March 19, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - Virginia Bondi of Strongsville, OH and David Ondik of Pittsburgh, PA, both students at Duquesne University won the 2006-07 Atlantic 10 Shootout and the grand prize of $10,000 at the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship at Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, NJ.
The co-ed winners from each Atlantic 10 school were flown and given an all expense paid trip, courtesy of A-10 Shootout Tour to the Men's Basketball Championship to compete against each other for the grand prize of $10,000. Bondi and first partner Greg Annan competed in the campus qualifier February 8th and 11th and won the co-ed division. The night before the opening round, Annan was no longer able to attend. Bondi chose Ondik the runner up in the co-ed division. Ondik was flown out last minute, arriving at 7pm to Boardwalk Hall when they were due to compete during the second semifinal game of that evening.
Bondi and Ondik recorded an opening round score of 26 points on Friday, March 9th. In the finals on Saturday, March 10th they met up against the University of Dayton, La Salle University, and the University of Rhode Island. Duquesne's team advanced to the championship round against Dayton in which Bondi and Ondik put up 47 points to defeat Dayton 47-26 to take the grand prize.
The Atlantic 10 ShootOut takes place on each Conference campus and is a two-person basketball shooting competition. Participation is free and open to all students at Atlantic 10 institutions. The ShootOut consists of male, female, and co-ed teams of two performers each, taking alternating shots from seven designated spots on the floor, with each spot given a point value based on difficulty. The object is to score as many points as possible in 30 seconds. At the end of the Qualifying Round, male and female division winners were awarded a pair of Nike Shoes of their choice and a Spalding prize pack. The co-ed winners from each campus competed in Atlantic City for the grand prize of $10,000.
The Atlantic 10 Conference is comprised of the University of Charlotte, University of Dayton, Duquesne University, Fordham University, George Washington University, La Salle University, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Richmond, St. Bonaventure University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Louis University, Temple University, and Xavier University.
The A-10 Shootout Tour was made possible courtesy of GMAC Financial Services and Pontiac.
