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Virginia Tabbed a No. 5 Seed in 2010 NCAA Tournament
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s basketball team earned a No. 5 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and will play No. 12 Green Bay at approximately 7:21 p.m. Sunday (March 21) in Ames, Iowa. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Virginia is 21-9 and ranked No. 21 in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll. The Cavaliers are also receiving votes in the Associated Press poll.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Green Bay,” Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan said. “They are a great program and they play well in the tournament every year. It is going to be a tough matchup.”
The Cavaliers earned an at-large berth and is a No. 5 seed for the second consecutive season. Virginia is making its 24th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its third consecutive. Green Bay is 27-4 this season and also earned an at-large berth.
The other game at the Ames, Iowa, site features host and No. 4 seed Iowa State (23-7) vs. No. 14 Lehigh (29-3). The second round matchup will take place on Tuesday, March 23 with the winner advancing to the Dayton Regional, set for March 28 and 30 at the University of Dayton Arena.
Virginia is 33-23 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the second round the past two seasons. Virginia and Green Bay have never met in women’s basketball.
2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show
Virginia Quotes
Head Coach Debbie Ryan
On playing in Ames, Iowa:
“The site doesn’t really matter. Obviously if we were fortunate enough to get past the first game and possibly play Iowa State it would matter. They draw about 12,000 fans again but thankfully we’re used to playing in front of big crowds. I think you have to worry about the draw and not the site. You have to prepare your team to play in hostile situations all year long. We’ve been in hostile situations and have played in front of all different crowds before. Thankfully it’s a completely neutral site for the first game.”
On being in UConn’s bracket:
“That’s not something you need to fear; that’s something that you need to relish. Hopefully if we get a chance to play UConn we can be the team to upset them.”
Senior Guard Monica Wright
On waiting to find out Virginia’s seed:
“It is definitely nerve-racking. Every time a team’s name comes up on the screen my heart is pounding. I just can’t wait to get out there.”
On what seed she had expected:
“I’m excited about our seed wherever we are because we are in the tournament and it’s March Madness. I kind of thought we would be in California again, but I’m just glad to be in the tournament. I hope that wherever we are, we can get out there and make some noise.”
On playing her last NCAA Tournament:
“It’s do or die. This being my last NCAA Tournament, I hope we come together as a team and peak at the right time. We all realize what is at stake so we’ll continue to work hard and try to make some noise. Hopefully we can make it to the Sweet Sixteen and give Connecticut a run for its money.”
On what to tell the younger players:
“There are no words to express the atmosphere at the NCAA Tournament. Everybody wants to win and they will do what it takes to get there. You can’t really explain that. The younger players just need to feed off and learn from the upperclassmen.”