CHARLOTTESVILLE–The 11th-ranked Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team heads for Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday to compete the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s national championship tournament.
The Cardinals will compete in the top-ranked Championship Division’s “Sweet Sixteen” competition and will square off against the 6th-ranked Atlanta Shepherd Stealers in the first contest of the tournament at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 16th.
“I guess the good news is that we won’t have to sit around all day and get restless,” said player-coach Tom Vandever.
Charlottesville will need a good effort against the Atlanta squad, which has knocked off the Cardinals in all four meetings of the two teams this season.
“We’ve played very well against them this season but haven’t been able to close the deal when it’s counted,” noted Vandever. “We’ll need to be focused and aggressive to make it to the Elite Eight stage.”
Under the tournament format each team plays four games over the course of the four-day event as all 16 places are determined. Last year the New York Rollin’ Knicks took the title by defeating the defending champion Dallas Movin’ Mavericks.