Warhawk and Bucks wheelchair basketball teams capture national championships
Released: April 2, 2002
It’s a rare event when a college campus has ties to two teams who both sweep national championships in one weekend. But, such is the case for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and its college and community wheelchair basketball powerhouses.
The Warhawk Wheelchair Basketball Team and the new Milwaukee Wheelchair Bucks rolled to victory as they clinched the Division I and Division II National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) championships held March 30-31 at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
Up until this year, the Warhawks had only one roster of players, but that number grew too large so it was split into two teams. All the Warhawk players are currently students at UW-Whitewater. The eight-man Bucks team is made up of five UW-Whitewater alumni, including Coach Steve Wilson, and three players from out of state.
“We created our own problem,” noted Warhawk Coach Tracy Chynoweth. “Nobody wants to leave our program. When they are done with eligibility on the college team, they like to keep playing.”
The Warhawks defeated Virginia Beach 65-45 in the semifinals and went on to win 72-50 over the Phoenix Banner Suns on Saturday, March 30. This is the Warhawks’ first championship at the Division II level, although the team has won at the college level three times. Four of the five players selected for the All-Tournament team are from UW-Whitewater and so are the Most Valued Player (Jeremy Lade) and the Sportsmanship Award recipient (Scott Zessin.)
“We put together our best effort at the right time of the year,” said Chynoweth. “From a roster of nine, we have three new freshmen players so it’s a young team that looks good for the future. We plan to move up to Division I next year.”
The Milwaukee Wheelchair Bucks competed in their first season in the NWBA Division I, defeating the Golden State Road Warriors, 85-67. Founded in 2001, the team is sponsored by the Milwaukee Bucks, Froedert Hospital, Roundy’s and Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital. Chynoweth said it took some persistent effort by team member Melvin Juette to convince the Milwaukee Bucks that the team was worthy of their support.
“The Bucks donated $5,000 to the team for this year and said good luck. Now after reviewing some stats and game results, we hope they’ll see the value of hopping fully on-board and continuing their support. Winning the national championship in the first year ought to be a confirmation.”
The wheelchair teams impressed a crowd of 17,000 with their skills in an exhibition game at half-time during the Milwaukee Bucks/Dallas Mavericks game on March 26 at the Bradley Center.
- Jane Provorse,provorsj@uww.edu
