"Flow happens when a person's skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable." ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
A lot of thought goes into creating a college sports schedule.
Opponents need to be challenging, but if they're too challenging your team starts losing motivation. Matches need to be winnable, but too many "easy" opponents and your team stops getting better. Like any creative endeavor, a manageable amount of challenge is best.
Ultimately, every team wants to get to the NCAA Tournament, by one of two ways. Either win your conference, or win enough games against regionally-ranked opponents to get an at-large bid (more on that here).
The full 2016 schedule can be found here. Below are the highlights:
- SUNYAC Weekends in Potsdam (9/23 - 9/24), Oswego (10/7 - 10/8), and Fredonia (10/21 - 10/22).
- Matches against regionally-ranked opponents from 2015 (all New York):
- Union, No. 2
- Stockton University, No. 3
- Brockport, No. 4
- New Paltz, No. 6
- Stevens, No. 7
- Oswego, No. 9
- Blue Devil Invitational in Fredonia (9/30 - 10/1) vs. Hilbert, John Carroll, RIT, and Buffalo State