NCAA awards Lady Tigers No. 4 berth in tournament

Women’s soccer team to face UT-Martin with 7-1 all-time series advantage

By Adam Douglas

Sports Editor

Aaron Turner

Above, The University of Memphis women’s soccer team anxiously awaits to hear its name announced as an automatic qualifier in the 2011 NCAA women’s soccer tournament. Below, the team reacts to the announcement of its pairing with UT-Martin in the first round.

 

One day after winning their fifth straight Conference USA title, the undefeated and No. 4 ranked University of Memphis women's soccer team (21-0-1) awaited their fate as they watched the 2011 NCAA women's soccer tournament selection show. And once the show began, the Lady Tigers quickly found out where they were seeded and how the rest of the country felt about them being undefeated, receiving a regional No. 4 seeding.

"When it comes to seeding, I felt like we were disrespected a little bit," said head coach Brooks Monahgan. "But I really like our draw; and when you look at Florida State, who got the No. 1 seed in our region, I think on paper they drew a tougher draw than we did."

The Lady Tigers are appearing in their fifth straight NCAA Tournament, and their opponent in the first round will be a familiar foe in Tennessee-Martin. The Tigers and Skyhawks have met eight previous times, with the Tigers holding a 7-1 advantage in the series.

The two programs haven't played each other since the 2007 season.

Though the seeding wasn't ideal for The U of M, players said they will make the most of it.

"We came up with a good draw," said senior defender Lizzy Simonin. "We feel very confident going into Saturday's game and looking forward to getting that monkey off our back."

Simonin was referring to the Lady Tigers failure to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But having to host a couple of home games should give the Tigers an edge and help make a deep run in the tourney.

"I think playing at home in the first round is massive," Monaghan said. "Hopefully we can continue to have the support that we've had during the season, plus the conference tournament; especially the tournament final – the atmosphere was incredible, and the kids really feed off that."

Though the regular season went according to plan, the faces of the players, coaches and well-wishers after the brackets were unveiled seemed to convey uncertainty about the Tigers position in the tournament.

"I think (the seeding) kind of shocked everybody because we came up first, and it was like, ‘There we are,'" Monaghan said. "I don't think it affects the girls at all – I know it doesn't affect me. We're just focused on who our next opponent will be."

The Lady Tigers will begin their quest for an NCAA Women's Soccer Championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.