Presidents teams on road for NCAA play
The Washington & Jefferson men’s and women’s basketball teams will be taking to the road – and in opposite directions – for the NCAA Division III basketball tournaments that begin Friday.
The W&J men (22-6) will be making the fourth NCAA tournament appearance in school history. The Presidents will take a six-game winning streak into a first-round game against Mount Union (23-3). The game will tip off at 3:15 p.m. and be played at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.
The W&J women (22-6) will head north to Holland, Mich., and will play Illinois Wesleyan (22-5) on Friday at Hope College. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Men
W&J earned its spot in the national tournament by winning the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament. Mount Union won the Ohio Athletic Conference’s regular-season title but lost to Heidelberg 84-82 in the semifinals of the OAC tournament.
Mount Union has a connection to Washington County as former Peters Township standout Jack Dunbar, who was the Observer-Reporter’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2024, is a sophomore guard for the Purple Raiders.
The W&J-Mount Union winner will play either Christopher Newport (21-5) or Stevens (18-9) in Saturday’s second round.
Women
This will be the 10th trip to the NCAA tournament for W&J and the third in five years. The Presidents defeated Messiah in last year’s opening round.
Illinois Wesleyan won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament with a 74-70 overtime victory over Carroll (Wisc.) after sharing the regular-season title.
The W&J-Illinois Wesleyan winner will advance to play either Hope (24-3) or Penn State Behrend (22-5) in the second round.
W&J and Illinois Wesleyan have met one time on the basketball court in the postseason, but that was in men’s play in the 1992-93 season when the Presidents won 97-82 in a second-round game played in Springfield, Ohio.