TCU Opens Season in Arizona
3/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
FORT WORTH, Texas - The second season of the TCU beach volleyball program and the first as an official NCAA sport will kick off from March 3-4, as the team travels to Tucson, Ariz., to take on Colorado Mesa, Cal Poly and No. 9 Arizona on the Arizona Sand Volleyball Courts located at Jimenez Field.
The Horned Frogs (0-0) will open competition by taking on the first-year team of Colorado Mesa (0-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m., CT. The team will then continue action by taking part in the Arizona Invitational and will face Cal Poly and No. 9 Arizona on Friday at 11 a.m., and 3 p.m., CT, respectively.
TCU Notables
The Frogs will begin their second season under the direction of head coach Erik Peterson with 17 players on the roster including 11 freshmen. Three indoor players, Jillian Bergeson, Sarita Mikals and Blaire Pickens, will move to the sand for the spring season and compete on the roster.
This season's schedule includes competition at seven different tournaments and the Frogs will face at least eight opponents that are ranked or receiving votes in the DiG 2016 Collegiate Beach Volleyball Preseason Poll. TCU will host two home tournaments for the first time in program history with the Fight at the Fort on March 19-20 and the Cowtown Classic on April 15-16. Matches will be held at the brand new TCU Beach Volleyball Courts located next to the TCU Recreation Center.
Scouting the Competition
Colorado Mesa became the 52nd NCAA school to add beach volleyball to its athletic programs and the first school in Colorado. Led by head coach David Skiff, the Mavericks have 11 players on the roster.
Cal Poly returns seven players from last season's roster that went 1-12, including Taylor Nelson and Raeann Greisen, who combined for three pairs victories from the first position. Taylor Gruenewald and Anna Gorman won five times last season from the No. 3 spot and tallied seven wins when combined together overall.
Arizona is coming off an 18-3 season in 2015 where they had two pairs advance to the AVCA National Championship, while the team also finished runner-up at the Pac-12 Team Invitational. The Wildcats are led by twins Madison and McKenna Witt, who finished with a 27-6 record last season and participated in the AVCA National Championship.
Live Updates
In-match updates this weekend can be found by following TCU beach volleyball on twitter (@TCUBeachVB), while final results and a recap will be available on GoFrogs.com following the completion of the competitions on each day.
