Patrick Carney's Greenville, SC March Madness Recap
Friday, March 24th:
On Friday, March 24th, myself, Owen Madigan, and Richard Ruberton began our journey from
Villanova to Greenville South Carolina. Because the game started at 2:30 PM, we had to leave
campus at 3 AM in order to ensure an ample amount of time to arrive for tip off. After an 11 ½
hour drive due to some traffic around Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC, we arrived at Bon
Secours Wellness Arena at around 2:35 PM. We were able to buy very good tickets for section
112 thanks to the generous gift of Mr. Quinn. Villanova fell down to Miami early, but was able to
stay at an arm's length throughout the game. In the fourth quarter, Villanova completed the
comeback off of a foul on Maddy Siegrist after an offensive rebound and free throw. Although
they came back, Villanova couldn’t hold on in the end. However, seeing Maddy play her last
game up close was an honor, as she is one of the best Villanova women’s players in Villanova
and NCAA history.
After the game, we went back and checked into the Airbnb that Mr. Quinn covered for us. We
were all quite tired and decided to take a nap, as it was about 6 pm and we had all been up
since 3 am. After sleeping for an hour or so, we went and had dinner on Greenville’s Main
Street, then came back early to rest up for the night.
Saturday, March 25th:
After the tough loss and long day on Friday, we decided to go around Greenville on Saturday
and explore the town.
To begin the day, we went and had an early lunch at a South Carolina Barbecue restaurant. The
food was phenomenal and a staple of the Greenville area. After having this delicious meal, we
walked around Greenville to see what the town was like. The town itself has a beautiful
downtown with the staple Liberty Bridge. The bridge spans above the 28 foot Reedy River Falls,
and is the site where Greenville's first European settler, Richard Pearis, established his trading
post in 1768. The bridge and surrounding area offered a unique and calming environment. This
coupled with the extremely nice weather of 75° and sunny had my friends and I sitting on the
rocks watching the water for over an hour.
After we walked through the town, we went back to the Airbnb and collected ourselves to plan
for the evening. We decided we would go to a local TopGolf establishment to play some golf
oriented games and watch the Men’s March Madness Sweet 16 games. When the games all
concluded that night, we went back to the Airbnb and prepared for our long journey back to
Villanova on Sunday.
Sunday, March 26th:
On Sunday, we woke up at around 7:00 AM to make the journey back to Villanova. The drive
back up took about 13 hours, and we arrived back on campus at around 8:00 PM.
Overall, the weekend was a once in a lifetime experience that none of us will forget. Although
the women lost, I am extremely grateful to Mr. Jerry Quinn for his generosity and sponsorship of
this contest.
Friday, March 24th:
On Friday, March 24th, myself, Owen Madigan, and Richard Ruberton began our journey from
Villanova to Greenville South Carolina. Because the game started at 2:30 PM, we had to leave
campus at 3 AM in order to ensure an ample amount of time to arrive for tip off. After an 11 ½
hour drive due to some traffic around Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC, we arrived at Bon
Secours Wellness Arena at around 2:35 PM. We were able to buy very good tickets for section
112 thanks to the generous gift of Mr. Quinn. Villanova fell down to Miami early, but was able to
stay at an arm's length throughout the game. In the fourth quarter, Villanova completed the
comeback off of a foul on Maddy Siegrist after an offensive rebound and free throw. Although
they came back, Villanova couldn’t hold on in the end. However, seeing Maddy play her last
game up close was an honor, as she is one of the best Villanova women’s players in Villanova
and NCAA history.
After the game, we went back and checked into the Airbnb that Mr. Quinn covered for us. We
were all quite tired and decided to take a nap, as it was about 6 pm and we had all been up
since 3 am. After sleeping for an hour or so, we went and had dinner on Greenville’s Main
Street, then came back early to rest up for the night.
Saturday, March 25th:
After the tough loss and long day on Friday, we decided to go around Greenville on Saturday
and explore the town.
To begin the day, we went and had an early lunch at a South Carolina Barbecue restaurant. The
food was phenomenal and a staple of the Greenville area. After having this delicious meal, we
walked around Greenville to see what the town was like. The town itself has a beautiful
downtown with the staple Liberty Bridge. The bridge spans above the 28 foot Reedy River Falls,
and is the site where Greenville's first European settler, Richard Pearis, established his trading
post in 1768. The bridge and surrounding area offered a unique and calming environment. This
coupled with the extremely nice weather of 75° and sunny had my friends and I sitting on the
rocks watching the water for over an hour.
After we walked through the town, we went back to the Airbnb and collected ourselves to plan
for the evening. We decided we would go to a local TopGolf establishment to play some golf
oriented games and watch the Men’s March Madness Sweet 16 games. When the games all
concluded that night, we went back to the Airbnb and prepared for our long journey back to
Villanova on Sunday.
Sunday, March 26th:
On Sunday, we woke up at around 7:00 AM to make the journey back to Villanova. The drive
back up took about 13 hours, and we arrived back on campus at around 8:00 PM.
Overall, the weekend was a once in a lifetime experience that none of us will forget. Although
the women lost, I am extremely grateful to Mr. Jerry Quinn for his generosity and sponsorship of
this contest.
Patrick Carney VU '24
Essay 1
In May of 2020, I chose to attend Villanova over several other schools, with the amazing community and the men’s basketball playing a huge factor in this decision. I have been a die hard college basketball fan for my whole life, but did not truly have a team to support. After being accepted, I couldn’t wait to cheer on the Wildcats.
When I arrived on campus, I was extremely excited to attend Hoops Mania, any and all basketball games I could possibly go to. However, during my freshman year, students weren’t able to attend any basketball games due to COVID-19. I could not be a part of the community in person so I had to find another way to become a part of Nova Nation. Luckily enough, I stumbled upon Villanova Twitter and engaged with other Villanova basketball fans. Realizing how many Villanova fans there were on Twitter, I started an account with my friend Ryan Hartnett to try to rally student support called NovaStarting5. Today, as a Junior, we have 250+ followers and gather groups of students to be loud at home basketball games. I love Villanova basketball and would be so grateful to attend their tournament games.
Essay 1
In May of 2020, I chose to attend Villanova over several other schools, with the amazing community and the men’s basketball playing a huge factor in this decision. I have been a die hard college basketball fan for my whole life, but did not truly have a team to support. After being accepted, I couldn’t wait to cheer on the Wildcats.
When I arrived on campus, I was extremely excited to attend Hoops Mania, any and all basketball games I could possibly go to. However, during my freshman year, students weren’t able to attend any basketball games due to COVID-19. I could not be a part of the community in person so I had to find another way to become a part of Nova Nation. Luckily enough, I stumbled upon Villanova Twitter and engaged with other Villanova basketball fans. Realizing how many Villanova fans there were on Twitter, I started an account with my friend Ryan Hartnett to try to rally student support called NovaStarting5. Today, as a Junior, we have 250+ followers and gather groups of students to be loud at home basketball games. I love Villanova basketball and would be so grateful to attend their tournament games.