Sept. 25, 2003
Entering their 5th season as a varsity program, the Gulls have decided to step up the level of play and see where they stand in the big picture. While the 2004 schedule still has some of the same strong competition the Gulls have played in the past, it also includes the top tier of Division 3 opponents from both coasts, which the team has not seen before.
The Gulls open the season with their toughest non-conference schedule to date. After hosting Sacred Heart (Div. 1), the Gulls then play 4 matches with opponents who finished the year in the top 10 of the AVCA Division 3 coach's poll. Endicott will go on the road to last season NECVA champions Steven's Tech (AVCA \#8) for a trimatch with New York University (AVCA \#5). They then will play a midweek match with New England rival Roger Williams University (AVCA \#10), before taking on Springfield College (AVCA \#1) who has won the last three consecutive Molten Championships.
The team will then settle into it's NECVA schedule for 6-7 weeks, where they expect to compete with Rivier, MIT, Johnson & Wales and Emmanuel for the New England Division Championship.
On March 5-6, EC will host the second annual Endicott College Vizion Apparel Invitational. This year's participants include defending Champions - D'Youville (NY), Dallas Baptist (TX), EC, Hunter (NY), Johnson & Wales (RI), Medaille (NY), MIT (MA), New Jersey City University (NJ), Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL), Ramapo (NJ), Rivier (NH) and SUNY New Paltz (NY).
Over Spring Break, the Gulls will take their first West Coast trip to sunny California. While there, they will be competing with UC Santa Cruz (AVCA \#7), University of La Verne (AVCA \#4) and Hope International University (NAIA).
After returning home to finish out their NECVA schedule and a couple of matches with the University of New Haven, the team hopes to make their third consecutive appearance in the NECVA Championships. D'Youville and Medaille Colleges in Buffalo, NY will host the playoffs with the winner receiving the conference's AQ into the Molten Championships.
Hopefully we will see you at a match!
