GENESEO, N.Y. - One of the most exciting weekends of the year for SUNY Geneseo Athletics is just around the corner, with four teams competing in the NCAA postseason on Friday and Saturday. The women's basketball team is coming off one of the most impressive weekends in program history, advancing to the Sweet 16 with a pair of upset victories over No. 15 Catholic and Montclair St. The men's ice hockey team earned the right to host the first round of the NCAA Tournament after winning the UCHC Championship game and will face Stevenson on Saturday, March 15 at 7 p.m. in the Ira S. Wilson Arena. Men's and women's track and field round out the NCAA competition this weekend, traveling to Nazareth University on Friday and Saturday.
 
"We're excited for the opportunity to continue cheering on our Knights in postseason play," said Denise Battles, president. "As New York's public honors college, our students have success in the classroom and on the court, ice, and field!"
 
"I am so proud of our teams, competing and excelling on the biggest stages," said Director of Athletics Dani Drews. "It was gratifying and humbling to watch the hard work of our student-athletes pay off this past weekend. I can't wait to see them in action again."
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:
The Knights will play in the Sweet 16 as the lowest seed remaining in the NCAA Tournament on Friday after pulling off two remarkable wins against higher-ranked opponents. Geneseo will travel to Gettysburg, PA, this week, where they will take on the No. 1 team in the country, NYU, on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Knights clinched an automatic berth to the postseason tournament by winning the Empire 8 Championship over Brockport. You can follow along and support the Knights from home this weekend by watching them on NCAA.com, HERE. Making the trip to Gettysburg? Purchase your ticket to Friday's game HERE. 
 
Geneseo opened their incredible NCAA Tournament run against No. 15 Catholic University, the host of the first-round games. Geneseo shocked the tournament by pulling off a dominant victory over the Cardinals, leading wire-to-wire after jumping ahead 11–0. Sophomore forward Kristin Suydam recorded 20 rebounds in the game, tying the program record for rebounds in a game set by Jan Halcomb in 1980 and Lynn Hamilton in 1989. Graduate guard Kiley Snow chipped in 17 points, while senior guard Mackenzie Reigle added a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists.
 
The Knights faced a short turnaround for their second-round game against Montclair St., facing the Red Hawks less than 24 hours later on Saturday. The game got off to a very different start than it did against Catholic, with Geneseo trailing by as many as nine points in the first three minutes. However, the Knights overcame the adversity before halftime, going on a 12–3 run in the second quarter to help give them an 11-point advantage at half. The third quarter saw a dominant performance from Geneseo, outscoring Montclair St. 25–12, allowing Geneseo to easily cruise to a 71–49 win and a Sweet 16 berth.
 
Geneseo will face a tall task in their next matchup, facing defending National Champion and No. 1, NYU. The Violets have not lost a game since March 2023 and won their opening two rounds by 40 and 38 points, respectively. This will mark the first meeting between the two programs, and the winner of Friday's game will take on the winner of Randolph Macon and Gettysburg on Saturday night.
 
The women's basketball program now holds a 16–11 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and has reached the Sweet 16 five times. Geneseo reached the NCAA tournament in five straight seasons from 2014–15 and 2018–19, with two trips to the Sweet 16. In the 1992–93 and 1994–95 seasons, the Knights reached the Elite Eight, highlighting another stretch of five straight years in the NCAA Tournament.
 
QUICK FACTS:

• Mackenzie Reigle leads the NCAA in assists, averaging 8.0 per game. Additionally, she set the program record for assists in a season this year, breaking the mark set by P.J. McTigue in the 1998–99 season. Reigle ranks second all-time in career assists for the Knights.
• Kristin Suydam leads Geneseo in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 12.0 points per game and 7.6 rebounds, while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.
• Graduate guard Kiley Snow eclipsed the 1,000 point milestone this season, becoming the 17th player in program history to reach the mark. Snow has moved up to the top 10 all-time in program history with 1,139 points.
• Geneseo's defense has dominated this season, especially over the last five games. Since the start of the Empire 8 tournament, their opponents have been held under 30 percent shooting from the field, and they rank fifth in Division III in field goal percentage defense.

IN THE NEWS:
News 10 NBC - Selection Show (March 4) - NCAA First and Second Round Recap (March 10)
D3 Hoopsville - Coach Polosky Interview (March 10 @ 22:30 mark)
 
MEN'S ICE HOCKEY:
In the Ice Knights' first season as a United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) member, they won the championship after traveling to top-seeded Utica on Saturday and earning a 7–3 victory. Geneseo enters the postseason tournament as the #6 ranked team in the country, with a record of 22–4–1. Ticket information for the game can be found HERE, and if you can't make it to the Ira to support the Ice Knights, you can watch it from home HERE.
 
In the championship game against Utica, sophomore Filip Wiberg was named the tournament MVP after opening the scoring in the game and finishing with two goals. Seniors Adam Harris and Peter Morgan as well as freshmen Nicholas Kovacs and Payne Gatewood joined Wiberg on the All-Tournament Team. The Ice Knights took an extremely quick 2–0 lead in the game, scoring twice in the opening three minutes. Geneseo went on to lead 4–0 by the end of the first period and managed to hold off a comeback attempt by the Pioneers for the 7–3 win.
 
The Ice Knights have made the NCAA Tournament 11 times in program history and eight straight since the 2013–14 season. The home contest will mark the 11th game hosted by the Ice Knights in program history (the home NCAA game in 2020 was canceled due to COVID), where they hold a record of 6–4. Geneseo holds a record of 8–8–2 in the NCAA Tournament and reached the National Championship game in 2022, where they fell to Adrian. The Ice Knights will look to make a return trip to the championship game this season and return home as National Champions for the first time in program history.
 
QUICK FACTS:

• Sophomore Sean Melso was named the UCHC Defensive Player, leading all defensemen in scoring with 24 points on eight goals and 16 assists in 26 games played this season. He was a league-best plus-26 with 21 points (six goals and 15 assists) in 20 UCHC regular season contests.
• Head Coach Chris Schultz was named the UCHC Coach of the Year by his peers, leading Geneseo to a 16–3–1 regular season record in the conference. Schultz enters the NCAA Tournament with an all-time record of 321–139–31.
• Peter Morgan leads the Ice Knights in scoring this season, tallying 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists. Wiberg, the UCHC Tournament MVP, is second on the team with 30 points on 15 goals and 15 points.
• Goaltenders Adam Harris and Jacob Torgner split time in goal this season, and both have a save percentage over .900, with Harris leading the way at 2.34 goals allowed per game and 317 saves.
• This will mark the sixth meeting between the two programs, and the Ice Knights hold a 5-0 advantage.

TRACK AND FIELD:
The Geneseo track and field teams don't have to travel far this weekend to compete against the best in the NCAA Division III, as Nazareth will host the championship meet on Friday and Saturday. Earlier this season, both programs claimed their first Empire 8 titles. The championship marked the 15th overall and eighth-straight conference title for both programs, including their time with the SUNYAC. The Knights followed it up this past weekend with the women's team winning the AARTFC Championship meet, while the men's team took second in their final competition before NCAA's. Can't make the meet? Watch from home, HERE.
 
At the Empire 8 Championship Meet, Brynn Mooney and Janelle Eckl were named the Track Athlete of the Meet and Field Athlete of the Meet, respectively. Mooney broke a pair of Empire 8 Championship meet records, winning the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.97 seconds (13th best in Division III this season) and breaking her own league mark set earlier in the year, and she took the 400-meters in 57.01 seconds. Mooney was also second in the 60-meter dash, finishing with a time of 7.79 seconds in the finals after hitting the finish line in 7.73 seconds in the prelims. Eckl earned Field Athlete of the Meet honors after winning the E8 pentathlon by 299 points, compiling a championship record 3,646 points, which is currently the third best performance in Division III this season. She was the top finisher in the pentathlon events of 800-meters, high jump, and long jump. Eckl also was part of Geneseo's E8 Championship record setting 4 x 400-meter relay team that crossed the finish line first in 3:56.71.

Penelope Greene enters the weekend with the highest ranked entry to an event, posting the second-fastest time in Division III this season for the 5000m at 16:32.54. Teammate Lilly Fowler-Conner ranks fifth in the same event, while Greene will also compete in the 3000m. Mooney (400m) and Eckl (Pentathlon) both rank third coming into the meet for their respective events. On the men's side, the team of Sam Belmont, Arjun Ojha, Matthew Sheehan, and Jacob Miller rank third in the country in the 4x400 relay at 3:15.34.
 
The women's team will compete in nine different events at Nazareth, sending 11 student-athletes in total. On the men's side, the Knights will take on the 400m and 4x400 relay events. See the complete list of competitors below and their NCAA ranks entering the meet below.
 
WOMEN:
Event | Athlete (Time) | NCAA rank
400m | Brynn Mooney (56.06) | 3rd
800m | Sierra Doody (2:12.31) | 10th
3000m | Penelope Greene (9:41.73) | 8th
5000m | Penelope Greene (16:32.54) | 2nd
5000m | Lilly Fowler-Conner (16:49.90) | 5th
60m Hurdles | Jillian Ambler (8.72) | 10th
4x400m Relay | Jillian Ambler, Ava Bagley, Janelle Eckl, and Brynn Mooney (3:52.25) | 12th
Long Jump | Jillian Ambler (5.75m) | 13th
Weight Throw | Lauren Jaklitsch (17.83m) | 13th
Weight Throw | Zoe Connor (17.81m) | 14th
Pentathlon | Janelle Eckl (3,646 points) | 3rd
Pentathlon | Lanna Wandy (3,514) | 9th
 
MEN:
Event | Athlete (Time) | NCAA rank
400m | Jacob Miller (48.27) | 8th
4x400m Relay | Sam Belmont, Arjun Ojha, Matthew Sheehan, and Jacob Miller (3:15.34) | 3rd