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10 times Tennessee Vols athletics raised fans hopes too high

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers talks in the press conference after a game against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers talks in the press conference after a game against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Todd Warshaw /Allsport
Photo by Todd Warshaw /Allsport /

6. NCAA Tournament loss to Duke by 1999 Lady Vols in quest for four-peat 

In the late 1990s, Tennessee women’s basketball was the dominant program. Pat Summitt had gone 39-0 in 1997-1998 and won her third straight national title. Chamique Holdsclaw was the star, and current UT head coach Kellie Harper, then Kellie Jolly, was the glue player. Complementing them was the greatest freshman class in history led by Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall.

Every one of those players was back in 1998-1999. In fact, they didn’t lose anybody in their main rotation. So this team, with the freshmen stars now gaining more experience, should have been even more unstoppable. That proved not to be the case early. In the second game of the year, a 46-game winning streak by the program ended with a loss to the Purdue Boilermakers.

No matter, though. The team still had a four-peat to go for, and they won out except an upset on the road the in their last regular season game, at the LSU Tigers. Still, they won the SEC regular season and tournament titles, and they made it to the Elite Eight before getting set to face the No. 3 seeded Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight, they were poised for another Final Four.

Somehow, though, Holdsclaw went ice-cold in that game. She couldn’t buy a bucket, going two-for-18 from the field and scoring only eight points, and the program lost 69-63. It’s one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history, and it also signaled that the Lady Vols would have much more competition entering the 2000s. That came true with the UConn Huskies emerging.

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