Keelan Cairns will get a taste of postseason basketball American style in his first season at the University of Pennsylvania. The Quakers (19-12) will face Quinnipiac in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Cairns, a 6-10 freshman from Belfast, saw action in only five games this season, totaling nine minutes on the floor.
Northern Colorado’s Hannah Thornton calmly sank four free throws in the span of less than two minutes late in the second half of Saturday’s Big Sky Conference Championship tilt with Idaho State to put the Bears up by five points with six minutes to play. But the lead wouldn’t hold, Idaho State won, 49-46, and Northern Colorado has been relegated to the Women’s NIT. Thornton is a junior from Dublin.
TRACK & FIELD
David McCarthy of Providence College finished ninth in the men’s mile at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho. McCarthy, a senior from Waterford, was clocked in 4:04.05 in a race won by Tulsa’s Chris O’Hare in 4:01.66.
TENNIS
Arizona’s Susan McRann defeated North Carolina State’s Elisha Hande, 6-1, 6-1, at fourth singles last Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz. as the Wildcats scored a 7-0 victory over the visiting Wolfpack. McRann, a sophomore from Dublin, also teamed with Laura Oldham at third doubles to defeat Christy Sipes and Chloe Nelson, 8-1.
Fresno State’s Tanya Murtagh worked out a 7-6, 6-2 win over New Mexico State’s Annamieke Witte in a match at sixth singles in Las Cruces, N.M. on Saturday. Murtagh, a sophomore from Portmarnock, Co. Dublin, also paired with Marianne Jodoin for an 8-2 triumph at first doubles over Jodie Williams and Natalia Salum. Fresno swept their rivals, 7-0.
