TCU beach volleyball begins its NCAA title defense Friday against LMU as the Horned Frogs return to Gulf Shores.
FORT WORTH - TCU beach volleyball is back in Gulf Shores with a national championship to defend and a much different roster trying to make another run.
The 10th-seeded Horned Frogs open the NCAA Championships on Friday at 2 p.m. CT against No. 7 LMU at Gulf Place Beach, with the match airing on ESPN2.
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The winner advances to Saturday’s national quarterfinal against either Texas or Georgia State.
TCU made history in 2025 by winning the program’s first national title and becoming the first school outside UCLA or USC to claim the NCAA beach volleyball crown.
Now the Horned Frogs are trying to prove last year’s breakthrough was only the beginning.
This version of TCU has had to grow quickly. Of the 12 starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament lineup, only four returned to Fort Worth.
The key returners include Anhelina Khmil, Sofia Izuzquiza, Stacy Reeves and Deniela Konstantinova, with Khmil, Izuzquiza and Reeves expected to play major roles this weekend.
Head coach Hector Gutierrez also rebuilt through the transfer portal, adding Anna Long from Florida State, Adriana Serrano Ferro from Grand Canyon and Natalie Glenn from Long Beach State.
Long and Glenn are paired together at No. 3 in the NCAA lineup.
The learning curve was steep. In TCU’s season opener against No. 11 Arizona State, none of the starting pairs had ever played a college match together.
Even so, the Horned Frogs reached the Big 12 Championship match before falling to Florida State.
Gutierrez, now in his 10th season, has turned TCU into one of the sport’s premier programs with a 240-91 career record.
If the Horned Frogs beat LMU, they’ll play again Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT. The semifinals follow Saturday afternoon, with the national championship set for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN.
TCU’s repeat bid starts with a tough opener, but the Frogs already know how to win on this beach.
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