The Florida women’s basketball team will compete in the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament after earning an at-large berth into the 64-team field revealed late Monday.
The Gators (18-14) host University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (20-11) in the first round Friday. Start time and ticket information will be announced today.
Monday’s announcement placed Florida in a postseason tournament for the 17th time in the last 19 years, including all four seasons under coach Amanda Butler, who became the first-ever Gator coach to guide the program to a postseason appearance in each of their first four years.
Butler guided Florida to the third round of the 2008 WNIT in her first year with the club, before taking her second Gator squad into the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament where the team lost to top-ranked and eventual NCAA champion Connecticut. Last season Florida advanced to the WNIT second round where it lost to eventual runner-up Miami.
Florida will be appearing in the WNIT for the fifth time since the event’s inception in 1998. The Gators reached the final in 2000, falling to Wisconsin, 75-74, in the title game. In 2005 Florida dropped a tough first-round contest to USF, 61-56, in Tampa.
The Gators also made an appearance in 1985 in the NWIT, which is no longer contested, reaching the national final.
The Retrievers won the America East Conference regular-season championship and advanced to the semifinals of the league’s postseason tournament where they lost to eventual-champion University of Hartford.
The Gators won the only previous meeting between the two schools, taking the 71-52 decision on Dec. 31, 1986, in the championship game of the FIU Holiday Classic in Miami.
The 2011 WNIT field includes 31 teams that earned an automatic berth and 33 that received an at-large bid. All games are hosted by a participating school. First round games will be played from March 16-18.
