The NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional playoffs tip off today at IUP, with four women’s games at the KCAC. Tomorrow, the men’s regional gets underway at Gannon University.
The women’s regional starts at noon with third-seeded Winston-Salem State meeting number six Glenville State. At 2:30, it’s second seed Gannon playing a PSAC foe, number seven Edinboro. Then at 5, top-seeded IUP welcomes number eight Charleston, and the nightcap follows at 7:30, with number four Seton Hill against number five Fayetteville State.
Coach Craig Carey’s 26-3 IUP women are the PSAC champions after their tense win on Sunday at Gannon. The take on a 21-10 Charleston team that won the Mountain East Conference, where they beat top seed Glenville State.
Carey says you can’t afford to take anybody lightly if you hope to emerge from the Regional.
IUP and Charleston have played twelve times before, the last time in 2009. IUP holds a 7-5 lead all-time. This is the first time the two have played each other in the NCAA tournament. If IUP wins, they will play the winner between Fayetteville State and Seton Hill tomorrow night at 7:30.
The sixth-seeded IUP men will play number three Fairmont State tomorrow at noon, kicking off the Atlantic Regional at Gannon. The Crimson Hawks are 22-7 while the Falcons come into the game at 26-5. Fairmont State lost in the MEC Championship game, to West Liberty, while IUP was beaten by Gannon.
Coach Joe Lombardi says the Regional is wide open and anyone could win it.
Should IUP win, they will play Sunday at 5 PM against the winner between West Liberty and Virginia Union.
All of the action will be on 92.5 FM U92 this weekend, starting with the women at 4:30 this afternoon.
IUP’s Dallis Dillard has been named the Atlantic Region Men’s Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, and the Crimson Hawks’ Shae Weaver was named to the Women’s All-Atlantic Region First Team.
