By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Here's a look at the week ahead (Dec. 2 - Dec. 8) for the Bridgewater State University athletics teams:
TUESDAY
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, at home, 7:00 PM: The Bears continue a stretch of seven straight games at the Tinsley Center by hosting the Engineers.
BSU (5-1) is riding a five-game winning streak since losing the opener at Division 1 Bryant University. The Bears are 4-0 at home, including a pair of wins in the Cave Classic.
WPI has a three-game winning streak to improve to 4-1. The Engineers won at home against BSU, 70-52, a year ago.
FRIDAY
WRESTLING, at the 53rd Messiah Petrofes Invitational, Grantham, Pa., Noon: The Bears take part in the two-day tournament, hosted by Messiah University.
BSU's Malcolm Chrispin (Hyde Park, Mass.) placed third in the 133-pound division a year ago, winning six matches. The Bears finished 13th in the team standings with 30 points.
The tournament concludes on Saturday, beginning at 9:30 AM.
SATURDAY
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD, at the Early Bird Invitational, at Track at New Balance, 9:00 AM: The Bears start the winter season with a meet in Boston.
This will be BSU's only competition in December. The Bears resume the schedule on Jan. 11 at the Suffolk University Invitational in Boston.
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD, at the Early Bird Invitational, at Track at New Balance, 9:00 AM: The Bears take part in the first of four meets before the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Feb. 16.
MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING, BSU Invitational, 11:00 AM: The Bears host their only competition of December at the Moriarty Pool.
Aaron Fowler (Brookline, Mass.) broke three school records at the BSU Invitational a year ago as the Bears won with 859 points.
The next meet for BSU will be Jan. 15 at Eastern Connecticut State with the next home meet on Jan. 22 against Bentley.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING, BSU Invitational, 11:00 AM: The Bears will try to defending their title after winning with 698 points a year ago in a seven-team field.
BSU placed first in 12 of 21 events with Cailey Simard (Haverhill, Mass.) breaking her own school record in 3-meter diving and sweeping the diving events.
This is the only competition of December for the Bears.
MEN'S BASKETBALL, UMass Dartmouth, at home, Noon: The Bears play their last home game of 2024, returning to the Tinsley Center on Jan. 6.
BSU (4-3) has not played since losing to Rhode Island College on Nov. 26.
The Corsairs (2-3) will be playing just their second game since Nov. 23. UMass Dartmouth has won seven of its last games with BSU, including a 100-64 decision last season.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, UMass Dartmouth, at home, 2:00 PM: The nationally ranked Corsairs visit the Tinsley Center for BSU's next-to-last home game of 2024.
UMass Dartmouth (5-0) is ranked 14th in the D3hoops.com poll and tied for 19th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association voting.
The Corsairs went 24-5 and reached the second round of the NCAA Division 3 tournament last season. One of their losses was at home to BSU, 78-71, the Bears' second straight win over UMass Dartmouth.