Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 12, 1990 TAG: 9003122876
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff and Associated Press reports
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO. LENGTH: Medium
Virginia (26-5), ranked 13th nationally and seeded second in the East Region, will receive a bye in the first round and entertain the Penn State-Florida State winner March 18 at 2 p.m.
Unranked Old Dominion (20-9), the Sun Belt champion, also will play in the East against No. 23 St. Joseph's, Pa., (24-6) in the first round Wednesday in Norfolk, Va.
Colonial Athletic Association champion Richmond (25-4) received its first NCAA bid. The Lady Spiders will play in the Mideast Regional and travel to 21st-ranked Tennessee Tech (25-4) for a first-round game Wednesday.
Each of the top four regional seeds will receive a first-round bye in the tournament, which concludes with the Final Four on March 30 and April 1 in Knoxville, Tenn.
The first and second rounds will be played on campus sites March 14-18. Four teams will advance to the regionals March 22-24 at Norfolk (East), Iowa City (Mideast), Austin, Texas, (West) and Stanford, Calif. (West).
In the semifinals March 30, the East Regional champion will meet the West, and the Mideast champion will face the Midwest. The championship game is April 1.
Being among the top four seeds, along with No. 1 Tennessee, Providence and Connecticut, didn't surprise UVa coach Debbie Ryan.
"I knew we'd be seeded No. 2 or No. 3 after winning the ACC [Tournament] championship," she said. "We are happy to stay in the East, so our fans can come out and support us. That's very important.
"We're also familiar with most of the teams in our bracket, and that certainly helps."
For the third year in a row, Virginia is in the same bracket with Tennessee, the top seed in the East and ranked third in the country. The Lady Volunteers (25-5) will face the Old Dominion-St. Joseph's in the second round and could play the Lady Cavaliers if both reach the regional final.
"The top four seeds [in the East] are all good seeds," Ryan said, "but you're going to have to beat good teams to get to the Final Four. We're certainly going to have to beat some good teams to get there."
Ryan said getting the first-round bye can only help UVa, which defeated North Carolina State 67-64 in overtime in the ACC final.
"I . . . think we were mentally and physically exhausted after the ACC Tournament," she said. "I think this is a good break for us. It has helped to renew our commitment to the NCAA Tournament. . . . This way, maybe we can start the second season fresh."
Washington, Stanford and unbeaten Louisiana Tech received the other top seeds. Louisiana Tech (29-0), the top seed in the Midwest, and Tennessee joined Georgia, Mississippi and Long Beach State as teams that have made the tournament each of its nine years. Washington (26-2) is the top seed in the Mideast and Stanford (27-1) is the top seed in the West.
by CNB