By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Here's a look at the week ahead (Feb. 23-March 1) for the Bridgewater State University athletics teams:
WEDNESDAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at Framingham State, 6:00 PM: The Bears and Rams meet for the second straight year to open the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
As was the case last season, BSU is the No. 5 seed while Framingham State is seeded No. 4.
The Bears (8-17) went 6-8 in the conference, finishing a game behind the Rams (14-11), who were 7-7.
BSU won twice over Framingham State in the regular season by scores of 101-98 on Jan. 24 and 74-69 on Feb. 18.
Last season, Framingham State rallied from a 17-point deficit in the first half to eliminate BSU, 63-60.
FRIDAY
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING, at the NCAA Regional, 12:30 PM: For the first time in program history, BSU is sending three divers to the NCAA Division III Northeast/North Regional at Connecticut College.
Senior Cailey Simard (Haverhill, Mass.) will be making her fourth straight appearance in the regional and made it to the NCAAs last season. She will compete on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards.
She'll be joined by a pair of first-year Bears teammates -- sophomore Gianna Varady (Highland Park, N.J.) and freshman Sienna DeLucia (Wallingford, Conn.).
Varady, a transfer from Norwich University, qualified on the 3-meter board while DeLucia will compete on the 1-meter board.
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD, at the Division III New England Championships - Heptathlon, 3:15 PM: Sophomore Drew Alves (Taunton, Mass.) competes during day one of the heptathlon at DIII New Englands. Tufts is hosting the heptathlon and pentathlon portion of the three-day meet.
Alves placed sixth in the heptathlon with a personal-best score of 3,887 points at the Bates Invitational in January.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, MASCAC tourney, 5:30 PM: The top-seeded Bears begin the defense of their conference tournament championship with a semifinal-round game at the Tinsley Center.
BSU's opponent, to be determined Tuesday night, will be the lowest seed among No. 4 Salem State, No. 5 Worcester State and No. 6 Anna Maria.
The Bears (15-10) went 13-1 in the MASCAC, losing only in the final game to Worcester State in overtime last Saturday, snapping a 14-game winning streak.
The winners of the semifinal-round games will meet on Saturday afternoon.
SATURDAY
WRESTLING, at the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional, 10:00 AM: The Bears will be at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., for the regional meet.
BSU finished 14th with 29 points in the competition a year ago.
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD, at the Division III New England Championships - Heptathlon, 11:00 AM: Sophomore Drew Alves (Taunton, Mass.) will compete in the final three events of the DIII New England heptathlon at Tufts.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING, at the NCAA Regional, Noon: The two-day diving competition concludes in Connecticut.
SUNDAY
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD, at the Division III New England Championships, 10:00 AM: The Bears compete in the New England meet at The Track at New Balance in Boston.
Last year, Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) earned All-New England honors with a seventh-place finish in the 800-meter run.
BSU had 20 points to finish in 10th place.
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD, at the Division III New England Championships, 10:00 AM: BSU was nine with 31 points a year ago.
Kiara Abrantes (Somerset, Mass.) and Serenity Sands (East Bridgewater, Mass.) were All-New England performers for the Bears in 2025.
Sands was second in the high jump while Abrantes took second in the 400.
WRESTLING, at the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional, 11:00 AM: The Bears begin the month of March by finishing the NCAA regional.