Beach Volleyball Announces 2016 Slate
12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
FORT WORTH, Texas – A total of 20 matches, including two home weekends and a match against the defending national champions, highlights the 2016 TCU women's beach volleyball schedule, as announced by head coach Erik Peterson on Thursday.
"I am excited that we have been able to put together such a competitive schedule for our first full season of competition," Peterson said. "We are slated to compete all across the country in some very well organized and well respected tournaments that will definitely challenge us."
TCU will open the season on the road as they head to Phoenix, Ariz., for matches against Colorado Mesa, Cal Poly and host Arizona from March 3-4. The road swing will continue with the Frogs making their way to Honolulu, Hawaii for matches against Hawaii-Pacific, Chaminade and the Rainbow Wahine.
The first home matches in program history at the brand new facility will take place from March 19-20, as TCU is set to host Houston Baptist, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Florida State. The Frogs will also host one weekend in April where they will welcome defending national champion USC, along with Louisiana-Monroe and New Mexico on April 15-16.
"We are very fortunate to be hosting two events at our brand new facility on campus," Peterson said. "We couldn't ask for a better location to be able to showcase our sport to the students and campus community.
"Our first event will welcome two other instate teams with Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi, as well as national powerhouse Florida State. Our second event will be even more exciting as we hosting defending national champion USC. It's an amazing opportunity to welcome such great competition to Fort Worth this season."
The end of March will bring another road trip, as TCU is set to head to Columbia, S.C., to face South Carolina, UAB and Jacksonville on March 26-27. The month of April opens with another weekend away from home as they travel down to Corpus Christi to take on the host Islanders, Houston Baptist and UT Rio Grande Valley on April 2-3.
The season will continue into the Fiesta on the Siesta on April 9-10, where TCU has the chance to face competitors form 30 different teams from across the country in Siesta Key, Fla. The regular season will wrap-up with a trip to Baton Rouge, La., to compete in the Battle of the Bayou at LSU on April 30-May 1.
The inaugural NCAA Championships for beach volleyball will take place from May 6-8 on the Gulf Shores Public Beach in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Beach volleyball is the fastest-growing NCAA sport with 47 sponsoring schools. The addition of the beach volleyball championship will become the 45th NCAA championship administered for women. The championship will have an eight-team bracket that will be played in a double-elimination format with teams consisting of five pairs of female student-athletes.
