CHARLOTTESVILLE–The Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team will hit the road for Atlanta on Friday (10/31) for their first tournament competition of the 2014-15 season.
The 16th-ranked Cardinals will open the “Shepherd Shootout” at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning when they take on the 4th-ranked Orlando Magic Wheels. The Cardinals will then face the host 14th-ranked Atlanta Shepherd Stealers at noon and then tangle with Birmingham (AL) Lakeshore Storm squad at 4:00 p.m. The playoff rounds will be played on Sunday.
“We’ll definitely have our hands full against these teams,” said player-coach Tom Vandever. “Both Orlando and Shepherd have owned us the past few seasons.”
The Cardinals will be playing this weekend without Mike Looney, Charlottesville top-scorer the past two years, but will be adding a new face–Jacob Tyree–who has returned to Virginia, and the Cardinals, after graduating from the University of Illinois. Veterans Brandon Rush, Chris Robinson, Eddie Wimbish, Arthur Tracy, Jeremy Smith, and Tom Vandever will anchor the squad over the weekend. Penney Dodson also has rejoined the team after a year off following shoulder surgery.
Following the Shepherd Shootout tournament, the Cardinals will travel north the following weekend (11/8-9) to the University of Pennsylvania–Edinboro “Boro Shootout” tournament.