Wahine open NCAA at Washington State
Advertiser Staff
The University of Hawai'i Wahine volleyball team, which had its 24-match winning streak snapped Saturday against Pacific in Stockton, Calif., will open NCAA tournament play at Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Friday
The NCAA announced its 64-team field for the championships, to be completed with its final four Dec. 13 and 15 in San Diego.
Despite its No. 9 national ranking, the Wahine (27-5) will not play host to a tournament, instead traveling to snowy Pullman, Wash., 79 miles from Spokane, Wash., and five hours by car from Seattle.
"I'm not terribly excited about going to Pullman," said Dave Shoji, Wahine coach. "It is a hard place to get to, a hard place to play, from what I heard, and it (Washington State) is a tough team."
WSU is 17-11. Coach Cindy Fredrick said the initial field is so tough, "I'm almost glad I'm playing Hawai'i first."
The match will be played in 3,000-seat Bohler Gym. WSU officials said they were awaiting word from the NCAA on the time of the match.
Should the Wahine win, they will play the winner of the Eastern Washington-Oregon State match. Penn State, Fairfield, Pennsylvania and UCLA also are same bracket with the Wahine.
Under the NCAA's new "Policies for Fall Championships 2001," created out of post-Sept. 11 concern for student-athletes' welfare, the selection committee had carte blanche to transform an imprecise science into a relative free-for-all. As long as the free-for-all takes place nearby.
The committee finalized its field (31 conference champions and 33 at-large invitations) over the weekend, then seeded the top 16. Those teams would normally play at home the first week, but these are not normal times.
The NCAA says its new policies are designed to "minimize air travel and mitigate risk." Coaches have openly questioned the claim, pointing out how little other sports have been impacted and how much money the NCAA will save.
Under the new "suggested policies," seeded teams can be moved to balance regions, with a priority placed on staying within one time zone. Teams from the same conference can now play as early as the second round. Teams 17 through 64 "will be placed in their most proximate geographic region." Site selection will be based on location.
