NCAA tournaments on tap for SJU hoops, 3 individuals

For the next three weeks, student-athletes from Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict will be busy participating in their respective national tournaments.

The SJU basketball team is first up to compete. The Johnnies will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament March 6-7 in Sexton Arena.

SJU senior wrestler Noah Becker will participate in the NCAA Division III Championships March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

And, CSB diver Emily Quill and SJU diver Jack Grabinski will take part in both the one- and three-meter diving events at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships March 18-21 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Here’s a quick breakdown on the national qualifiers:

SJU basketball to host first two rounds

For the third consecutive season, the Johnnies (25-2 overall) host the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament March 6-7 in Sexton Arena.

SJU takes on Ripon (Wisconsin) College (20-7 overall) at 7:30 p.m. March 6, while Whitman College of Walla Walla, Washington (20-7) plays the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (19-9) at 5 p.m. The March 6 winners play at 7 p.m. March 7 in Collegeville for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

The national postseason appearance is the 20th (11th at the Division III level) for the Johnnies, who earned the MIAC's automatic bid with an 82-63 win over No. 2 St. Thomas Feb. 29 for the MIAC Playoff championship.

Ripon is making its 14th trip to the national tournament. The Red Hawks are riding an 11-game win streak.

Second-round winners will advance to one of eight third-round campus sites March 13-14. Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals and semifinals March 20-21 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Winners of the two semifinal contests will advance to the final April 5 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Becker returns to wrestling championship

Becker, from nearby Browerville, Minnesota, earned a trip to the NCAA Division III Championships with a second-place finish at 133 pounds at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Feb. 29 in Minneapolis.

The national-tournament appearance is the second for Becker, who is 22-2 this season. In 2017, as a freshman, he finished 0-2 at the national tournament.

This season, Becker is ranked as high as No. 3 nationally by D3wrestle.com.

Becker punched his ticket to nationals with a 7-5 win over Victor Gliva of Augsburg University in the 133-pound semifinals and finished second overall with a 6-5 loss to undefeated (32-0) Matt Berlin of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the championship bout.

CSB’s Quill, SJU’s Grabinski set to dive into nationals

For the first time since 2002, CSB will have a representative at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.

Quill, a first-year student-athlete from Becker, Minnesota, qualified for nationals on both the one- and three-meter diving boards after top-10 finishes at the NCAA Central Zone meet Feb. 28-29. She finished eighth on the one-meter board Feb. 28, and then finished 10th Feb. 29 on the three-meter board to secure spots in the national meet.

Quill is Saint Benedict’s first national qualifier since 2002, when Katie Kuhlmann qualified in both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke races. The last diver to qualify for CSB was Katie Macy in 1997.

Grabinski, meanwhile, qualified for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships with a fourth-place finish on the 3-meter board at the NCAA Central Regional Feb. 28, and placed seventh on the 1-meter board Feb. 29.

The top eight men’s divers in each event advanced to the NCAA Championships.

Grabinski, a freshman, is from Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.