TCU Lady Horned Frogs Athletics: A Year in Review Part One
With college athletics wrapping up for the 2020–2021-year, the TCU Women’s Athletic Department had a successful year. With 13 different sports in the athletics department, check out Campus Live’s exclusive articles over everything TCU Women’s athletics.
Volleyball
In a shorter season, the TCU volleyball team competed in 21 games and would finish their season with a 4-17 overall record. Then would go 3-13 in the conference, going 1-10 at home and 3-7 when on the road. While not performing well, the team would play some of the best competition in the country out of the Big 12 Conference.
This year was the first year the women’s volleyball team played all of their home games in Schollmaier Arena. Previously, the volleyball team had spent the last 24 seasons hosting their home games at the rec center, the Rickel.
Unfortunately, the Lady Horned Frogs would not make it out of conference play but would have four vital wins. Those wins were coming against Oklahoma in a two-game series sweep, a single game win against Texas State, and the last in a split series against Texas Tech.
The team would have moments where optimism was up and would have many down points at points in the season. The team in the coming season will look to bounce back from a down season and improve on their record.
Beach Volleyball
Perhaps one of the more underrated TCU Women’s Athletics Department programs is the women’s beach volleyball team. Ending their season with a 26-10 record, the Lady Horned Frogs had a successful season making it to the NCAA Championships. On top of the deep playoff run, the team would finish their conference 17-4 to propel them into the postseason.
The team would also go undefeated at home with a 12-0 record. 2-1 away record and 12-9 neutral site record showing the team can perform anywhere. The Lady Horned Frogs would head into the CCSA Conference Tournament with an exceptional record with the momentum on their side.
Playing five games in the tournament, the team would start with a 3-2 win over the College of Charleston, then be beat by No. 3 ranked LSU 2-3. Then after two more crucial wins against Tulane and South Carolina, the team would again face the juggernaut LSU. After a deep run in the tournament, the team would be beat out of the tournament in a 0-5 shutout. TCU would then turn its attention towards the NCAA Championships.
In their greatest season in the program’s history, the team would head to Gulf Shores, Alabama, where they would first face off against No. 1 ranked UCLA. This marked the first the Frogs beach volleyball team made it to the NCAA Championships. In the contest, the Lady Horned Frogs would drop their face game 0-3. Then in TCU’s second tournament game, the team would face a familiar foe in LSU. In the final contest of the season, the team would lose 1-3.
With it being the most successful season in TCU Women’s Beach Volleyball season in history, look for the TCU Lady Horned Frogs to be back, ready to make another deep run in the 2021-2022 season.
Cross Country
As for TCU Women’s Cross Country, with a short season because of the pandemic, the team would only compete in the Arturo Barrios Invitation and the Big 12 Championship. While having somewhat of a down year, the team would still compete hard throughout the season.
In the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, the Lady Horned Frogs would come out and compete in the first meet of the season. In the women’s 6k, the team would place 6th out of 6 teams led by Senior Evelyn Mandel, who ran a 7:12.1 placing 33rd.
With a tough first meet, the Lady Horned Frogs would head to Lawrence, Kansas, for the Big 12 Championship. Again, the team would not fare well, placing 10th place out of the ten teams again led by Senior Evelyn Mandel, who would finish 65th. With their season now over, look for the Lady Horned Frogs to revamp the program and compete in the 2021 season with goals of improving.
Equestrian
TCU Women’s Equestrian had a fair season as well. With a deep postseason run, the team would end their season with a .500 record by going 6-6, facing against some of the best competition in the country. Going 2-3 in their conference, the team would fall short in that category but would go undefeated at home with a 5-0 record. The team would not fare as well on the road with a 0-3 away record and 1-3 at mutual sites.
Going 6-4 in the regular season, the team would carry momentum heading into the Big 12 Championship. First, the Lady Horned Frogs would face No. 5 ranked Fresno State and win convincingly 15-4. Then in their second round, the team would be eliminated from the tournament by a familiar foe in No. 3 ranked Oklahoma State. While competing hard, the team would fall 9-11 to end their Big 12 Championship title run.
The team would then turn their eyes towards the NCEA Championship. Only competing in one match, the team would first face off against Georgia. Losing 6-10 in a hard-fought competition, the team would fall and end their season. With a season full of ups and downs, look for the Lady Horned Frogs to come back primed for a successful season.
Rifle
Arguably one of the most successful programs in TCU Athletics, the TCU Women’s Rifle Team would have a monumental year. The Women’s Rifle Team would go 11-0 overall on the season. While not having conference play during the season, the team would qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The team would place 1st in almost every tournament, and in one-on-one matchups. In the NCAA Championships for Smallbore, the Lady Horned Frogs placed second behind Kentucky, trailing by only 10 points.
The next day the Lady Horned Frogs competed in the air rifle competition where they would take care of business and win another gold medal. Overall, while competing in both matches at the NCAA Championship, TCU fell short in the team standing, falling by just nine points to the Kentucky Wildcats.
With the TCU Lady Horned Frogs having one of their best seasons ever, look for the team back in the 2021-2022 season, ready to win it all.
Soccer
Another successful women’s sport in the women’s TCU Athletic Department is the TCU Women’s Soccer Team. Going 12-2-2 overall and 8-0-1 in the conference, the women’s soccer team was nothing short of dominant. In conference play, the team’s single tie would be in the season opener against Baylor. A big win for the Lady Horned Frogs would be against Oklahoma State, who was ranked No. 4 in the nation. It may have been the highlight of the regular season when TCU took down Oklahoma State in double overtime 2-1.
The women’s soccer team added another notch in the TCU history books, winning the Big 12 tournament for the first time. The team also had a historic amount of individual awards throughout the entire season and the highest draft pick in the NSWL in TCU program history with Yazmeen Ryan selected to the Portland FC Thorns.
After a successful regular season, the team then headed into the NCAA Soccer Tournament and first faced New Mexico. In the matchup on April 30th, the team defeated New Mexico 6-2. The win would vault them to the NCAA third round, where they then took on Georgetown.
The team tied 1-1 to advance the Frogs to the NCAA Elite Eight in the tournament. The team fought hard in the matchup, but could not put any points on the board in the two halves. With one of their best seasons ever now behind them, the TCU Lady Horned Frogs Soccer Team will now look to next season with the goal of winning a national championship.
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Story by Trinity Porter
