Playoff Fever for 3 Rams Teams
For the first time in a decade all three Rams winter sports teams will advance to their respective conference tournaments. The women's basketball was victorious over Norwich University, 78-61, at the Regan Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, while the hockey team topped Wentworth 4-0 at Steriti Memorial Rink in Boston's North End. The men's basketball team suffered the Rams' lone setback of the day, falling 75-70 against Norwich, as all three teams now move forward with NCAA Championship Tournament berths at stake.
Women's Basketball
Suffolk women will enter the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) basketball tournament after winning their final three home games in a four-day span. The team finished with a 16-9 regular season record.
The Rams will open the eight-team single elimination tournament as the number four seed and will host fifth seed Johnson & Wales University at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at Suffolk's Regan Gymnasium.
Eyes are on senior Jennifer Ruys, who continues to move up the all-time Rams scoring list. Ruys became just the third player in Rams women's basketball history to reach the 1,400 career point total earlier this season and enters the playoffs just 44 points shy of Katie Norton's record of 1,516 career points.
Men's Basketball
Suffolk men's basketball will enter the 2013-14 GNAC tournament as the number seven seed, having finished the regular season with a 6-12 mark in conference play and 9-16 overall. The Rams will head north to Standish, Maine, to take on second-seed St. Joseph's College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Junior guard Sam Nwadike has been Suffolk's leading offensive player all season, averaging 17.4 points and 3.3 assists per game. Freshman Frantz Pinard has been one of the league's top first-year players, earning GNAC Rookie of the Week honors on three separate occasions this season. Pinard has averaged 10.6 points per game for the Rams and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game.
Hockey
The Rams hockey team clinched the number five seed on Saturday, with the victory pushing Suffolk into its first post-season appearance since the 2009-10 season.
Hockey has been finding its stride as of late, winning three of its final four games and claiming a four-game winning streak at home. Sophomore Brandon Smolarek posted his first career shutout on Saturday, blanking Wentworth 4-0 and making 30 saves in the process.