NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WTKR)- Christopher Newport's men's and women's basketball teams both have national championship aspirations. Each squad begins that journey on Friday.
The Captain men and women each discovered their first round NCAA Tournament sites and opponents on Monday, with the men staying in-state and the women serving as a host school.
CNU's men will open their NCAA Tournament at Hampden-Sydney, where they will face Farmingdale State on Friday at 4:50 PM. The Captains are 24-3 and are coming off a Coast-to-Coast Conference title this past weekend, giving them an automatic bid into the field of 64. This marks the program's 26th appearance in the big dance, including its seventh straight. Christopher Newport has won nine games in a row and is ranked third in the country.
John Krikorian's squad will be facing Farmingdale State for the first time in program history. The Rams won the Skyline Conference and enter play with a 21-7 record.
A win on Friday and the Captains would advance to the second round to face either Hampden-Sydney or Emory on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, the top-ranked Captain women will get to stay home for the first two rounds of March Madness. CNU will host a four team pod that includes Elizabethtown College, Stevens Institute of Technology and Brooklyn, the latter of which Christopher Newport will open with at 8:30 on Friday evening at the Freeman Center.
Bill Broderick's team has been on a tear this season, winning the Coast-to-Coast Conference championship this past weekend to push its record to 26-0. The Captains have won 69 of their last 70 games and will host NCAA Tournament action for the first time since 2017. Like their male counterparts, they are also making their seventh tournament appearance in a row.
CNU has advanced to the field of 64 in nine of the last ten seasons and has made it to the Sweet 16 in its last eight straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Brooklyn comes in with a 19-7 mark and won the CUNYAC title to earn a spot in the field. A victory Friday night would move CNU onto the second round to face the winner of Elizabethtown and Stevens Tech.
