Just imagine the feeling.
UF, 9-22 two seasons ago, is NCAA Tournament-bound, but perhaps not without feeling a little slighted.
The Gators (23-7, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) gathered together in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Monday night and watched as they received a No. 8 seed for the Big Dance.
UF will face No. 9-seed Temple (21-9, 11-3 Atlantic 10 Conference) in Storrs, Conn., on Sunday.
The part that wasn't so refreshing for the Gators having to face a potential second-round matchup with No. 1 overall seed Connecticut (33-0) on the Huskies' home court. That's unless No. 16-seed Vermont, a team UF faced earlier this season, pulls off the unthinkable.
"Do I think we're better than an eight seed? Absolutely, I think we're better than an eight seed," UF coach Amanda Butler said. "But for us to be able to say that, we need to back it up."
Junior guard Steffi Sorensen felt the same way about the Gators' path.
"We were kind of hoping for a better seed, but certainly you can't go in there down about it," Sorensen said. "We've just got to go in there and play our game and kind of play with a chip on our shoulder."
Still, the feeling for UF was reassuring knowing what it has accomplished so quickly, going from no postseason two years ago to the Women's National Invitation Tournament last year and now the NCAA Tournament.
"To have a chance to sit here this year and watch a selection show not wondering or hoping whether we're in, but knowing that we're in and being concerned about who we're playing and where we're going to be sent, I think it speaks a lot to how far this program has come in a very short amount of time," Butler said.
The Gators' opening game will be against a team they beat last year on the road by 14 points. However, Butler missed the meeting because of the death of her grandmother.
Butler, a former A-10 coach at Charlotte, said she watched her old team beat the Owls in this year's conference tournament semifinals on March 8. She noted that she'll have some familiarity facing an old conference foe.
UF was one of seven SEC teams selected for the tournament, a number that tied for the most teams with the Big East conference.
Butler said that stat was a testament to the grind her team faced all year that has allowed it to get to this point.
"There's no one in our league that is surprised by that," Butler said. "It was such a unique year because there was a lot of talk about the SEC being down. And everyone in our league, we're all looking at each other as we're battling every Thursday and Sunday going, 'There is not a thing that's weak about anybody in this league.' It's the best league in the country.
"A lot of people feel like the Big East is the best league," Butler added, "but that's because the Big East has UConn."
Speaking of the Huskies, Butler has no interest in looking ahead.
"All I'm worried about is Temple," she said.
UF guard Sha Brooks, back in the tournament for the first time since her freshman year, isn't worried about what could possibly be looming in the second round either.
"I don't think it's a distraction," Brooks said. "I think it's actually a motivation for us to see actually where we are. This is the end of the road, so if you don't get this win against Temple then you don't really have to worry about UConn."
