BRISTOL, R.I. - The hot start of the Roger Williams University Women's Basketball team has caught the eye of the national ranking committees, as the Hawks are receiving national ranking votes from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and d3hoops.com. This marks the first time in program history that the team has received votes for either national poll.
 
Roger Williams is off to its best start in program history, having won their first seven games of the season. As part of their 7-0 start, the Hawks are also 3-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play and are outscoring their opponents 487-356, winning by an average of nearly 20 points per game.
 
Helping pace the way for RWU is senior forward Karli Opalka (Southbury, Conn.), who leads the conference in rebounding at 12.9 boards per game and is seventh in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game. Opalka was recently named CCC Player of the Week and was named to the NEWBA Honor Roll after helping RWU to a 3-0 week with three double-doubles, averaging 17.6 points and 14.3 rebounds.
 
Roger Williams puts their perfect record on the line Thursday against Wheaton College in a 5:30pm showdown.