THE DII CCA TIP-OFF CLASSIC AT THE TRAILHEAD
This week will see the Patriots face off with Colorado School of Mines, Mary, and Nebraska Kearny at the big tip-off tournament hosted by MSU Billings. There will be six games per day at Alterowicz Gym, with three men's games each day at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m., before the three women's games at 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.
UT Tyler, Colorado School of Mines, Mary, Nebraska Kearney, CSU Pueblo, and MSU Billings will make up the women's field.
PATRIOTS NOTES AND TRENDS
- UT Tyler finished the 2024-25 season 25-5 overall and made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance before bowing out in the first round.
- Last season the Patriots finished 13-1 on their home floor, raising their mark to 61-8 under head coach Rebecca Alvidrez inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
- In the last four seasons (including 2024-25), the Patriots are a combined 31-13 in non-conference matchups, including a 12-3 record at home in non-conference games.
- Head Coach Rebecca Alvidrez is now 108-50 all time in her four season career, and she is 98-31 in her time at UT Tyler.
- Coach Alvidrez won her 100th career game on January 30th, 2025 as the Patriots took down Cameron. It took just 148 games for Alvidrez to reach the milestone, and she is now in her fifth season as a head coach.
- The Patriots will bring back just five players, including All-LSC Honorable Mention player Polina Latysheva, along with Mileina Sablinskaite, Mariah Neal, KK Bass, and Zionna Barbee.
- Joining the Patriots will be freshman newcomers Leila Davis, Hayley Cumming, Mackenzie Mitchell, Georgia Tomkins, Edit Merivirta, Avery Alcaraz, Jorja Hart, and Salome Svani. The transfer class includes Lilli Hakkarainen and Nikolina Vukcevic as they all look to make a big impact on the Patriots this season.
NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE ATTENTION
In the preseason edition of the WBCA Coaches Poll, UT Tyler was ranked #20, marking the third straight season the Patriots have been inside the top 25 to begin the year.
In the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, the Patriots were selected #3, trailing only Texas Woman's and Lubbock Christian. UT Tyler garnered eight first place votes in the poll and 761 total points, only 15 behind second place Lubbock Christian.
THE 2024-2025 CAMPAIGN
The Patriots qualified for their third straight NCAA Tournament last season and their fourth straight LSC Tournament before bowing out in the first round in each tournament.
UT Tyler went 25-5 overall and 20-2 in LSC play, narrowly missing out on a share of the LSC Regular Season title. On their way to that record, they also garnered their highest ranking of the Division II era, a #4 ranking in the WBCA Poll in February.
