The field is now set for the 2009 Con Edison/ CUNY Athletic Conference Community College Basketball Championships. All four women’s and five men’s teams will participate in Championship Week. Games will be played Tuesday, February 17 through Friday February 20.

 

Hostos Community College will be hosting semifinals and championship games for the men and women. The one men’s quarterfinal game will be hosted by Bronx Community College.

 

Hostos hosted a tip off luncheon and art exhibit to promote the week long series of games on campus. The art exhibit featured oil on canvas paintings created by students on campus. The focus of the exhibit was the school’s mascot- the caiman. “At Hostos, we take care of the entire student,” stated Carol Kashow, the Director of Athletics. “We want to link athletics and academics, to develop the entire student.”

 

Head women’s coach Cecil King cannot wait for the tournament to start. “It’s a great idea for us to host the tournament. It will be a great atmosphere. This place will be hopping ... It’s going to be jumping.”

 

The women’s Championship features two semifinal games on Tuesday, February 17. At 5:30 p.m., second-seeded Hostos Community College will face third-seeded Kingsborough Community College, while the Queensborough Community College will face the Borough of Manhattan Community College at 7:30. The winners then will meet in the championship game on Friday, February 20, at 5:30 p.m. All games will be held at the Hostos Community College Gymnasium, located at 149^th Street and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, N.Y.

 

The men’s Championship will also begin on Tuesday, February 17, with the fourth-seed Bronx Community College hosting the number five seed Queensborough Community College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the semifinal round to face top-seeded Hostos Community College. The number two seed BMCC will face the number three seed Kingsborough. The BMCC-KCC game will be played at 5:30 p.m., with the Hostos Game to follow at 7:30 p.m. Trophy presentations will be made at the conclusion of each championship game.

 

A year ago, Queensborough Community College claimed the women’s title by besting four-time defending champion Hostos Community College, while the Hostos men defeated Kingsborough Community College for that title. The Hostos men’s team went on to win the NJCAA Region XV championship to advance to the national tournament, where they lost in the national semifinals, finishing third in the nation.