Sacred Heart club athletics are headed to nationals! Club men’s volleyball, field hockey, gymnastics and men’s hockey, including both AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) D2 and ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association) D3, are all on their way to earn national status.
The SHU ACHA D3 hockey team had a historic season, going into nationals with a 22-4 record as well as winning the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Tournament.
They head off to St. Louis, Mo. to face the national stage. The ACHA offers a unique experience for these athletes, as they will be playing at the home of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues practice facilities.
SHU will be facing St. Vincent College, Calvin University and Lawrence Tech.
Source: Jack Cavicchi, Assistant Photo Editor and Web Manager
“Because of the timing of spring break and the fact that ice time is hard to come by at the Martire Family Arena, we didn’t have as many practices as we probably would have liked,” said junior ACHA D3 captain Lucca Conigliaro. “We made the best of what we had, working as hard as we could in the limited practices we were given.”
This season, the AAU D2 hockey team announced that they moved up to the premiere D1 division.
The team went 0-3 in nationals after playing the number one team in the nation, University of Georgia, as well as losing to Binghamton and Niagara University. Off the ice, the SHU club field hockey team will be heading to Virginia Beach, Va. to compete in the National Field Hockey Tournament beginning April 11.
After finishing the fall season with a record of 3-2-2, the team looks to make a run in the tournament.
The team will be playing schools like Rutgers University, the University of Connecticut and Merrimack College, and they believe their strong regular season schedule can provide them with great preparation for Nationals.
The men’s club volleyball team is looking for a push at a national title after a 12-0-5 record this season.
“We have been working hard all year, and we are excited for this opportunity to showcase that,” said sophomore club volleyball member Jeff Molisani. The tournament will be held in Phoenix, A.Z. on April 17.
SHU’s club gymnastics team is heading to Pittsburgh, P.A. to compete in their nationals, carrying SHU pride a few states west.
“I’m honored to be able to represent Sacred Heart alongside my amazing team,” said junior club gymnastics member Lindsay Capobianco.
The team has been constantly training for this moment and look forward to competing in Pittsburgh.
“For our team’s success at nationals, we have all been practicing two to three days a week. At this point, we are all working on polishing up our routines at practice so they can be clean and consistent for competition,” said Capobianco. “Some of us compete on all four events, so we’ve been practicing vault bars, beam and floor. Others specialize in certain events.”
Each team has fundraised for their trips, as they have costly expenses such as travel, food and hotels.
Some programs have started fundraising links as well as some outside fundraising, such as double pop popcorn, to help raise money.
