Gophers Head to Knoxville for NCAA Play

Minnesota will look to hit their stride at the right time of the season as they enter NCAA play at the University of Tennessee. Gopher fans have a right to be somewhat upset over the brackets, as Minnesota has defeated Purdue, Ohio State and Wisconsin in their second meetings of the season, and all three teams are seeded over the Maroon and Gold. However, Minnesota gets the weakest of the seeded teams if they reach the second round in unranked Tennessee.

On Friday, the Gophers open up the tournament with the Big South Champion Winthrop Eagles. The Eagles are making their fourth straight tournament appearance but have yet to advance past the first round in their history. Winthrop’s marquee victory of the season was a 3-1 decision over Indiana, one of the Big Ten’s worst teams.

The Eagles have a balanced attack on offense, left-side hitters Mary Hock and Tori Grafeman receive a lion’s share of the sets, yet middle Taryn Surbaugh is the team’s most efficient terminator with a .395 hitting percentage. Setter Chandra Ginest was named the Big South Freshman of the Year.

The big story of the afternoon will be Minnesota libero Paula Gentil’s attempt to break the NCAA career digs record. Gentil is 9 digs away from the record and should have no problem meeting and beating the mark in just a three game match. The Gophers have been playing much better of late and should have no problem with Winthrop. Minnesota is more talented, deeper and more experienced than the Eagles.

Prediction: Minnesota in 3.