Wow! ODU to host NCAA Regional in 2013

Remember '04 in Norfolk?

Old Dominion's Ted Constant Center will be one of four regional sites for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma City, Spokane, Wash. and Trenton, N.J. will also host regionals. The 2013 Final Four will be held in New Orleans.

ODU last hosted in regional in 2004, when Lindsay Whalen and Minnesota upended Alana Beard and Duke to capture the Mideast crown and advance to the Final Four. The Constant Center has also been the site of first-and second-round games in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010 and will be again next month.

Here's what we remember about '04. The place absolutely rocked. Whalen vs. Beard (and it still gives us chills when remembering PA announcer Jack Ankerson's calling out Beard's name when she left the collegiate game for the final time. Duke seemed destined for a national title. Beard sobbed into Gail Goestenkors' arms on the sidelines in the waning seconds as Minnesota celebrated its first Final Four.)

The Constant Center was a perfect size for a regional, and LadySwish is thrilled the NCAA thought so, too.

Also in 2013, Delaware will make its tournament-hosting debut as one of the 16 first- and second-round sites. The others: Baylor, UConn, Tennessee, LSU, Colorado, Maryland, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Duke, Iowa, Louisville, Texas Tech, St. John's, Stanford and Gonzaga, which now has a path to the Final Four without leaving its home. The school is located in Spokane, site of one of the regionals. The regional is hosted by Washington State.