Wheelchair basketball season starts Nov. 2

November 1, 2006

The highly anticipated University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wheelchair basketball season is here.  With the addition of six new players, four of whom are international players, the wheelchair basketball team will take the floor at 8 p.m., Nov. 2 in the Kachel Center against Southwest Minnesota State University.

"This has to be the most exciting team we have ever put on the floor," UW-Whitewater wheelchair basketball head coach Tracy Chynoweth said.  "This team has the depth, size, strength and motivation to be one of the best I've coached.  Bringing in these four international players has tweaked the dynamics of the program, language and especially the terminology on the floor."

"There's no standing still this year," Chynoweth added.  "We have to work very hard and develop that team chemistry to get back to the National Championship tournament."

As one of the most talented wheelchair teams to come out of UW-Whitewater, it's expected to be a very eventful season.  The addition of the four international players should spice things up on an already proven wheelchair basketball team.  After finishing second in the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament last year, the UW-Whitewater basketball team has high hopes to compete for its fourth National Championship title in six years.

"I am most excited to start playing and beginning the molding process both on and off the court of our team," Darren Skuse of Australia said.  "This process has already started but we can go a very long way to making this team into an unbeatable unit that will crush opposing teams. The team we have this year is an incredible line up and by far the most talented group of wheelchair basketball players I have ever been involved with."

This week the UW-Whitewater wheelchair basketball team will be participating in its own sponsor tournament beginning Nov. 2.  The tournament schedule is as follows.

• Thursday, Nov. 2, 8 p.m. UW-Whitewater vs. Southwest MN State University
• Friday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. UW-Whitewater vs. University of Illinois
• Saturday, Nov. 4, 12 p.m.  UW-Whitewater vs. Edinboro University
• 2 p.m.  UW-Whitewater vs. Southwest MN State University

Admission to all home games are free.  Come and support your UW-Whitewater wheelchair basketball team.