The Vanderbilt men's and women's tennis programs will learn their NCAA Tournament fate Tuesday afternoon when the NCAA announces the "Field of 64" from 4- 5 p.m. CT on ESPNews.
The women's team is awaiting their 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance while the men will be making their ninth overall trip to the prestigious tournament. It will mark the third time in the past four years that both team's will be playing in the NCAA Tournament during the same year.
Be sure to set your television to ESPNews at 4 p.m. Tuesday, to see where both Vanderbilt programs will be headed to in the first round.
The women's team, ranked 28th-nationally with a 13-9 record, is projected to be a No. 2 seed while the men, ranked 38th-nationally with a 13-10 record, are likely to be a No. 3 seed.
The first and second rounds of both the men's and women's tournament will be played May 14-16.
As we all expected, but not to 96 teams. Looks as if the tournament will expand to 68 teams beginning next season, and every game of the tournament will be carried live by CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV.
A couple of outlets have reported this, but here's a link to CBSSports.com, who has a lot of the new details of the television contract and other things relating to the tournament expansion.
It must be said that the Division I Board of Directors must approve the changes next week, but according to reports, that should not be a problem.
by Barca Blog - The Vanderbilt women's soccer team will find out if it's one of the 64 teams chosen for the NCAA Tournament when the brackets are officially revealed Monday night by the NCAA selection committee.
Head coach Ronnie Woodard feels that her team has done enough to warrant a bid.
"We are hopeful that the NCAA committee is going to think that we are one of the best 64 teams and invite us to the NCAA Tournament," Woodard said following VU's 4-2 loss to No. 16 LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday. "We know that we are a bubble team for the NCAA tournament but we have high hopes that our name will be on the board come Monday."
Since the Commodores (11-8-1) are on the bubble, let's weigh the pros and cons of their resume:
Pros: Vanderbilt ended the regular season winners of four straight -- all shutouts -- including a 1-0 win over No. 17 Ole Miss in Oxford. Their RPI ranking stands at 46th in the nation.
Cons: No more than six teams from the SEC have made the NCAA Tournament in a given year since the conference formed in 1993. Vanderbilt finished seventh in the SEC at 5-6.
Vanderbilt has appeared in the NCAA Tournament seven times in school history and twice during Woodard's tenure (2005 & 2006).
Find out if the 'Dores make the field of 64 by watching the 2009 NCAA Women's Soccer Selection Show on ESPNews Monday night at 7 p.m. CT.
By Weinman - Keep an eye out for tomorrow's Nashville City Paper. Vanderbilt beat writer David Boclair came by lacrosse practice this afternoon and grabbed a few minutes with senior Cara Giordano and Head Coach Cathy Swezey (above).
The Commodores are leaving tomorrow for Notre Dame for their first round NCAA Tournament game (Sunday, 4 p.m. CT). Giordano and her fellow seniors will all the opportunity to walk at tomorrow's commencement before the team heads out of town.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Vanderbilt's season came to an end Saturday after the Commodores lost a heartbreaker to No. 1 seed Maryland, 78-74, in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals at the RBC Center. Log on to VUcommodores.com later tonight for complete coverage.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Vanderbilt heads into the locker room up 39-36 over top-seeded Maryland in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
Vanderbilt was red hot from the outset and built an 18-point lead after Merideth Marsh drilled a 3-pointer with 6:28 left. But foul trouble hurt the 'Dores as three starters collected two apiece (Risper, Rhoads, and Wirth). Maryland took advantage and made a run of its own, outscoring the 'Dores 18-4 to close the half.
Marissa Coleman led all scorers with 19 points. Christina Wirth topped Vanderbilt with 12 points.
Follow the Commodores' NCAA Tournament game against Maryland on Twitter - Click Here.
And while the Terrapins' band is playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I thought I'd let you know that Louisville ended up defeating Baylor, 56-39, to advance to their first ever Elite Eight.
by Barca Blog - I just ran into former Commodores Dee Davis and Ashley Earley, who made the trip from Nashville to watch today's NCAA Regional Semifinal game against Maryland. Davis (2004-07) is currently the women's basketball varsity coach at University School of Nashville and plans to try out again this summer for the WNBA. Earley (2002-05) is an assistant head coach right down the road at Tennessee Tech.
by Barca Blog - The Commodores have made it to the RBC and tipoff with the Terps is less than an hour away on ESPN. When we arrived, the game between No. 2 seed Baylor and No. 3 seed Louisville was already in progress, so the team watched a little bit of the action before returning to the locker room.
As I type, Louisville leads 49-37 with 3:04 remaining. The winner of that game will face the winner of our game in the Regional Finals Monday night at 6 p.m. CT. Follow the rest of the Louisville/Baylor here.
by Barca Blog - The Vanderbilt women's basketball team will take on top-seeded Maryland in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals Saturday afternoon at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. VUcommodores.com has all the links you need to follow the game online.
A couple of notes as I work in my hotel room while Imagine: John Lennon is on the tube. After a long day of practice and interviews (and more practice) yesterday, the team went to see Monsters vs. Aliens: An IMAX 3D Experience last night. I have no report from this event since I was busy updating the website for the entire universe (haha) ... With their Regional Semifinal matchup with [1] Maryland less than five hours away, [4] Vanderbilt is currently over at the RBC Center for their morning shootaround. The winner of today's game will face the winner of [3] Louisville and [2] Baylor, which is scheduled to tipoff first at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
by Barca Blog - Visit VUcommodores.com to watch Charlie Mattos' pregame interview with guard Jence Rhoads as Vanderbilt prepares for today's matchup with Maryland in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rhoads has had a successful sophomore campaign for the Commodores, increasing her scoring average from 3.8 to 6.1. Rhoads ranks third in the NCAA in assist to turnover ratio at 2.5:1. It's not surprising that the 5'11 guard leads VU with 129 assists, but she also stands second in blocks with 12. In her last outing against Kansas State on Monday, she tied a season-high with seven rebounds.
One side note.. did you know Jence was a standout soccer player at Slippery Rock High School and scored more than 100 goals in her four-year career? So how did her soccer success translate over to the hardwood?
"Soccer helped me with my footwork and endurance. I played soccer my whole life and it was definitely to my advantage. I kind of miss it a little bit but basketball is my first love."
I think we would all agree that we're glad she decided to play hoops instead.
by Barca Blog - So what kind of difference does a year make when Vanderbilt and Maryland square off for the second consecutive season in the Sweet Sixteen? The topic was addressed by both teams during Friday's media day.
Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb: "I did watch last year's game a few times and I am sure they (Maryland) have as well. We are very different. I think they are very different as well. They had two great players in the post that really hurt us. Now Toliver and Coleman are dominating this team and are much improved on the perimeter. They have new looks inside and a new supporting cast. Losing Hannah (Tuomi) changed us quickly, made us a different player than we were last year. We don't have the inside presence that we had so we are more guard oriented."
Christina Wirth: "Over the past year I have replayed it a few times. I haven't actually watched it but I have a pretty good memory and can remember some of the plays and how the game started. They're a good team, but at the same time, they are a very different Maryland team and we are a very different team as well and that presents much different matchups. I'm sure our coaches have watched it and hit the high points for us, but more than anything I am excited about this game and not focused on last year."
Maryland head coach Brenda Frese: "You always go back and look on film to see how the game unfolded. But we're a different team and so is Vanderbilt. You always want to, at this time of year, go through as much film as possible."
Kristi Toliver: "They're very similar, but their post presence isn't nearly as strong as it was last year. They're smaller but they run the same stuff and the same style. It's all about playing smart, taking care of the ball, and running through the motions. It'll be a similar game plan, but hopefully we'll be able to execute it like we did last year."
And since "different" is the theme, it's time for the video of the day. Check out this clip from one of my favorite shows as a youngster. A couple of notes... (1) Did you know Shavar Ross (Dudley) also played T.C.'s son on Magnum, P.I.? (2) The laugh track should be banished from all sitcoms and (3) Gary Coleman was 32 when this episode was filmed (just kidding).
by Barca Blog - Here are some AP photos from today's shootaround at the RBC Center in Raleigh -- Click Here. I'll post some of my pics in the blog in a few minutes.
by Barca Blog - The Commodores just finished their shootaround at RBC, so we're headed back to the hotel. Maryland head coach Brenda Frese and her Lady Terrapins (pictured) took the court once our practice concluded. Stay with us later tonight for more updates!
by Barca Blog - Expect to hear this blog title to open tomorrow's telecast... since it's one of Mike Patrick's trademark phrases. And yes, that means Patrick is in the RBC! He'll be doing the ESPN broadcast tomorrow with Doris Burke and Holly Rowe.
Any time we're on the tube, our women's basketball communications director Chris Weinman meets with the on-air talents to discuss talking points for the game. Of course, I had to put a picture of Weinman in the blog (for mom!). I mean, it's tradition. I do this once every road trip, so now I can check that off my to do list (check).
by Barca Blog - After a morning practice at Cardinal Gibbons High School, the team journeyed across the street to get their first feel for the RBC Center,the site for tomorrow's Sweet 16 game.
Of course, press interviews were first.. Mechelle Voepel from ESPN.com was in the house as well as a writer from The New York Times (didn't catch her name though). We'll have a complete reaction from media day later this evening.
I'll leave you with a picture from RBC as the team took the floor for the one-hour shootaround (click the image to make it bigger). Stay with us for updates.
By Weinman - With only an hour to practice at the RBC Center on Friday, Vanderbilt used the gym at neighboring Cardinal Gibbons High School to get a little extra work in. Traveling from Albuquerque to Nashville and then here to Raleigh, the Commodores only had one day of practice at Memorial Gym this week (Wednesday).
The Sweet 16 gets under way in 24 hours from now when Baylor and Louisville face off on ESPN. The Vanderbilt-Maryland game will follow that contest 30 minutes after its completion.
by Barca Blog - Here are today's news stories on the Commodores as they prepare for Saturday's Sweet 16 matchup with No. 1 seed Maryland.
First, did you know that for the first time in the history of the NCAA tournament, the SEC is down to one team after the first weekend of play. Read More(It should also be noted that Maryland is the only ACC team left as well)
We posted a blog about the 'Dores leaving Nashville yesterday en route to Raleigh. The Washington Post documented the Terrapins departure from College Park. Read More
David Boclair of The City Paper catches up with junior guard Lauren Lueders, who was one of several Commodores to have an outstanding game off the bench in the win over the Wildcats. Read More
David Rutz of the Vanderbilt Hustler gives us more grudge match talk. Read More
Nick Gallo of the Vanderbilt Hustler reports that VU's seniors are playing with some urgency. Read More
Andrew Borders has a special piece in The Times of Trenton on two Hightstown alums (Melanie Balcomb and Vicky Picott). Read More
Finally, Lady Terps' freshman Yemi Oyefuwa learns what the Big Dance is all about. Read More
