UTEP may not be a contender to win it all but they were a contender to get on the medal stand. The point is the system is obscenely flawed. In all other NCAA tournaments there is a selection process that properly allows for the relative strength of the regional. If we have at large we should get it right. If you want to make the point that the team that will win the meet already qualified you are right. I would counter that only the regional winners and the individual winners of the various regions should qualify for nationals. The winners win and all the rest don't matter.