NECVA Playoff Bracket Released - Endicott Earns #5 Seed

March 30, 2004

As the 14th ranked team in the nation (AVCA Coaches Poll), the Endicott men have been ranked in the fifth spot in the upcoming NECVA Tournament. Matches will take place this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Buffalo, NY and co-hosted by D'Youville and Medaille Colleges.

Endicott has been building momentum toward the tournament over the past few weeks and gaining respect across the country. Recently, the Gulls gained national recognition as they were recognized as the 15th ranked team in the country (AVCA DIII coaches poll), and have now moved up to be tied in the 14 spot with SUNY New Paltz. This will be Endicott's third straight playoff appearance.

In their push toward the tournament, underclassmen, such as Mike Coflesky and Eddie Marchand have stepped up their play while upperclassmen such as Pablo Baez, Jeremy Fontaine and Craig Steszewski have shown even stronger leadership and consistency.

Endicott opens tournament play against the 12 seed, York College at D'Youville College on Friday, April 2 at 6:00 PM. A win would mean a second round match against the 4 seed, Hunter College. Hunter comes into the tournament with a 16-0 conference record and a first place finish in the CUNY division. This match is scheduled for Saturday at noon at D'Youville. NECVA-New England's \#1 team Rivier College was granted the \#1 seed in the conference. Without any upsets along the way, Endicott could meet Rivier in the semi-finals on Saturday at 4:00. The Championship match will be held on Sunday, April 4 at 1:00pm.

The champion receives the NECVA conference automatic qualification to the Molten DIII Final Four at Eastern Mennonite University on April 16-17.

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The top three teams from each of the four NECVA Divisions each qualify to fill the 12 playoff spots. This year's field includes:

1. Rivier (New England)
2. Steven's Tech (Metro)
3. Medaille (West)
4. Hunter (CUNY)
5. ENDICOTT (New England)
6. D'Youville (West)
7. SUNY New Paltz (Metro)
8. Baruch (CUNY)
9. Eastern Mennonite (West)
10. Mount Saint Vincent (Metro)
11. Emmanuel (New England)
12. York (CUNY)

Playoff Schedule (site)

Friday
6:00 PM
\#5 ENDICOTT vs. \#12 York (DYC)
\#7 New Paltz vs. \#10 Mount Saint Vincent (Medaille)

8:00 PM
\#6 D'Youville vs. \#11 Emmanuel (DYC)
\#8 Baruch vs. \#9 Eastern Mennonite (Medaille)

Saturday - Quarterfinals
10:00 AM
\#1 Rivier vs. winner of Baruch/Eastern Mennonite (DYC)
\#2 Steven's Tech vs. winner of SUNY NP/Mount Saint Vincent (Medaille)

12:00 PM
\#3 Medaille vs. winner of D'Youville/Emmanuel (Medaille)
\#4 Hunter vs. winner of ENDICOTT/York (DYC)

4:00 PM - Semifinals
Winner of \#1 Rivier match vs. winner of \#4 Hunter match (DYC)
Winner of \#2 Steven's match vs. winner of \#3 Medaille match (Medaille)

Sunday - Finals
1:00 PM
Winner of Semifinal matches (TBA)