STANDISH, Maine – The 2016 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Tournament bracket has been announced and Saint Joseph's College is slated to play #21 Christopher Newport University at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania in first-round action on Friday evening. Game times and ticket information will be released on gomonks.com at some point on Tuesday following a conference call with NCAA officials. COMPLETE BRACKET
The Monks, led by 24th-year Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83, will be making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons after winning the GNAC Championship, thus claiming the conference's automatic qualifier, on Saturday when the Royal Blue topped Emmanuel College, 66-62, in the GNAC finale at the Harold Alfond Center. Saint Joseph's first appeared in the NCAA's after capturing the 2014 GNAC crown.
No stranger to national tournament play, Christopher Newport returns to the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history and the third time in the last four seasons, with trips to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 during this span. The Captains earned an at-large berth – their second in the last three seasons - into the NCAA tourney after falling to Mary Washington in the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals last Thursday.
Friday's NCAA Tournament opening round game featuring the Monks and Captains will be the first-ever women's basketball contest between the two institutions.
The other Friday night game in the four-team pod at Muhlenberg will feature the host Mules against St. John Fisher, with the winner facing the Saint Joseph's/Christopher Newport victor on Saturday evening.
MUCH more to come!
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
