PHILADELPHIA (08/05/02) - The Saint Joseph's University Women's Basketball team will depart on Monday, August 12 for a ten day tour of Italy. Making just the third foreign excursion in program history, a twelve-player Hawk squad will travel to Rome, Sorrento, Florence, Venice and Milan, taking on three top-level club teams. SJU returns to campus on August 6 for six days of practice to prepare for the trip. "We're very excited about what this trip is going to do for the student-athletes involved and the program as a whole," states head coach Cindy Griffin. "Any time that you can travel to a foreign country with a team you are going to gain from the experience. The trip will be invaluable from an educational and cultural standpoint and the fact that we are going to be able to play competitively over there is only going to help us for the incoming year." For the Hawk women, this will be the program's third trip since 1993. In 1998 the Crimson and Gray took a 14-day trip to Belgium and Ireland. Prior to that the team made its first European tour in 1993, visiting England, Ireland and Wales. "This trip is going to help us define what type of a team we are going to have this year," adds Griffin. It will also give us a chance to find out what our strengths and weaknesses are, as well as provide a tremendous opportunity for team bonding." NCAA Division I member institutions are permitted to participate in a foreign tour once every four years and must schedule the trip during the summer vacation period between the institution's spring and fall terms or during any vacation period published in the institution's official catalog. 2002 SAINT JOSEPH'S ITALIAN TOUR - GAME SCHEDULE August 17 vs. Boscoreale All-Stars in Sorrento, Italy August 19 vs. Arrezo in Florence, Italy August 20 vs. Como / Milan All-Stars in Venice, Italy