PISCATAWAY, NJ - The Rutgers women’s basketball program held its annual Media Day Oct. 15 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center as the Scarlet Knights prepare for the 2002-2003 season.

The day officially started with head coach C. Vivian Stringer’s press conference, during which she talked about the upcoming season.

“Because of everything that we went through last year, I think that every player is considerably more confident, every player is considerably more skilled, and every player is going to make a much bigger impact this year,” Stringer said of her team, which returns six letterwinners and three starters from last year’s youthful club. “Because of the people we have added in Cappie (Pondexter), Shalicia (Hurns) and Ksenyia (Shneyder), along with the freshmen, there has been a big difference already just in terms of our practices. I see a different atmosphere in practice in that we’re more competitive. I am very excited and very anxious to get the season started.”

Following Stringer’s press conference and the taking of the team photo, members of the Rutgers program were available to members of the media for individual interviews.

The Scarlet Knights will take the court for the first time this season on Wednesday, Nov. 6, when they host the Houston Jaguars AAU in an exhibition game at 7:30 p.m. Rutgers’ first regular-season game will come Friday, Nov. 22, when the Knights play at Stanford at 7:00 p.m. PT.