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Bruinette88's avatar

Hiya Greg! To answer your question, the sand at Gulf Shores is wonderful, although the courts play differently than a typical west coast beach court. I’d compare it to the difference between playing football on grass and turf.

I’m definitely not a fan of fixed sites for NCAA tournaments. The competitive advantage to teams that are playing close to home & in familiar surroundings is significant, as we’ve all seen in particular with softball.

That said, these championships are not huge profit engines for the NCAA like football and men’s basketball are. Having fixed sites is economical, especially with tournaments like baseball & softball that require extensive facilities. I believe these tournaments could be hosted elsewhere at a reasonable cost, but it’s clear that the NCAA isn’t motivated to move away from its fixed site model.

Our beach volleyball team has a really nicely balanced squad. If the players can adapt their game to the conditions at Gulf Shores, they have a very good shot at the title. I still believe our strongest title contender is our men’s volleyball team though. They have been very impressive in closing out the regular season and crushing opponents in the conference tournament. We play Long Beach State on Thursday for a place in the championship final.

Go BRUINS!

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