TCU beach volleyball makes program history, state history with NCAA tournament berth
The TCU beach volleyball program will make history with its first appearance at the NCAA championships this week in Gulf Shores, Ala. The Horned Frogs (26-8) will play top-ranked UCLA 9 a.m. Friday on ESPNU.
Only the top eight teams in the country were invited.
TCU also becomes the first team from Texas to get invited in the tournament’s history.
The other teams headed to the tournament: Southern Cal (2), Florida State (3), LSU (4), Loyola Marymount (5), Stanford (6) and Cal-Poly (7). The championship match will air 1:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.
“I would like to say thank you to all the players and staff,” TCU head coach Hector Gutierrez said. “This is a job for everybody. We all worked so hard for this moment. Being such a young team, this is the first time we’re made this tournament and we’re working so that it won’t be the last.”
One of the biggest impacts this season have come from TCU’s freshman class, which includes three from Dallas-Fort Worth: Logyn Hinds (Mansfield Lake Ridge), Tara Patton (Dallas Wilson) and Josie Miller (Rockwall).
The pair of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno Mateeva (Spain) have also made history for TCU. They earned national pair of the week by the AVCA during opening weekend, a first for the program. They went on to finish on the All-Conference and All-Rooke Team in the CCSA, also a first for the program.
The freshmen class has been a part of 79 of TCU’s 112 match victories this season (70.5%).
“We’re such a talented squad. We’re going to Gulf Shores to fight and win all the matches we can,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve put so much work into this season and we know what we’re capable of. We have the confidence and the skills to do it. We can’t wait to get going.”
The Horned Frogs had a perfect 12-0 record at home. TCU finished third at the conference tournament behind Florida State and LSU, the best performance in program history. Graduate student Olivia Blackburn and sophomore Hailey Brockett were named to the All-Tournament team.
TCU has dominated the state of Texas with a 23-0 record against in-state opponents in seven seasons.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 11:58 AM with the headline "TCU beach volleyball makes program history, state history with NCAA tournament berth."
