets 66-54 on Nov. 27. Transylvania topped the Comets 78-38 on Dec. 21.
A pair of teams that W&J played in its non-conference schedule, Marietta and La Roche, also earned bids to the field of 64.
Southern Virginia (24-4) and Shenandoah (22-5) will meet in the other first round game at Transylvania on Friday. Southern Virginia won the automatic bid out of the USA South, as they beat Berea 73-62 Saturday. Shenandoah won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference as the No. 4 seed, as they won 56-43 over Randolph Macon on Sunday.
Game times to be announced.