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Irish cagers poised for postseason

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By John Manley

Four months of regular-season play have boiled down to sudden elimination for six Irish basketball players. The big event, the men’s NCAA Div. I Championship tournament, features Davidson and Penn among the 65 teams that will give it a whirl.

Davidson (21-9) has had more than a week to rest up after defeating Furman for the Southern Conference title. That should be enough time for Michael Bree to recover from a leg injury that cut into his playing time during the SoCon conclave. Bree, a 6-foot-3 senior from Dublin, starts in the backcourt for the Wildcats, where he averaged 10 points per game, fifth best on the team. He led the team in assists with 123 and steals with 40. Davidson also dresses Conor Grace, a 6-8 freshman from Dublin, who averages almost 13 minutes per game. He has been good for 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest.

Davidson is the 13th seed in the West Region. They will face Big Ten champs Ohio State (23-7) Thursday evening at “The Pit” on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

Suiting up for Penn is 7-foot freshman Conor Tolan from Dublin. Tolan has seen limited action for the Quakers this season. They will take on California (22-8) in Pittsburgh on Friday.

A loss to Temple in the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game cost Susan Moran and St. Joseph’s (Pa.) a slot in the women’s NCAA tournament, but there is a silver lining to this cloud. The Hawks will host a first-round NIT game on Thursday evening against Siena. Moran, a senior from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, owns most scoring records in the St. Joe’s book and can add to them in this consolation tournament.

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Azusa Pacific (25-7) returns to the NAIA Championships for the seventh straight year. This 32-team festival takes place entirely at the Kansas City Memorial Auditorium. Azusa, the Golden State Athletic Conference champion, starts 6-9 Gary Dredge at center. The Clondalkin, Co. Dublin, senior scored 6 points and had 6 rebounds in last Tuesday’s 80-66 GSAC tournament victory over Biola. Dredge drained a 3-pointer early in the second half to begin a run that saw the Cougars extend a 2-point halftime lead to 11 within 6 minutes. Awaiting Azusa in Kansas City will be Spalding, their first-round opponent.

Niamh Dwyer is also tourney-bound. The freshman from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, helped McKendree College (20-14) upset Columbia College, 82-77, in the championship game of the American Midwest Conference Tournament last Tuesday. Dwyer, a 5-9 guard, tossed in 21 points for the Bearcats. McKendree will play Union University of Tennessee in first-round action Wednesday evening at 8:30 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.

Track and field

Providence’s Roisin McGettigan ran fifth in the Mile at the NCAA Div. I Women’s Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. McGettigan, a senior from Wicklow, trod the boards in 4:42.95. Liberty’s Heather Sagan had the winning time of 4:38.52.

On the men’s side, Tennessee won the team championship, with Arkansas, the host school, placing fourth. This is the first time in 20 years that John McDonnell’s Razorbacks have finished worse than third in the Indoors. Coach McDonnell hails from Crossmolina, Co. Mayo.

Tennis

California’s Catherine Lynch enjoyed a pair of solid victories at fourth singles last week. The Dublin sophomore helped the Golden Bears to an 8-1 triumph over Arizona by defeating Perrnie Pernin, 6-3, 6-3. California then lost to Arizona State, 4-3, although Lynch came through with a win over Megan Yeats, 6-2, 7-5.

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