UA Wheelchair Basketball Sweeps National Championships

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois — The University of Alabama Adapted Athletics program is celebrating two more national championships after both the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams dominated the 2019 National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.

The championships are the third for the men and the sixth for UA’s women.

“These championships are a result of the commitment by so many people to give these athletes the opportunity to be the best in the world,” said Brent Hardin, UA director of Adapted Athletics. “These athletes have changed expectations and perceptions about high-performance disability sport through their excellence in athletics and the degrees that these students will earn.”

DeQuel Robinson, of Mobile, was named the men’s NIWBT most valuable player.

“We went in with a game plan,” said Robinson, who scored 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds with 14 assists. “We worked hard for it this whole year. We knew it would come, and we knew we would have to get off to a fast start. We executed everything as we needed to do, and it worked out well.”

The men clinched a victory against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 79-73, securing back-to-back national championships.

After the men’s win, the UA’s women’s team took to the court, looking to redeem themselves after last year’s title game loss. It was a back-and-forth game that resulted in a 82-76 overtime win for the Crimson Tide over the University of Texas at Arlington.

Arinn Young, of Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada, was named the women’s NIWBT most valuable player.

“This means the world to us athletes,” said Young, who scored 37 points and grabbed 17 rebounds with 15 assists. “We knew this was the chance that we had to beat them and to prove a point. To just go out there and prove ourselves was one of the most satisfying things in most of our careers.”

To learn more about The University of Alabama Adapted Athletics program, visit www.alabamaadapted.com.