ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose men's and women's basketball teams are set to open up their 2011-12 regular seasons this weekend as each squad will host their own respective tip-off Tournaments. The Hilton Garden Inn-Albany Medical Center is the presenting sponsor for the men's competition.

The women's action gets underway with Concordia taking on Saint Rose this evening at 6:00 pm. The Golden Knights return three starters from last season's 21-8 NCAA Tournament team, including Northeast-10 Conference first-team All-League pick and senior guard Ashley Rath who averaged 15.9 points. The Clippers are coming off a 6-20 season and return two starters including Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference third-team pick and junior guard/forward Krystina Agard who tossed in 15.4 points on a regular basis.

Tonight's 8:00 pm game will feature Post University and Queens College. Post finished 8-18 in 2010-11, while Queens went 10-19.

Saturday's action will feature Concordia against Queens at noon followed by Saint Rose and Post at 2:00 pm.

The men's tournament is set to get underway on Saturday at 6:00 pm when C. W. Post takes on perennial NE-10 power Saint Anselm. C. W. Post is the preseason favorite in the East Coast Conference. The Pioneers return last season's ECC Player of the Year in senior guard Stefan Bonneau who averaged 18.9 points. Saint Anselm meanwhile was selected to finish third in the NE-10 preseason coaches' poll following 19-9 campaign a year ago when sophomore forward Allen Harris averaged 17.0 points.

The second game of the evening features the Golden Knights, who are ranked in the top-20 of three preseason polls, tangle with Concordia at 8:00 p.m. Saint Rose is led by four returning starters including a trio of seniors in preseason All-American Rob Gutierrez, along with forwards Brian Hanuschak and Sheldon Griffin who all started at least 30 games last season. Concordia was selected to finish sixth in the CACC North Division following a 10-16 record last season. Junior guard Brandon Whitaker was good for 17.9 points on a regular basis as a sophomore.

On Sunday, Concordia takes on Saint Anselm at 2:00 pm followed by C. W. Post and Saint Rose at 4:00 pm.