April 7, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Following the first-ever Sweet 16 appearance in program history, the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team has earned a national ranking of No. 19 in the final USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll of the 2003-04 season.

The Gauchos made a meteoric rise to break into the USA Today/ESPN Poll, as they did not receive a single vote in the final regular-season tally on March 15. However UCSB garnered 18 total points in the season-ending Associated Press Top-25 Poll on March 14. The AP does not release rankings following the NCAA Tournament.

This marks the second consecutive season that Santa Barbara has been ranked in the final Coaches' poll, also earning the No. 22 spot to close 2002-03. The Gauchos opened 2003-04 at No. 18 according to both USA Today/ESPN and the Associated Press.

UCSB concluded this season with a 27-7 overall record and 63-55 loss in the NCAA East Regional Semifinals to eventual national champion Connecticut on March 27. That marked the Huskies' slimmest margin of victory during the Big Dance en route to their third straight title. The 11th-seeded Gauchos scored upsets of No. 6 Colorado and third-seeded Houston to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

In 2003-04 Santa Barbara also captured its unprecedented ninth consecutive Big West Conference regular season championship, and eighth straight league tournament title. The Gauchos set a new school record for home victories in a season with 16, and will carry a 12-game home winning streak into 2003-04. In addition, UCSB played and defeated more nationally-ranked teams than during any previous campaign, beating four of the eight squads it faced who were amongst the USA Today/ESPN Top-25 at the time.

The Gauchos will tentatively return seven letterwinners - including AP All-American Kristen Mann - and add five newcomers for the 2004-05 season.