Champion Hawks Headed to Storrs

Posted  3/14/2005
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The Hawks celebrate on "Selection Sunday," after learning of their placement in the NCAA tournament.
The Hartford Hawks, having won the America East women's basketball championship in dramatic fashion, earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play No. 3 Rutgers at UConn's Gampel Pavilion on Sunday, March 20.

Game time is set for approximately 2:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the conclusion of the No. 6 Temple vs. No. 11 Louisiana Tech game, which begins at noon. Hartford's game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

A limited number of tickets are available. The best way to secure tickets is to go to www.ticketmaster.com or call Ticketmaster at 860.525.4500. You can also call the UConn Ticket Office at (877) AT-UCONN.

Read more ticket information on the Hartford Athletics website.

It was a momentous weekend for the Hartford women, who won a nail-biter of a game, 52-50, against Boston University Saturday in the finals of the 2005 Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women's Basketball Championship. The game drew a large and enthusiastic crowd to the Reich Family Pavilion, including Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

As America East champions, Hartford secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. This is Hartford's second trip to the "Big Dance" – the Hawks won their first America East championship and their first bid to the NCAA tournament in 2002.

The Hawks and their fans, still flying high from Saturday's thrilling win, gathered Sunday afternoon at the intramural gym in the Sports Center to watch the NCAA tournament selection show on ESPN.

The crowd erupted when "Hartford" appeared on the screen, accompanied by a "14" seed. In 2002, the Hawks made their first NCAA tournament appearance as a No. 16 seed.

"These kids have been working for almost a year now to get to this point, and I'm just really proud of them," said Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti. "We've got a really competitive group of kids who are going to fight tooth and nail in the tournament."

The match-up between Hartford (22-8) and Rutgers (25-6) is one of four first-round games that will take place in Storrs on Sunday. The winners will move on to the second round, which will take place in Storrs on Tuesday, March 22. From there, winning teams will advance to the regionals in Philadelphia.

For complete coverage of Saturday's championship game and Hartford's trip to the NCAA tournament, visit www.hartfordhawks.com.