Lady Frogs selected to participate in Preseason WNIT
5/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
May 23, 2007
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - For just the second time in program history and first since 1999, the TCU women's basketball team has been selected to play in the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), as announced on Wednesday.
The Lady Frogs are one of just 16 programs in the country that will participate in the 14th annual tournament that will begin Nov. 9. TCU's first round opponent as well as a completed bracket with first round pairings will be announced in June.
"We are excited to be invited into the field," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "It looks to be a very competitive field. Our hope is that when the brackets are announced in June, we will be afforded the opportunity to host a first round game and potentially host additional games."
In what has traditionally been a single-elimination tournament, the event will change format beginning in 2007 with each team guaranteed of playing a minimum of three games. The first round of the event will involve eight sites hosted by institutions in the event. Every game in the tournament, including the championship, will be played a participating school's home facility.
The field for the 2007 tournament includes nine teams that played in the postseason last season. Delaware, Delaware State, LSU, Maryland, Michigan State, Notre Dame and TCU each played in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, while East Tennessee State and Western Kentucky played in the Postseason WNIT in 2007. Rounding out the field of 16 are Evansville, IUPUI, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Princeton, Radford and Samford.
Invitations for the 2007 field were made based on expected team strength for the 2007-08 season, as well as past team history. Additional factors include conference results, fan base and geographical location. By rule, a team may not participate in the tournament more than once in a four-year period. Also, only one program per conference may play in the event in the same year.
TCU last played in the Preseason WNIT in 1999 when the Lady Frogs advanced to the second round. TCU opened the tournament with a 62-51 victory over St. Mary's (Calif.) at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. In the second round, the Frogs fell on the road at UCSB 86-61.
At the 2006 Preseason WNIT, Purdue defeated Baylor 69-55 in the championship game.
2007 WNIT Field: (2006-07 records in parentheses)
TCU (21-11)
Delaware (26-6)
Delaware State (20-13)
East Tennessee State (20-12)
Evansville (20-11)
IUPUI (14-16)
LSU (30-8)
Marshall (15-15)
Maryland (28-6)
Miami (Ohio) (12-18)
Michigan State (24-9)
Notre Dame (20-12)
Princeton (13-15)
Radford (20-11)
Samford (18-13)
Western Kentucky (23-9)
