Oct. 16, 2010
Bronx, N.Y. -
Photo Gallery
The 2010-11 Fordham University men's and women's basketball season got off to a roaring start as over 1,000 fans packed the Rose Hill Gym for Ram Town, watching the teams go through various drills while some lucky students walked away with valuable prizes.
The night started a little later than expected due to the length of the line waiting to get into the gym, which stretched down to the post office in the basement of the McGinley Center. On the way in, fans were directed to tables full of pizza, sandwiches, popcorn, cake, cannoli and drinks as well as special offers from local merchants.
Once a majority of the crowd settled in, the women's team took the court and went through a drill before three pairs of students were chosen to compete in the Dizzy Bat race. The partners had to spin around with their forehead on the end of a bat, sprint to the other end of the court and then the other half of the team had to do the same and sprint back to the start line. The winners where presented with a $100 Best Buy gift certificate.
After another drill, two students were chosen to compete in the Big Sneaker race where they started at one baseline, put on a jersey at the free throw line, a pair of basketball shorts at midcourt and an oversized pair of sneakers at the other free throw line. They then picked up a ball on the baseline and had to dribble back to the other basket. The first one who hit a layup won a 32' flat screen television.
A raffle ticket was then chosen to give away an iPod Nano before the team went through a third drill and then two fans were selected for a Progressive Shot contest. The competitors had to hit a layup, free throw and three-point shot, the first one doing so would get free books for the spring semester.
After the women were done, the men took the court and started with a layup drill that quickly morphed into a dunking exhibit with the night's only casualty coming during the drill as the men managed to break one of the rims.
The men repeated all three student contests and then the two teams got together for the final shooting contest as fans were selected by raffle to come down and shoot one free three for a trip to Las Vegas. The only catch was that both teams were lined up in the lane and the crowd was instructed to be as loud as possible. After a few misses, Nicole DeMeo's shot was nothing but net as the teams shared in her celebration.
The men's team will open its season on Friday night, November 12th, at 8:00 p.m. when they host Brown University in the Rose Hill Gym. The women open the season that same night as they travel down to Elon, N.C., to compete in the Phoenix Classic, playing Elon on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and Stony Brook on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The women's team opens its home season on Wednesday, November 17th as they host Bucknell University in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
Here is a list of the winners on the night:
Best Buy Crazy Bat Race Winners
Jake Braithwaite and Sean Radomski
Christopher Hernandez and Frederick Barnum
Big Sneakers Race
Kelly Heimrich
Megan Arend
iPod Nano
Pat Wester
Meg Petz
Books for a Semester
Nicholas Belfanti
Tom Duala
Trip to Las Vegas
Nicole DeMeo
