W&J DUO TABBED TO ECAC SOUTH ALL-STARS
Two PAC standouts were honored with
selection to the
ECAC Division III South Women's Basketball All-Stars on
April 3 . Senior F
Emily Hays of Washington & Jefferson,
the 2009 PAC Player of the Year, was a first team honors, while
her W&J teammate, junior F
Maggie Gibson, earned second
team laurels.
JAYME THIEM OF THOMAS MORE NAMED
TO 2009 WBCA ALL-AMERICA HONORABLE MENTION TEAM
Thomas More senior guard
Jayme Thiem has
been recognized as
State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team Honorable Mention by
the
Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Friday
(March 20). Thiem is a two-time All-PAC first team selection who
led the PAC champion Saints to a 28-3 mark and an appearance in
the NCAA Division III "Sweet Sixteen" in 2009.
FIVE PAC CAGERS HONORED BY
D3HOOPS.COM; GCC'S HARRIS NAMED COACH OF THE
YEAR
Five PAC basketball players have been named to the 2009
All-Great Lakes Region
Women's Basketball teams by
D3Hoops.com. Grove City women's coach
Sarah Harris
was named Regional Coach of the Year by the website. Three of the five first team selections were PAC
players, as 2009 PAC Player of the Year
Emily Hays of W&J
was joined by the
Thomas More duo of Jayme Thiem and
Nicole Dickman. W&J junior center
Maggie Gibson was a
second team honoree, while sophomore forward
Christine Slater
of Grove City earned third team laurels.
THOMAS MORE FALLS 67-51 TO #2
HOPE IN 2009 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT SECTIONAL
The PAC champion Thomas More College women's basketball team
saw its 2008-09 season come to an end Friday night (March 13)
following a
67-51 home loss to #2-ranked Hope College in the sectional
semifinal round of the
2009 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament. With
the loss, the Saint season ends at 28-3 overall.
TMC TO HOST NCAA TOURNAMENT
SECTIONAL
Thomas More College will host the sectional semifinals and
finals of the
2009 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament this
weekend in Crestview Hills, Ky. The three-game sectional is
arguably the toughest in the nation, as all four competing teams
are ranked in the national Top 10 by both the
WBCA and
D3Hoops.com. The
opening game has unbeaten George Fox facing 2008 Final Four
participant Oglethorpe on Friday (March 13) at 5 p.m., followed
by the PAC champion Saints battling #2-ranked Hope at 7 p.m. The
winners of the two Friday contests will meet at TMC Saturday
(March 14) at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the Division
III Final Four in Holland, Mich. next weekend (March 20-21).
Thomas More has a
sectional website with preview information on all four
teams. In addition,
TMC game notes as well as links to the
Thomas
More video webcast and a
D3Hoops.com audio webcast are also now online.
THOMAS MORE TOPS MESSIAH
57-50; SAINT CAGERS ADVANCE TO NCAA "SWEET SIXTEEN"
Senior G Jayme Thiem scored a game-high 22 points to
lead the Thomas More women’s basketball team to a
57-50 win over
host Messiah College in the second round of the
NCAA Division
III Women's Basketball Tournament tonight (Saturday, March 7) at
Brubaker Auditorium in Grantham, Pa. With the win the Saints
improve to 28-2
and will host the regional semifinals and finals this weekend
(Friday-Saturday, March 13-14). The Saints will play No. 2
ranked Hope College Friday at 7 p.m., with George Fox and
Oglethorpe meeting in the other matchup at 5 p.m. The two
winners will meet for the right to advance to the Final Four on
Saturday at 7 p.m.
THOMAS MORE WOMEN ADVANCE TO NCAA
SECOND ROUND; W&J WOMEN FALL AT #2 HOPE
The opening round of the 2009 NCAA Division III Basketball
Tournaments saw both PAC qualifiers in action,
with the PAC champion Thomas More women advancing to the second
round. The Saints (27-2) posted a
76-61 win over
Randolph-Macon at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., behind a
game-high 22 points by sophomore C Nicole Dickman. TMC
now advances to face host Messiah, which advanced with an
opening round win over Eastern Connecticut State, tomorrow
(Sat., March 7) at 7 p.m. In other women's tournament action,
Washington & Jefferson saw its season end at 24-5 overall
following an 87-64 loss at #2-ranked Hope College in Holland,
Mich.
TMC, W&J SELECTED FOR NCAA
TOURNAMENT
Three PAC basketball teams have been selected to compete in
the 2009 NCAA Division III
Men's &
Women's Basketball Tournaments. Two PAC women's squads will
be in action beginning with first round games on Friday (March
6). PAC champion Thomas More (26-2) will face Randolph-Macon
(23-5) at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. Washington &
Jefferson (24-4), which earned a Poll C at-large bid, will
travel to Holland, Mich. to face Hope (25-1). On the men's side,
PAC champion Thomas More (19-8) will play at Capital (24-4) in
Columbus, Ohio on Thursday or Friday. Specific date/time
information will be added here as it is received.
ALL SAINTS DAY 2009: THOMAS MORE
COLLEGE SWEEPS PAC BASKETBALL TITLES ON FEB. 28
The top-seeded Thomas More men's & women's basketball teams
each captured PAC Championships on their home court on Saturday,
Feb. 28. The Saint women earned their
third consecutive PAC crown with a
59-49 win over
second-seeded Washington & Jefferson. In men's action,
the top-seeded Saints earned their
first-ever PAC title with a
91-65 defeat of second seed
Bethany. Both TMC squads have now earned automatic bids to the
2009 NCAA Division III Tournaments, with brackets to be
announced on Monday (March 2).
SHOWDOWN BETWEEN
NATIONALLY-RANKED TMC, W&J SET FOR 2009 TOURNAMENT FINAL
The championship game for the 2009
PAC Women's Basketball Tournament is set, as
nationally-ranked top seeds Thomas More and Washington &
Jefferson will meet with the conference crown on the line. The
top-seeded Saints, two-time defending conference champions,
advanced to the final via an 81-43 victory over fifth seed Thiel.
The second-seeded Presidents used a huge 34-3 second half run to
overcome a two-point halftime deficit and upend third seed
Bethany 78-62. It will be the third meeting between the two
powers, as W&J won at home 68-62 on Jan. 10, while the Saints
topped the Presidents in Kentucky 56-45 on February 11.
2009 ALL-PAC HOOPS TEAMS
ANNOUNCED
The 2009 All-Presidents'
Athletic Conference teams and postseason award winners for
women's basketball were announced between tournament semifinal
games at Thomas More on Friday, February 27. MVP honors went to
W&J senior F Emily Hays, while Sarah Harris of
Grove City College was tabbed as 2009 PAC Coach of the Year.
PAC TO OFFER TOURNAMENT VIDEO
WEBCASTS
The PAC will provide fans
with free live video webcasts of its men's and women's
basketball championship games this Saturday (February 28), as
well as three of four tournament semifinal contests on Thursday
and Friday (February 26-27). The webcast schedule follows (click
on the link to access the webcasts):
Women's Semifinal - Bethany vs. W&J
(Fri., 2/27 - 6 p.m.)
Women's Semifinal - Thiel vs. Thomas More
(Fri., 2/27 - 8 p.m.)
Women's Championship (Sat., 2/28) - 2 p.m.
PAC TOURNAMENTS OPEN ON FEBRUARY 24
The 2009 PAC Basketball Championship Tournaments are
underway following the completion of opening round games
on Tuesday, February 24. The lone
upset saw #5 Thiel outscored #4 Grove City 41-26 in the second
half en route to a 65-51 road victory. The top three seeds all
advanced. Top-seeded Thomas More clinched hosting rights for the
women's "Final Four" with a
60-46 home win over #8 Chatham. #2
Washington & Jefferson held off annual nemesis #7 Westminster
70-57, while the game of the night saw #3 Bethany come back from
a 12-point halftime deficit to edge #6 Waynesburg
68-63 in
overtime. The women's semifinals are set for Friday night in
Crestview Hills, Ky., with Bethany and W&J meeting at 6 p.m.,
followed by Thiel and Thomas More at 8 p.m.
THOMAS MORE COLLEGE EARNS #1 SEED
FOR 2009 PAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
The PAC has announced
the pairings for the 2009 PAC
Championship Tournaments in men's & women's basketball,
which take place this week (Feb. 24-28) at campus sites.
Two-time defending PAC champion Thomas More is the top seed for
the women's tournament after completing a 13-1 regular season
mark. The Saints of head coach Brian Neal will host the
PAC Women's Basketball "Final Four" in Crestview Hills, Ky.,
with a win over eighth-seed Chatham in the first round Tuesday.
Both Thomas More and second-seeded Washington & Jefferson are
currently ranked in the
D3Hoops.com national Top 25 poll, with TMC ranked 10th
and W&J ranked 21st. The champion will earn the PAC's automatic
bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, which begin the week of
March 2, 2009. Complete tournament
pairings are now online.
FOUR PAC CAGERS SELECTED
TO 2008-09 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS
A total of four PAC women's basketball standouts have been
selected to the
2008-09 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District College
Division Women's Basketball teams, selected by the College
Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and released on
February 5. Thomas More senior G
Alex Gee (3.97 GPA,
psychology) was an All-District IV second team selection, while
Washington & Jefferson junior F
Maggie Gibson (3.61,
business administration) was a second team honoree in District
II. Also, in District II, third team laurels went to Bethany
senior G
Kaitlyn McCormick (3.86, psychology/pre-physical
therapy) and W&J junior G
Kennan Killeen (3.48, English).
PAC PLACES PAIR IN D3HOOPS.COM
TOP 25
For the first time in conference history,
the PAC has two women's
basketball programs ranked among the top 25 Division III teams
in the nation at the same time. The historic poll was
released on Jan. 13 by the
D3Hoops.com website. Defending PAC champion Thomas More,
which was ranked as high as fourth in the nation earlier this
season, is ranked 16th in the current poll. Washington &
Jefferson, which topped the Saints 68-62 on Saturday, moved into
the poll for the first time at #25.
2008-09 PAC WINTER PREVIEWS NOW
ONLINE; PAC COACH PREVIEW VIDEOS ALSO AVAILABLE
With the fall regular season complete, the winter regular
season is already underway. PAC winter previews for
men's basketball,
women's basketball,
men's & women's swimming and
diving and wrestling are now
online, as are PAC composite schedules for 2008-09 in the winter
sports
of
men's
basketball,
women's
basketball,
men's and
women's swimming & diving, and
wrestling.
Finally, videos of each PAC Basketball Coach providing a season
preview at PAC Basketball Media Day in Pittsburgh are also now
available. Click on the links below to watch a video season
preview for each PAC basketball team:
Women
Bethany-Rebecca Upton
Chatham-Mark Katarski
Geneva-Amy Russin
Grove City-Sarah Harris
Saint Vincent-Kristen Zawacki
Thiel-Artina Trader
Thomas More-Brian Neal
W&J-Jina DeRubbo
Waynesburg-Sam Jones
Westminster-Rosanne Scott
W&J MEN, THOMAS MORE WOMEN PICKED TO CAPTURE TITLES AT 2008-09
PAC MEDIA DAY
The Washington & Jefferson College men and Thomas
More College women were picked to capture 2008-09 championships in
the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), according to the
preseason poll released at the
2008-09 PAC Basketball Media Day at the Heinz History Center in
Pittsburgh on October 23. Voters in the polls included conference
head coaches, sports information directors, and members of the media
present at the conference media day.