The Minnesota men’s hockey team will make a return trip to the White House on Tuesday to be honored for winning its second-straight NCAA championship. The team will be recognized in a ceremony at 3 p.m. EST at the White House with President George W. Bush.
The Gophers will be joined at the ceremony by NCAA women’s hockey champion Minnesota-Duluth, as well as the men’s and women’s basketball champions, Syracuse and Connecticut. It will be the third-straight year that UMD will be honored and the second time in a row for Minnesota and Connecticut. The Orangemen are making their first appearance at the White House after winning the NCAA men’s basketball championship in April.
Ridder gets WCHA nod
The 2004 WCHA women’s Final Five will take place at Ridder Arena. The tournament is slated for Friday, March 12 to Sunday, March 14, 2004.
Game times for the 2004 WCHA women’s Final Five have been set with the fourth and fifth seeds for the tournament opening play on Friday March 12 at 4 p.m. On Saturday March 13, the second and third seeds face off at 1 p.m., followed by the WCHA regular-season champions facing the winner of Friday’s contest. The third-place contest begins Sunday, March 14 at 1 p.m., followed by the 2004 WCHA women’s Final Five championship game at 4 p.m. Ticket pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.
The top-five finishers from the regular season in the seven-team WCHA qualify for the 2004 WCHA women’s Final Five. Bemidji State, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State, Ohio State, St. Cloud State and Wisconsin currently make up the league membership. North Dakota will join league play with the start of the 2004-05 campaign.
Honors
Former Minnesota women’s swimmer Dana Baum has been named a third-team Verizon Academic All-American, announced Thursday.
Baum graduated in May with a grade point average of 3.92 in elementary education. It is her second-straight Academic All-America honor.
Meanwhile, former Minnesota men’s golfer Simon Nash was named third-team Verizon Academic All-American. Nash majored in economics with a 3.63 grade point average. As a two-time PING All-American and All-Big Ten selection, Nash led the Gophers to back-to-back Big Ten championships this season and Minnesota’s first NCAA golf title in 2002.
