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Top Places to Catch a D-1 Sporting Event

at UConnJ3005: Introduction to Online Journalism

(All photos taken by Tim Fontenault)

George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex

Home to field hockey, women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s track, the Sherman Complex is situated next to the old Memorial Stadium. The field hockey team is among the nation’s best and on this very field earned a trip to the 2011 NCAA Final Four. Attendance for these events are low, but students in Garrigus Suites, like sophomore Kenny Dutton, like to watch the action from their windows.

Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum

Attendance at the Ice Forum is low, with normally between 50 and 100 fans per game, but lovers of hockey will appreciate the action on the ice. UConn are supposedly inquiring about joining Hockey East in men’s hockey (the women are already there), but according to Daily Campus hockey beat writer Tyler Morrissey, a new venue may be necessary to get on the same level as potential future conference opponents like Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, Vermont, and even Notre Dame.

J.O. Christian Field

The UConn baseball team enters the 2012 season ranked 27th in the nation by the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. They went 45-20-1 last season with a record of 17-2-1 at home. This is due in part to the loyal K-9 Unit, the student group which sets up on the first base bleachers and makes sure the opponent knows they’re there. In last year’s very first game, the shortstop for Holy Cross was so rattled that he actually flipped the middle finger to the group.

Joseph J. Morrone Stadium

Morrone was ranked the fifth most exciting venue in college soccer by College Soccer News in 2011 and with good reason. A total of 50,402 fans over 14 matches watched the men’s soccer team go undefeated and came within minutes of the Final Four. The Goal Patrol, the team’s student section, has earned national recognition through ESPN and Soccer America.“I feel like Goal Patrol is part of our family,” said UConn forward Allando Matheson. “I can’t even tell you how much we love and appreciate their support. Simply the greatest fans in college sports.”

“It’s honestly unlike anything I’ve felt at a sporting event,” says sophomore Goal Patrol leader Ryan Tolmich. “The crowd is so into it. There really is no better feeling then being in the crowd and experiencing the pure emotion that comes with scoring a big goal.”

Harry A. Gampel Pavilion

Every college basketball fan in America knows about Gampel Pavilion. Between the men’s and women’s basketball teams, UConn is one of the greatest programs in college basketball. Seven women’s national championship and three men’s hang from the ceiling of the arena which opened in 1990. Overall, the men’s team is 145-21 at Gampel while the women have only lost twice at Gampel since the 2002-03 season.Sophomore Edward Alchrona says that the experience at Gampel is “impossible to describe to someone who hasn’t lived it.” Following along with what college basketball is all about, Alhcrona says that the experience is “exhilarating and nerve wracking at the same time” because of the “fear of losing, and the shear joy of winning a close game.”