UAA basketball teams return to courts today

Both Seawolves squads will play in round-robin tournaments that also feature both UAF teams.

The women, 6-0 and ranked fourth among the nation's NCAA Division II teams, host the inaugural AT&T Classic at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The men, 3-2, travel north for the 8th annual Glacier Classic at the Patty Center in Fairbanks.

At both tournaments, UAA will renew acquaintances with Grand Canyon, a former rival from the days when the Seawolves played in the Pac West Conference.

The Antelopes bring a dangerous women's team to town -- the three-time defending Pac West champs are 4-2. Among their wins is a 69-55, neutral-court throttling of nationally ranked Seattle Pacific last week, which dropped the Falcons from 14th in the rankings to 19th.

Grand Canyon should provide the Seawolves with their biggest test from a Division II team so far this season, although the women withstood a fierce challenge last Saturday from Nyack College of New York. In the second of two nonconference games in Fairbanks, Nyack bounced back from a 33-point loss to take the Seawolves down to the wire before losing 70-62.

UAA played that game without guard Tamar Gruwell, one of its leading long-range shooters and top defensive players. Gruwell was sick with the flu but is expected to be back this weekend.

Before UAA takes on Grand Canyon on Saturday, it faces BYU-Hawaii's four-year old women's team today. Another Pac West team, BYU-Hawaii is 2-2.

Up in Fairbanks, the UAA men open Glacier Classic play this afternoon by facing the only other team in the tournament with a winning record. Grace Bible of Grand Rapids, Mich., is 11-4 and the defending Division II national champion in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.

On Saturday, the Seawolves take on Grand Canyon. The teams engaged in some epic battles back in the 1990s and are tied 7-7 in their all-time series. Grand Canyon is 3-8, a record that includes an 0-3 mark against Western Washington, which plays with UAA in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.