Below is the recap from the 2019 Winner, Matt Massina, on his weekend at the first round site in Hartford, CT.
VU Student Challenge Recap
http://tinyurl.com/yxsbbn26
Wildcats in Hartford - Matt Massina, Class of ‘19
Thursday, March 21
After some team members finished their senior design project presentations for the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, we began our journey up to Hartford on Thursday around noon! The car ride up contained great conversation, a smattering of carpool karaoke, and a unanimous feeling of excitement to get to see the Cats play against St. Mary’s later that night. With a decent amount of traffic around New York, we arrived at the team hotel just as the team was heading to the buses. We then checked in to our hotel at the Residence Inn right outside of Hartford. The room was great and felt like luxury.
The group then ventured into Hartford to pick up our tickets and meet-up with some other senior friends at The Russian Lady before the XL Center opened for the second session of the day. The process to get into the stadium was quite long and cold, but we made it in right as the Cats tipped off! From then on, we were in full student section mode starting “Let’s Go Nova” and “Defense” chants that echoed throughout the entire stadium. The first half was nerve-racking as St. Mary’s and Nova battled to keep the lead.
Halftime was an adventure as I headed to section 116 to find Patty Esposito and her accomplice, “Nancy Lane.” We were able to snap a picture and talk Nova as my aunt attended the university at the same time as Patty! After this we waited for food in the very crowded XL Center halls only to find out that they ran out of everything except nachos. So, with nachos in hand, we were able to cheer the Cats to victory throughout the second half! The highlight of the game was Jermaine’s thunderous dunk which sparked the crowd had everyone on their feet. The feeling was electric as it always is at Villanova basketball games – no matter where they take place! My friends and I stayed for the remainder of the session as Purdue confidently beat an inferior Old Dominion team despite us learning and participating in the “ODU” chants.
Friday, March 22
The next day began in the best of ways: McDonald’s hotcakes and more March Madness basketball. Being the basketball fanatics that we are, my friends brought up an extra TV so that we could stream an additional game in the hotel room throughout the day. We were able to relax and watch a bunch of basketball games before heading to the VUAA meetup in Hartford later that afternoon.
It was excellent getting to chat with various alum at the VUAA meetup at City Steam Brewery Café. In a private event room decorated with Villanova flags, table décor, Villanova napkins, and billiards sticks placed in the shapes of Vs, my friends and I were able to learn a lot from past alum about the history of Villanova. We talked about the past academics as well as old-school hoops and how Nova was able to give UCLA a run for their money during their dynasty in the 60’s and 70’s. The alumni were then interested in our thoughts on the current team and the incoming recruits! I believe we are all super hopeful for the next few seasons with the top ranked recruiting class that Jay is bringing in next year! All this great conversation was partnered with delicious snacks (including my personal favorite: fried mac-and-cheese cubes) as well as some teases from Colgate and Gardner-Webb on the TV.
After the meetup, my friends and I headed back to the hotel to watch the remaining games of the night! But not before stopping at Jim’s pizzeria to pick up some classic Italian food which we would all recommend for anyone visiting Hartford soon!
Saturday
Saturday began similarly to how Friday began: a whole lot of watching basketball starting at breakfast and then halting as we headed out to go pick up the day’s tickets at will call. After picking up the tickets at the XL Center, we headed to grab a quick lunch at Chick-fil-a and Five Guys by the team hotel. We then hung out for a bit in the hotel lobby before the team came down to get on the bus. The time flew by as the VU band filled the room with some of their staple songs. After seeing Jay Wright pass by, V’s up for the crowd, we were officially gameday ready.
We got to our seats during halftime of the first game: FSU vs Murray State. Although it ended one-sided in FSU’s favor, one of the weekend highlights was getting to see Ja Morant play live! Getting to see a potential top 3 draft pick and then the emotional ending to his college career was something to remember.
Then, it was game time. Again, our fan group in the first row of the second deck was able to lead all the Nova fans in chants to start the game and we were jumping out of our seats as Collin started the game with two threes! Things, as we all know, did end up turning south as Carsen Edwards hit four threes in a row to follow. This did not stop us from cheering and supporting our team throughout the game. Regardless of the result, it was very meaningful to end my Villanova student section career with my V’s held high as Villanova exited the court.
Thank you to Jerry Quinn for making this whole experience possible and a true highlight of my final semester. And thank you to those coaches and players who made my four years at Villanova incredibly memorable. Go Cats!