BATON ROUGE — The LSU Soccer Complex will be the host site for the 2001Southeastern Conference Women’s Soccer tournament this weekend, as the top-eight teams in the SEC compete for the tournament championship beginning Thursday at noon.
The three-day event will feature two of the nation’s top-ranked teams in the No. 11 Florida Gators and the No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers, as well as many of the country’s best female athletes. The remaining of the top-eight schools competing in the tournament are Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
Thursday will be the first time that Baton Rouge has hosted a soccer
tournament of this caliber and it will be the ninth edition of the SEC championship event. The SEC adopted a four-team tournament in 1993 before expanding to an eight-team competition in 1996.
Only three teams have earned SEC championship titles in the previous-eight years of the event. Vanderbilt notched the opening two titles in 1993 and 1994, then Kentucky took home the trophy in 1995, but Florida has dominated ever since by rattling off five-straight SEC Tournament championships.
Last season, in Athens, Ga., Florida finished conference play with a perfect 9-0 record and knocked off the home-town favorite Georgia, 2-0, in the title game of the SEC Tournament. In its three games of the tournament, Florida outscored the competition, 6-1.
Florida will open the 2001 SEC Women’s Soccer tournament on Thursday, as the No. 1 seed Gators battle No. 8 seed Vanderbilt in the first game of the quadruple-header at noon at the LSU Soccer Complex. Shortly after the conclusion of game one, fourth-seeded Tennessee will face off against the No. 5 seed Kentucky at 2:30 p.m.
The Thursday evening games will feature No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 7 Ole Miss at 5:00 p.m., and then No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Auburn in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Auburn were the only three teams to qualify for the SEC Tournament from the Western Division, while every Eastern Division squad will be competing at the LSU Soccer Complex this weekend except South Carolina.
The ninth edition of the SEC Women’s Soccer tournament will begin on Thursday at noon, as 11th-ranked Florida takes on Vanderbilt in the opening contest of a quadruple-header at the LSU Soccer Complex. Day-long admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children under 12 and free for infants younger than two years old.
2001 SEC Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 8 – Day One
Quarterfinals
Game 1 – #1 Florida vs. #8 Vanderbilt at noon.
Game 2 – #4 Tennessee vs. #5 Kentucky at 2:30 p.m.
Game 3 – #2 Mississippi State vs. #7 Ole Miss at 5:00 p.m.
Game 4 – #3 Georgia vs. #6 Auburn at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 9 – Day Two
Semifinals
Game 5 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 6 – Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3
Sunday, Nov. 11 – Day Three
Championship
Game 7 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6