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CLICK HERE! To Follow The Marist Water Polo Team At The NCAA Tournament - FINAL POST - 9:30 P.M. Sunday
May 6, 2009 Fans can follow the Marist Water Polo team during its run in its third NCAA Tournament starting Wednesday on GoRedFoxes.com. The blog will include commentary from each day in College Park, Md., including live updates during each of the Red Foxes' three games in the tournament. The Red Foxes will take on Cal Lutheran on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The blog will be written by Marist Assistant Sports Information Director Mike Haase, Any comments and questions can be sent to him at michael.haase@marist.edu. Just as my counterpart Andy Alongi did on his blog with the men's tennis team, I too would like to say Happy Birthday to women's basketball assistant coach Erin Leger. WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 - TREKING TO TERP LAND The team left just after 2 p.m. for Maryland on the famed "Marist" bus (see photo above). According to many map-oriented websites, the trip from Poughkeepsie to our hotel in Bethesda, Md. is over 500 miles and will take about 5 and a half hours. Our bus driver played a joke on the team prior to leaving campus by convincing them the dvd player on the bus was broken, and he really had them going. Luckily for us, it isn't broken because the trip then would seem even longer. Doing some research this morning, I found out that this is only the second NCAA Water Polo tournament to be held outside of California. The first NCAA tournament was held in 2001, and the only one until this year to be held outside of California was in 2005 when Michigan hosted it. Having this year's tournament at Maryland would be like having the NCAA Lacrosse tournament at Soldier Field in Chicago. It pulls the tournament away from its hotbed, but at the same time shows that the sport is somewhat nationwide.
I also saw this morning that Bethesda, Md. is home to Congressional Country Club, where Tiger Woods hosts his July tournament. It also held the 1997 U.S. Open won by Ernie Els. While I don't play, I think its cool that a golf course that held a major tournament is near by. For those of you wondering, initiation fees at Congressional are $150,000. If you feel that's worth it to play golf, my hat is off to you. Movie number one (of at least three) of the trip: Green Street Hooligans. Review to come later, although I will say now that the title pretty much gives away the plot. 4:25 p.m. - We are now on movie number two of the trip. After a movie about British football (not soccer) "hooligans" for lack of a better term, the team has gone to the other end of the cinematic spectrum with Love and Basketball. Surprisingly, a majority of the team is still awake. I barely made it through the first film. I liked Green Street Hooligans, but it's not for the faint of heart. As we make our way south through New Jersey, the threat of rain is emminent, and it will be raining more than likely once we get to Maryland. Quite the bummer, since it rained all last night in Poughkeepsie. Laptop's about to die so I'll post again from Maryland. 9:30 p.m. - Alright, after over six hours of trekking and trepidation, we have arrived in Maryland. The team couldn't have gotten here any sooner, as they practice at the University of Maryland tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Yeah, that's right: 8 a.m. News of the practice time was taken about as well as the cost of internet in the hotel for those who have homework to do, papers to write, and other studying to be done. What a time to be in the NCAA Tournament with final exams on the horizon. Head Coach Ashleigh Jacobs gave the team a "be on your best behavior" speech prior to entering the hotel, and I'm sure her instructions will be heeded by all. The weather here is just what weather.com said it would be: rainy. Just as we crossed from Delaware to Maryland (which I think took all of 15 minutes, 20 tops), it just started pouring. Thankfully, I was distracted by the miserable weather by movie number three of the trip: Pulp Fiction. In my five years of travelling with athletic teams, whether it be as a student broadcaster at Valparaiso or in my current capacity at Marist, have I thought I would see this film on a road trip. It just doesn't seem like a road trip movie. Once again, the team went on another 180 from the sappy Love & Basketball to a Quentin Tarantino film. I believe the water polo team's taste in movies can safely be termed as eclectic. All four lower-seeded teams, Loyola Marymount, Michigan, us, and Cal Lutheran are staying in our hotel, which is kinda interesting. Since the tournament expanded to eight teams in 2005, teams seeded fifth through eighth are 1-15. The one win came last year as fifth-seeded UC-Davis beat San Diego State 9-8. It sure looks like a lower-seed winning here is like a 16-seed winning in the basketball tournament. Not to say it can't happen, but you need to play a perfect game to be in it. Well friends, I'm going to settle in for the evening and hopefully fall asleep soon. Tomorrow's an early morning. THURSDAY, MAY 7 - PRACTICE DAY 12:55 p.m. - Waking up a 7 a.m. today was not that enjoyable. You know its early when the only thing enjoyable on tv is the movie "Dragnet". Granted, Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd are great in it but its too early for a comedic mystery. Anyways, the twists and turns of Maryland's campus got us to the Eppley Recreation Center - the site of the NCAA Tournament. During the ride, myself and Grace Hatcher (the only people on the bus from the Chicago area)had a discussion on the merits of the Cubs/White Sox rivalry since I wore my Sox hat to practice. I feel, as a White Sox fan, that it shouldn't be worth Cubs fans' time to dislike a team that isn't in their own league and which they only play six times in a 162 game season. The converse of the argument was that White Sox are not a real Chicago team (which in terms of fanbase may be true). Anyways.... The team got in an hour-long practice this morning at 8 a.m. Practice includes a lot of passing creating game-shot opportunities. For those of you who have not seen water polo played, it involves treading water while trying to catch a ball about the size of a volleyball with one hand. It's not like you're trying to palm the ball as you catch it. The players use the palm and fingertips to catch for the mostpart. One thing I noticed at the pool is that many of its records are held by a guy with the last name of Phelps. I'm pretty sure its Michael Phelps since he's from Baltimore and all, but more research may need to be done. The photo to the right is from the pool deck. If you look closely through the windows to the right of the scoreboard, you would see a challenge course outside the center. A challenge course. How many other campus rec centers in the country have a challenge course? It looks really awesome. After practice, the team went out to breakfast. The highlight of the morning may have been Rosie Pauli slightly (to put it nicely) freaking out over having blue teeth after having blueberry pancakes. I've never thought that could happen (the blue teeth thing, that is), so I guess you learn something new everyday. The team had the chance to go to a local mall and see a movie this afternoon. Being good college students, they decided to pass on that opportunity and do homework or sleep. Both good college activities. The NCAA is holding a championship banquet this evening. Highlights of the night will come in my next post. Before I end this, we got a comment for the blog from Alyssa Gates, Director of Academic Advisement: "To the seniors - if there happens to be a Chipotle in the area, avoid eating there as I fear a heavy burrito will weigh them down in the pool! Best of luck tomorrow! I will be thinking of you all! :)" I concur.
The banquet is interesting in that, in the two years I've attended, a lot is spoken about the growth of the sport of water polo. The keynote speaker of the event was Guy Baker, the Director of Olympic Development for USA Water Polo. He talked about how it's the college players in the United States that help keep the olympic team competitive internationally as well as his coaching experience in starting UCLA's women's program in the early 1990s and with the olympic team. The thing I like about the banquet is that each team has one player speak for a couple minutes about their season. Senior Caitlin Hopkins did a good job speaking on behalf of Marist. She spoke about how the Red Foxes' tough schedule prepared them for the MAAC season and propelled them to the MAAC title. It almost seems like every speech is the same and they follow three simple guidelines: 1) Thank the hosts and the NCAA for having the tournament. 2) Talk about how your season has been. 3) Wish everyone good luck. Everyone does a good job with it. If you noticed, I changed the photo on the front page to one of the team from after the banquet. I'm sure if you read my releases and visit the water polo page often, the photos you see are of the players in the pool with their caps. I felt this was a good way to show the team out of the pool. Props to Colleen Lischwe for her ensemble, which I'm sure glows in the dark. Apparently the flash on my camera is not that good. My apologies. Marist plays Stanford in the 2/7 game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. I will try and put live updates on GoRedFoxes.com during the game (provided I have power on the pool deck). Either way, I will put up a post tomorrow morning with a brief scouting report on the other seven teams in the tournament. It'll just be background on the teams, fun facts, etc. I'll also have the game recap up after the game. Time to turn in and watch the NCAA men's volleyball final four. If you want to see a hitting contest, watch that this weekend. FRIDAY, MAY 8 - GAME DAY 8:05 a.m.: To quote Geoff Brault, the radio broadcaster for the Marist women's basketball team: "What day is it? Game Day!" Finally, almost two weeks after winning the MAAC Tournament, Marist will play Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament today at 1:30 p.m. Here's some background information on the other seven teams joining Marist in this year's tournament (by seed): 1. Southern California (24-1) 2. Stanford (24-3) 3. UCLA (22-6, have won the last four NCAA Championships) Location: Los Angeles, Calif. 4. Hawaii (18-8) Location: Honolulu, Hawaii 5. Loyola Marymount (24-7) Location: Los Angeles, Calif. 6. Michigan (33-8) Location: Ann Arbor, Mich. 8. Cal Lutheran (19-12) Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif. So that's your tournament field. Games start today, so I gotta find some breakfast. Talk to you from Eppley Recreation Center this afternoon. Don't forget, comments are always welcome at michael.haase@marist.edu and will be posted here.
I think its a good idea to try to explain the rules of water polo for those who may not know how it goes down. I'm going to keep this as simple as possible. Each team has six players in the pool and a goalie. The teams wear either dark or white caps, with the dark team being the home team. Each quarter starts with each team on its own endline, with two players sprinting for the ball to get possession. After goals, the team that was scored upon gets the ball at mid-pool (for lack of a better term). It has elements of basketball in terms of half-court offense, soccer in terms of who is allowed to contact the ball (only the goalie can touch the ball with two hands), and hockey in terms of "power play" opportunities. Aggressive fouls in water polo lead to exclusions (or ejections, I've seen them been called either). When a player is excluded, they go to a corner of the pool outside of the field of play for 20 seconds. The exclusion ends after 20 seconds, on a goal, or on a change of possession. More often than not, a coach may call a timeout right as an exclusion is called to get the full 20 seconds. If a player gets three exclusions, they are sent off so it is possible to "foul out". That pretty much is the bare bones of water polo. Its a fast game with four eight-minute quarters and whistles are quick. There is also a 35-second shot clock so teams don't just sit on the ball with a lead. I've gotten a couple messages this morning offering words of encourage and good luck to the team. Keep 'em coming. I'll have updates periodically throughout the game. It's Game Time. Go Red Foxes! GAME BLOG - MARIST V. STANFORD 6:34 1st Quarter - Stanford strikes first on a goal by Kelly Eaton. 1-0 Cardinal. They added another goal 29 seconds later from Kira Hellman to go ahead 2-0. 4:21 1st Quarter - Stanford has added two more goals to go ahead 4-0. Marist has had three good shots on goal go either over the cage or hit the post. End Of 1st Quarter - Stanford leads 7-0. Marist has had a couple good chances to score, but their shots seem to be going right to Cardinal goalie Amber Oland. On the other side, Stanford just seems to be two steps ahead offensively and are moving the ball real well. There are still three quarters to play, so let's hope the Red Foxes can get back in the game. 6:20 2nd Quarter - Marist now trails 9-0 after two Stanford goals 22 seconds apart. The Cardinal have gotten three of their last four goals on the counter attack. The way to describe this game is like watching a basketball game in which you have a team of real good guards who can shoot from the outside against a team with a dominant center. Stanford is the team with good outside shooters while Marist is trying to be more deliberate in getting the ball close to the goal. 2:51 2nd Quarter - The Red Foxes get on the board with an extra-man goal by Kristen Barnett. Quick passing leads to Marist's best possession of the game so far. Halftime - Stanford leads 13-1. Marist is really trying to get on the board but the Cardinal have just dominated the first 16 minutes. Meanwhile, UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian just complimented me for my work on our postseason media guide. That's cool. 5:23 3rd Quarter - Barnett just scored Marist's second goal from about seven meters out, making the score 16-2. 3:44 3rd Quarter - Angie Rampton just scored the Red Foxes' second goal in a row, putting in a shot from right of the cage. End of 3rd Quarter - Stanford leads 17-4. Rosie Pauli scored her first NCAA tournament goal with 39 seconds remaining. 6:40 4th Quarter - Colleen Lischwe just put in a shot from way out past Stanford goalie Kim Hall. Stanford still leads, however, 18-5. 2:06 4th Quarter - Stanford has scored three goals in a row to make the score 21-5. I'm going to get ready for the press conference so watch for my full recap from the game coming shortly. 5:55 p.m. - The Red Foxes will take on Michigan tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. The Wolverines lost to #3 UCLA 13-6 in today's second opening-round game. Marist and Michigan have already played each other once, with Michigan winning 10-2. As I write this post, top-seeded USC leads Cal Lutheran 12-2 early in the third quarter.
I must say, however, that the most impressive thing I saw was the student union. Not only did it have the bookstore, it also has a rec hall with pool tables, video games, etc., a food court with Chick-fil-a, McDonald's, Panda Express, Taco Bell, and Subway, a four-screen movie theater, and a convienience store. If I went to Maryland and didn't have a car, I probably would be there all the time. Kinda sad, but its the truth. The team has stuck around to watch the other first-round games, so I'll have another post later this evening. SATURDAY, MAY 8 - GAME DAY #2 11:05 a.m. - Late night last evening so I didn't post. My apologies. The team stayed to watch all the games yesterday, with the top-seed winning each game. Hawaii and Loyola Marymount closed the day with the closest game, as Hawaii scored two goals late in the fourth to win 11-7. The team then went out to a very nice Italian restaurant called Bertucci's for dinner. On the ride there, the team experimented with "evil laughs" for some reason, prompted by Grace Hatcher's "witches laugh" which is really a something. At dinner, head coach Ashleigh Jacobs showed our table the infamous "Swoop the Hawk" from her days as a player at Hartwick. I'm not sure how to describe it, but suffice it to say that it did not catch on for some reason. I was also getting requests from players to get put in the blog (like senior Kristen Powers), and I said that I couldn't just manufacture situations for which that can happen. I can only write about the real experience. We got back to the hotel around 10:45 or so, at which point I was just done for the day after enjoying a very filling veal parm. I woke this morning around 9, excited to see that American Gladiators was on tv. And just any old episode of Gladiators, one of the first ones with Joe Theismann (rhymes with Heismann) and Mike Adamle. Classic. As I write this, I'm at the pool watching both USC and Stanford practice. The team seems really focused for this afternoon's game, confident in the fact they can beat Michigan. Coach Jacobs' goal for this weekend is two wins, and the team has bought in to that. The game starts at 12:30 and I will put updates on the blog just as I did yesterday. Don't Stop Living In The Red! GAME BLOG 2 - MARIST V. MICHIGAN 7:16 1st Quarter - Marist strikes first as Angie Rampton assists on a Rachel Sunday goal. On the ensuing possession, the Red Foxes force a Michigan shot clock violation. 6:28 1st Quarter - Sunday scores her second goal as McCahill finds her in front of the cage. Marist leads 2-0. 4:18 1st Quarter - Michigan has tied the game at 2-2 with goals by Leah Robertson and Mary Chatigny scored 26 seconds apart. 3:46 1st Quarter - Marist takes back the lead as Rampton found Samantha Swartz for an extra-man goal. 3:13 1st Quarter - The Red Foxes go back up by two as Katelin McCahill scores from three meters in front of the cage. The goal is her 69th of the season, setting a new Marist record for goals in a single-season. Marist 4, Michigan 2. End of 1st Quarter - Marist 4, Michigan 4. The Wolverines tied the game with 54 seconds left in the quarter. Marist had a chance to the game with 3 seconds but Swartz's shot hit the crossbar. 4:30 2nd Quarter - Game still tied at 4-4. Both goalies have stepped up here in the second quarter. Marist just get themselves out of a jam. Katelin McCahill got called for an ejection with one second left on the shot clock, but Jessica Getchius kept a Kelsey Haley shot from going into the back of the net on the extra-man opportunity. 2:17 2nd Quarter - After allowing Michigan to take its first lead of the game at the 4:10 mark, the Red Foxes have tied the game 5-5 on a Rampton goal. HALFTIME - Marist 5, Michigan 5 4:59 3rd Quarter - The Wolverines take the lead 6-5 on an extra-man goal by Leah Robertson, her fourth of the game. 0:42.6 3rd Quarter - Michigan just used its second timeout. After scoring four goals in the first five minutes of the game, Marist has scored one in the last 16 minutes. The defense and goalie Jessica Getchius have kept the Red Foxes in the game. End of 3rd Quarter - Michigan 7, Marist 6. Rosie Pauli scores with 1.4 seconds left in the period to get the Red Foxes back within one goal. 7:00 4th Quarter - Getchius has made two big saves early to keep Marist within one. 5:35 4th Quarter - Michigan gets a goal from Sharayah Hernandez to go ahead by two, 8-6. Marist is still struggling offensively, not taking one shot so far in the fourth. 3:58 4th Quarter - The Wolverines are pulling away, as Hyrne scores to put Michigan ahead 9-6. The Red Foxes may be running out of time. FINAL SCORE - Michigan 9, Marist 7. McCahill adds a goal with 23 seconds left to make the final margin two. After getting out to a hot start, the Red Foxes come up short against the Wolverines. Marist will play in the seventh-place game tomorrow at 1:30 pm.
4:30 p.m. - Marist will take on Cal Lutheran tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in the seventh-place game. The Regals lost to Loyola Marymount in the second game of the day 12-6. The photo at left shows some of the Marist parents and fans who have come ot College Park for the weekend to see the Red Foxes in the NCAA Tournament. It really doesn't do the group justice, because a lot of parents have come down this weekend. I had a good conversation with Rosie Pauli's father this afternoon. He caught me as I was leaving the stands and thanked me for all the work I do, which was nice. The championship semifinals are going on right now, with USC leading Hawaii 4-0 after one quarter. Today's the day at the tournament where you see how the full spectrum of the sport, from those who are final four mainstays and those who aren't quite there yet.
Anyways, I'll have another post later this evening. Definitely before the Blackhawks game tonight, that's for sure. 10:15 p.m. - Alright, I have to make this quick. The Blackhawks start in about 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the better water polo games ever this afternoon as Stanford took on UCLA in the second championship semifinal. The game was back and forth the whole way, and I'm pretty sure no team had a lead bigger than two goals. Stanford tied the game with about 30 seconds left on a penalty shot. UCLA came back down and scored on a 6-on-5 to beat the buzzer and win 12-11. When the Bruins scored, everyone inside the Eppley Recreation Center went nuts. Members of the team sitting around me were saying it was one of the best finishes they'd ever seen, and they'd know more about it than me. The team is pretty much keeping it low-key this evening. I, on the other hand, was planning to hang out with my cousin who lives near by but my cell phone died during the UCLA game. My thanks to Kristen Powers for letting me borrow her phone-charger. You see, we both have the same phone so that was clutch. (Apparently former Marist player Maggie Hatcher also has this phone as well. Not really sure why I was told that, or even if it is true.) Anyways, by the time I got my phone charged it was too late. I was kind of looking forward to it, but when that happened I got to go to plan B: Chipotle. Chipotle is, by far, my favorite mexican restaurant. Since there isn't one in Poughkeepsie, I just had to get it before I leave. It came to my attention today that I needed to put Jessica Stevenson and Agnes Konopka in the blog. After taking it under advisement (with constant pressure to do so), I have approved. They told me they are hilarious and I will take their word for it. One more game tomorrow and its back to Poughkeepsie. Good night everybody. MAY 10 - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
12:10 p.m. - I feel it is only proper to start this post by saing Happy Mother's Day to my mom and grandma back in Illinois. I just saw them last weekend for the first time since Christmas so I'm just going to say that I miss you and hope to see you later this summer. At breakfast this morning, Kaitlin McMurray and Hillary Walling told me that their moms have been reading the blog and have found it very informative and hilarious. I guess I'm doing something right, so thanks for the feedback. We're all checked out of our hotel, so after today's games its back to Poughkeepsie. I'll be posting updates of today's game once it starts, which will be at 1:30 p.m. GAME BLOG #3 - MARIST V. CAL LUTHERAN 7:37 1st Quarter - Marist wins the sprint and promptly scores as Samantha Swartz finds the back of the net. 1-0 Red Foxes. 6:55 1st Quarter - Red Foxes go up 2-0 as Colleen Lischwe gets a steal and starts the counter attack. Swartz finds Kristen Barnett in front of the net who lobbed it over the Cal Lutheran goalie. 5:54 1st Quarter - After Joy Cyprian put Cal Lutheran on the board, Swartz scores 10 seconds later to keep the lead at two, 3-1. 3:25 1st Quarter - The Regals get within one as Meredith Butte scores on a man-up opportunity. 3-2 Marist. 1:12 1st Quarter - Swartz scores her third goal of the game man-up to put Marist ahead 4-2. Assist to Angie Rampton. 0:17 - Swartz returns the favor as she assists on a Rampton goal in transition. 5-2 Red Foxes. End of 1st Quarter - Marist leads 5-2. The defense has been on point, getting at least five steals if not more. On offense, they are moving the ball real well and have been getting great looks at the cage. 6:00 2nd Quarter - Cal Lutheran has made it a one-goal game with two goals in the first two minutes. 5-4 Marist. 5:42 2nd Quarter - After her last shot hit the crossbar, Hilary Schroeder scores from two meters out to put the Red Foxes back up by two, 6-4. 4:26 2nd Quarter - Katelin McCahill scores man-up from two meters out, putting Marist ahead 7-4. Rampton gets her second assist. 1:00 2nd Quarter - Swartz comes up with a big field block as Jessica Getchius gets caught out of the cage trying to get a steal. After the block, Swartz throws a long outlet pass to Barnett who drew a five-meter penalty shot. Swartz converts the penalty and the Red Foxes are on a 3-0 run. 8-4 Marist. HALFTIME - MARIST 8, CAL LUTHERAN 4 5:15 3rd Quarter - After a slow start to the quarter, Marist increases the lead to five on McCahill's second tally of the day. 9-5 Red Foxes. 4:56 3rd Quarter - The Red Foxes counter attack strikes again, as Barnett draws another five-meter. McCahill converts for the hat trick as Marist scores its fifth goal in a row. 10-5 Marist. 3:32 3rd Quarter - Swartz finds Colleen Lischwe in front of the cage to score Marist's sixth straight goal, making the score 11-4. 2:10 3rd Quarter - Cal Lutheran has scored two straight goals to make the score 11-6. 1:45 3rd Quarter - Swartz scores her fifth goal of the game to give the Red Foxes a 12-6 lead. End of 3rd Quarter - Marist leads 12-6. The Red Foxes outscore the Regals 4-2 in the quarter to extend the lead to six. 5:50 4th Quarter - The Red Foxes are rolling right now. Barnett just scored an extra-man goal to make the score 13-7. 4:23 4th Quarter - Cal Lutheran has gotten back-to-back goals by Joy Cyprian to get within four, 13-9. 2:23 4th Quarter - Caitlin Hopkins staves off the Regals' threat with an extra-man goal. Marist leads 14-9. 2:05 4th Quarter - A quick defensive stop by the Red Foxes leads to McCahill's fourth goal of the game. Marist 15, Cal Lutheran 9. FINAL SCORE - MARIST 16, CAL LUTHERAN 11. The Red Foxes win their first NCAA Tournament game in program history, as well as the first for the MAAC Water Polo League. 9:30 PM - THE FINAL POST We're on the highway making the trek back to Poughkeepsie, UCLA beat USC 5-4 in the championship game for its fifth straight national title. After the game, junior Rachel Sunday was named Second Team All-Tournament. Congratulations to her. There was much debate over what movie to watch on the bus. Before I got on the bus, freshman Kelly Kline told me to vote for "The Strangers". Being an uninformed voter, I abstained. The party trying to shoot down the motion included the coaching staff, apparently because the movie is "scary". The vote seemed pretty one-sighted, so they watch with much trepidation. (I'm not going to lie, the movie is a little creepy and has conjured up some very loud screams from the team.) This will be the final post on the blog, as I suspect many of you won't be awake at 3:30 in the morning when the team gets back to campus. Yes, you read right: 3:30 IN THE A.M. When I asked the team if there was anything they wanted to add before I wrapped it up, there was a conglomeration of "I love my teammates", "My name's on the blog. That's all I need", "I bookmarked the blog", a couple thank-yous, and one quote that I'm the best blogger ever. The last quote may be a stretch since this was the first time I've done this. It's been a blast to have the opportunity to do this blog. Again, I've never done something like this before. I'm thankful for all the feedback I've gotten, and I hope you have all enjoyed reading this as much, if not more, than I had writing it. This is a good group to be around. They're a lot of fun and I'm glad they let me tag along for this weekend's NCAA Tournament. Well, that's about it. Time to settle in for the long trip into the night. Mike Haase, signing off.
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9:45 p.m. - Just got back from the championship banquet. It's a nice event before the tournament starts, getting all eight teams in a room for a nice dinner and a chance to reflect on the past season. The board of fare was typical banquet food, except that the gentleman manning the roast beef carving station was not being generous with the portions. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
12:12 p.m. - We arrived at the pool around 11:30 or so and it took me awhile to get myself situated here. They just put 60 minutes on the clock, meaning we're inching closer to game time.
After today's game, I walked around campus looking for the book store as I do on all my NCAA trips. On the way, I saw one of at least two Terrapins around the football stadium. I'm pretty sure Maryland is the only school in Division I, let alone anywhere, with a turtle as a mascot. I also passed by the baseball stadium, where Maryland is hosting Wake Forest for a weekend series. Photos of both facilities can be seen below.
While I think about it, I need to write about the one thing I noticed about being in College Park. The Maryland state flag is everywhere. It gets incorporated into logos, it's outside businesses. Granted, it looks pretty cool but I can only think of two other states I've been to where the state flag is prevalent. Those would be Texas and Ohio. I couldn't tell what's on Illinois' flag (my home state), although I think it's the state seal on a white background.
