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The University of New Mexico Lobos have been rewarded for their stellar season with an invitation to the 2002 NCAA Tournament, announced earlier this afternoon on ESPN. In the first round of the Midwest Region, UNM will meet defending national champion Notre Dame on Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Game times will be announced on Monday.
The game will be broadcast live on 610 AM The Sports Animal and over the internet at www.610thesportsanimal.com.
“This is absolutely incredible,” senior guard Molly McKinnon said. “All the waiting and speculation was a little nerve-wracking, but it was all worth it now.”
“Just seeing our name up there on the TV was unbelievable,” junior Jordan Adams said. “This is a fantastic feeling. This is something that we worked for all season long, and it paid off.”
The Lobos are the No. 10 seed while the Fighting Irish are No. 7. The other game pits the host, No. 2 seed Tennessee, against No. 15 seed Georgia State.
The other Midwest Region games will be hosted by No. 1 seed Vanderbilt, No. 3 seed Iowa State and No. 4 seed North Carolina. The NCAA Womens Final Four is March 29 and 31 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
New Mexico is 22-8 overall. Picked to finish fifth in the MWC preseason poll, the Lobos tied BYU for second place in the loop at 10-4.
Notre Dame is 19-9 overall. The Irish finished second in the Big East Conference with a record of 13-3.
This is the Lobos second showing in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico qualified in 1998 by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. UNM, a 10 seed that year as well, fell to No. 7 seed Nebraska 76-59, in Norfolk, Va.
Tickets can purchased by calling the Lobo ticket office at 925-5627. Tickets go on sale at 7:00 am on March 11th. Ticket prices are $30 for an all-session ticket.I