Skyhawks – finally eligible to soar

By Maddie Darmstadt

The Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams are looking at the possibility of making March Madness appearances if they do well this season now that the school is officially considered Division I.  

“It’s unbelievable that we have the opportunity to go to the NCAA tournament this year,” said Brooke Paquette, a captain of the Stonehill Womens Basketball team.  

Both the men’s and women’s Stonehill basketball teams have the chance to make March Madness appearances after recent NCAA legislation changes which allowed schools reclassification from the Division II to Division I level to do so at an accelerated pace.  

Stonehill Women’s basketball Head Coach Trish Brown said her team is “extremely excited” for the opportunity to participate in the NCAA post-season tournament.   

Her team entered the conference tournament last season where they lost to FDU and participated in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. 

Brown said those experiences helped prepare the team for the possibility of performing on a larger stage such as the NCAA tournament.  

Paquette said the team views this as an extra opportunity as opposed to extra pressure.  

 “Our approach to practice and games remains the same…tournament eligibility is a reward for our dedication, but we will continue to take things day by day,” she said.  

Stonehill Men’s basketball Head Coach Chris Kraus shared a similar sentiment.  

He said winning the NEC conference is the team’s initial goal, and that they are not fixated on tournament eligibility right now.  

“At this point we are in a pressure free situation but as the season unfolds it will become a great pressure to play through,” said Kraus referring to a possible NCAA March Madness appearance.  

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are looking forward to individual as well as collective growth over the course of their seasons, the coaches said. 

An NCAA tournament appearance “would be the gravy on top of a great season,” said Brown.  

Both teams have their season openers on November 3^rd and are excited to play with the support of the Stonehill student body behind them as they enter their first season as fully eligible Division I teams, the coaches said.