Gulf Shores, Ala. — Stetson’s championship season and historic run in the NCAA tournament came to end with a 3-0 loss to Hawai’i Saturday morning at Gulf Shores Beach.

The Hatters (30-10) completed their second straight 30-win season and earned their first-ever win over a top-ranked team when they upset No. 1 Southern Cal 3-1 on Friday.  It was also Stetson’s first-ever victory in the NCAA tournament.

When the Hatters took the court Saturday, they were one of the final five teams still competing for the national championship.

“We obviously have had a lot of ‘firsts’ this season,” Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said.  “Being able to upset the No. 1 team, and having a lot of great wins and ranked wins and a lot milestones for our program.  I think we are still disappointed because we felt like we could get a little bit further, and we just have to take that and keep building for next year.”

The Hatters won a school-record 14 matches in a row, going undefeated in the month of April and winning their fifth ASUN Championship in program history.  The Hatters posted 12 ranked wins throughout the year including four victories against Top 10 opponents.

Six seniors completed their Hatter careers, including all-time wins leader Rachel Noble who tallied 96 victories in her four seasons.  Samantha Harris, Alexa Richardson, Sammee Thomas, Julie Varga and Jae-Lyn Visscher also completed their Hatter careers.

–GoHatters.com