No. 9 Lady Vols outperforming preseason expectations in first year of post-Summitt era
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The Tennessee Lady Vols have shown expectations of their demise in the post-Pat Summitt era were unfounded.
They've overcome pessimistic preseason projections, the transition to new coach Holly Warlick and a season-opening loss to Chattanooga that dropped them to No. 24 in the Top 25 — their lowest ranking since 1985.
The Lady Vols (16-3) have climbed to ninth, are riding a nine-game winning streak and sit alone atop the Southeastern Conference standings.
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What Tennessee hasn't been able to do is beat an elite team, losing to Baylor and Stanford this season. They get another shot Monday against No. 2 Notre Dame.
The fast start has shown that the Lady Vols won't struggle without Summitt, who stepped down last April after winning eight national titles in 38 seasons.