Friday, May 7
Gulf Shores, Ala.
9 AM
TCU
vs
UCLA
Preview: NCAA Tournament
5/6/2021 7:30:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
The Horned Frogs battle for their first National Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama
FORT WORTH – No. 8 TCU Beach Volleyball will make its NCAA Tournament debut at the end of its seventh season this weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The Horned Frogs (26-8) earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they will battle No. 1 seeded UCLA (28-3) in the opening round on Friday morning at 9 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
No. 8 TCU vs. No. 1 UCLA | 9 a.m. | ESPNU | Friday, May 7
Watch Live
Bracket
HISTORY MAKERS
Qualification into the NCAA Tournament puts an exclamation point on what has been the greatest season in program history. The Horned Frogs had a perfect, 12-0, record at home. As a team, they beat 10 ranked opponents this season and earned nine 5-0 victories, including a program-best streak of five sweeps in a row (March 14-20). The team finished the season 20-6 in conference matches and 112 overall match victories, all program records.
Three pairings recorded 20+ wins this season, the first time multiple pairings had done so. Two of the pairs feature freshmen, the No. 1 pair of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno finished with a 26-7 record while Maria Gonzalez and Rochelle Scott delivered a 23-7 record together at the No. 3 position. Those two pairs, along with Hailey Brockett and Olivia Blackburn (27-5) posted a combined record of 76-19 (80 percent) this season.
TCU is the first program from the state of Texas to have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs have dominated the state since the foundation of the program, posting a perfect 23-0 record against in-state opponents over their seven-season history. TCU went 4-0 against Texas schools this season, winning 18 of 20 matches in those wins.
TCU defeated South Carolina three times this season, Tulane four times, FIU and Georgia State twice and FAU once, to finish 12-0 against those five schools, the first undefeated season against these strong east region programs in program history. TCU entered the season with a combined all-time record of 10-17 against those five schools.
Alvarez and Moreno were named to the All CCSA and All-Freshman CCSA Teams this season. The first time a Horned Frog has received a post season award.
TCU becomes the first beach volleyball program started in 2015 or later to qualify for the NCAA Tournament
FUELED BY FRESHMEN
The year of firsts began when Hector Gutierrez signed the first Top-10 class in program history (No. 8) over the summer of 2020. The young talent made an immediate impact, with freshmen Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno Mateeva earning AVCA National Pair of the Week after the first weekend of competition.
The Spanish phonemes finished out the season being named All-Conference and to the All-Freshman Team. It is the first time in program history that any Frog has earned a place on the conference postseason award list and the first time in conference history that a freshman pairing has made the All-Conference team.
The freshmen class, comprised of six first-year players and five second-years who have been granted an extra season due to the pandemic, have been a part of 70.5 percent of TCU's match victories this season. Over half of TCU's match wins (53.6 percent) have come from pairings consisting of only freshmen. Both percentages lead the field at the NCAA Tournament.
FOLLOW THE FROGS
For more information on TCU beach volleyball, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUBeachVB on Twitter , Instagram
FOLLOW ALONG
No. 8 TCU vs. No. 1 UCLA | 9 a.m. | ESPNU | Friday, May 7
Watch Live
Bracket
HISTORY MAKERS
Qualification into the NCAA Tournament puts an exclamation point on what has been the greatest season in program history. The Horned Frogs had a perfect, 12-0, record at home. As a team, they beat 10 ranked opponents this season and earned nine 5-0 victories, including a program-best streak of five sweeps in a row (March 14-20). The team finished the season 20-6 in conference matches and 112 overall match victories, all program records.
Three pairings recorded 20+ wins this season, the first time multiple pairings had done so. Two of the pairs feature freshmen, the No. 1 pair of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno finished with a 26-7 record while Maria Gonzalez and Rochelle Scott delivered a 23-7 record together at the No. 3 position. Those two pairs, along with Hailey Brockett and Olivia Blackburn (27-5) posted a combined record of 76-19 (80 percent) this season.
TCU is the first program from the state of Texas to have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs have dominated the state since the foundation of the program, posting a perfect 23-0 record against in-state opponents over their seven-season history. TCU went 4-0 against Texas schools this season, winning 18 of 20 matches in those wins.
TCU defeated South Carolina three times this season, Tulane four times, FIU and Georgia State twice and FAU once, to finish 12-0 against those five schools, the first undefeated season against these strong east region programs in program history. TCU entered the season with a combined all-time record of 10-17 against those five schools.
Alvarez and Moreno were named to the All CCSA and All-Freshman CCSA Teams this season. The first time a Horned Frog has received a post season award.
TCU becomes the first beach volleyball program started in 2015 or later to qualify for the NCAA Tournament
FUELED BY FRESHMEN
The year of firsts began when Hector Gutierrez signed the first Top-10 class in program history (No. 8) over the summer of 2020. The young talent made an immediate impact, with freshmen Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno Mateeva earning AVCA National Pair of the Week after the first weekend of competition.
The Spanish phonemes finished out the season being named All-Conference and to the All-Freshman Team. It is the first time in program history that any Frog has earned a place on the conference postseason award list and the first time in conference history that a freshman pairing has made the All-Conference team.
The freshmen class, comprised of six first-year players and five second-years who have been granted an extra season due to the pandemic, have been a part of 70.5 percent of TCU's match victories this season. Over half of TCU's match wins (53.6 percent) have come from pairings consisting of only freshmen. Both percentages lead the field at the NCAA Tournament.
FOLLOW THE FROGS
For more information on TCU beach volleyball, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUBeachVB on Twitter , Instagram
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
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