UPDATE - Hurricane Sandy forces Volleyball Final Round to CCNY on Friday
It has been a difficult time for all New Yorkers and by extension for the student-athletes and coaches of our member campus schools. We are hoping that all of you and your loved ones have come through this trying experience unscathed, but know that we have all been affected to some extent.
While life issues take precedence, we are still trying to ensure that our teams have an opportunity to continue their education and complete their Fall seasons competing in the NCAA Tournaments. With three CUNYAC championship events to go, two have been affected with postponements related to Hurricane Sandy that all of our administrators have had a very tough time dealing with. From CUNY campus closures to NYC Parks shut downs, we have had a lot of juggling to do.
In an effort to keep you as up to date as possible, here is what we have confirmed;
Women's Soccer Finals have been confirmed for Saturday, November 3rd at Randall's Island Soccer Stadium @ 5:00 pm between #1 Staten Island versus #2 City College of New York.
Men's Soccer finals are slated for 7:00 pm on Saturday, November 3rd at Randall's Island Soccer Stadium between top-seeded Baruch Bearcats and second-seeded Brooklyn Bulldogs.
The CUNYAC Women's Volleyball Championships have proven to be the biggest obstacle as many of our campuses are still being used as Evacuation Centers for the displaced population of New York City during and after Hurricane Sandy. Most CUNY campus gymnasiums are filled with sleeping cots and supplies for thousands of displaced individuals and families and the timeframe for their departure is uncertain. Such a scenario is not allowing Baruch to host the final round on Friday evening. However we were fortunate to have CCNY gymnasium cleared during the course of Thursday, allowing us to have the facility on our regularly scheduled day for Semifinals and Finals. We could not thank the CCNY Administration, Public Safety, Building and Grounds and of course Athletic Department more.
After consultation with the CUNYAC Championships Committee and the Conference President and Vice President, we then agreed to move forward with the top four teams during the regular season, playing for the CUNYAC Automatic Qualifying berth to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships. This is only done under these unexpected and extraordinary circumstances, especially since prior to City College stepping forward to host we did not have a facility to host any portion of the Championships through the weekend. Thanks to CCNY Athletic Department we can at least decide our champion on the court of play on Friday, November 2nd.
We apologize for excluding four of our teams from this year's playoffs, however it was necessary under the circumstances, while the teams competing for the CUNYAC title have certainly earned their way in by virtue of their regular season conference record. The schedule is as follows;
4:00 pm - #2 Hunter vs. #3 CCNY
6:00 pm - #1 Baruch vs. #4 Lehman
8:00 pm - Championship