UTSA Set For NCAA Softball Action
May 14, 2006
PLANO, Texas -
The Southland Conference regular season and tournament champion UTSA softball team learned its NCAA Tournament regional assignment Sunday afternoon and the Roadrunners (37-12) will face No. 3 national seed Texas (49-7) on Friday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the first round of the Austin Regional. Utah (38-19) and Indiana (29-23-1) complete the four-team regional that will be contested Friday-Sunday at Red and Charline McCombs Field.
Winners of 21 of their last 22 games, the Roadrunners are making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in the past three years. The Longhorns, the Big 12 regular season champions, advanced to the semifinal round of the 2005 Women's College World Series, falling to eventual national runner-up UCLA. These two teams met earlier this season with Texas winning a Feb. 21 doubleheader, 5-1 and 8-0, in Austin. UTSA also faced Utah this year with the Roadrunners run-ruling the Utes, 8-0, at the Las Cruces Hilton Invitational on Feb. 11.
UCLA was named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship today when the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced the 64-team field. The Bruins, champions of the Pac-10 Conference, are 43-7 and will open play against Missouri State University, May 19, in front of a home crowd in Los Angeles.
Twenty-nine conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 35 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this weekend.
Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition, when possible.
The Pacific 10 led all conferences with seven teams in the championship, while the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC placed six teams. Fresno State remains the only team to be selected to all 25 championships. Eight teams are making their initial appearances in the tournament: North Carolina State, Youngstown State, Tulsa, Georgia Southern, Portland State, Southern Utah, Nevada and Marist.
Only eight schools have been crowned champion, all of which are in this year's bracket.
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS:
* Indicates host institution
Los Angeles Regional - May 19-21 at Los Angeles, California
*No. 1 UCLA (43-7) vs. Missouri State (40-15)
Long Beach State (30-20) vs. San Diego State (32-13)
Gainesville Regional - May 19-21 at Gainesville, Florida
North Carolina (48-17) vs. South Florida (47-23)
Florida Atlantic (33-23) vs. *No. 16 Florida (42-23)
Ann Arbor Regional - May 19-21 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
*No. 9 Michigan (40-13) vs. Youngstown State (22-25)
Kent State (32-22) vs. Oklahoma (38-19-1)
Knoxville Regional - May 19-21 at Knoxville, Tennessee
Virginia Tech (38-19) vs. Louisville (42-8)
Tennessee Tech (50-13) vs. *No. 8 Tennessee (53-9)
Tuscaloosa Regional - May 19-21 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
*No. 5 Alabama (49-9) vs. Mississippi Valley (23-28)
Florida A&M (39-23) vs. Georgia Tech (46-20)
Fresno Regional - May 19-21 at Fresno, California
Cal State Fullerton (36-22) vs. *Fresno State (35-17)
Tulsa (34-22) vs. No. 12 Stanford (38-15)
Amherst Regional - May 19-21 at Amherst, Massachusetts
No. 13 Texas A&M (33-17) vs. Lehigh (41-12)
Albany (New York) (36-11-1) vs. *Massachusetts (37-14)
Evanston Regional - May 19-21 at Evanston, Illinois
Notre Dame (38-19) vs. UC Santa Barbara (24-20)
Southern Illinois (34-11) vs. *No. 4 Northwestern (42-12)
Austin Regional - May 19-21 at Austin, Texas
*No. 3 Texas (49-7) vs. UTSA (37-12)
Utah (38-19) vs. Indiana (29-23-1)
Provo Regional - May 18-20 at Provo, Utah
Kansas (34-24) vs. *Brigham Young (42-20)
Southern Utah (34-30) vs. No. 14 Washington (32-23)
Athens Regional - May 19-21 at Athens, Georgia
*No. 11 Georgia (51-13) vs. Georgia Southern (34-33)
Coastal Carolina (39-20) vs. Florida State (41-26)
Hempstead Regional - May 19-21 at Hempstead, New York
Penn State (37-15) vs.*Hofstra (36-18)
Long Island (34-21) vs. No. 6 Arizona State (46-13)
Corvallis Regional - May 19-21 at Corvallis, Oregon
*No. 7 Oregon State (38-13) vs. Nevada (33-31)
Portland State (37-18) vs. Baylor (36-20)
Iowa City Regional - May 19-21 at Iowa City, Iowa
Nebraska (42-10) vs. *Iowa (39-20)
Illinois State (37-14) vs. No. 10 California (44-12)
Baton Rouge Regional - May 19-21 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*No. 15 LSU (51-12) vs. Princeton (34-17)
Louisiana-Lafayette (48-10) vs. North Carolina State (48-19)
Tucson Regional - May 18-20 at Tucson, Arizona
Auburn (34-20) vs. Ohio State (38-21)
Marist (33-11) vs. *No. 2 Arizona (44-9)
CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE:
The Division I championship provides for a field of 64 teams. The championship will be three weekends of competition. Four teams will participate at each of 16 regional sites in a double-elimination tournament. Sixteen teams were seeded and placed at one of the regional sites.
The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series May 26-27 (Memorial Day Weekend) at eight campus sites.
The remaining eight teams will advance to the WCWS, an eight-team, double-elimination tournament. The championship final will be a best-of-three-series. The WCWS will be conducted June 1-7 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
SELECTION PROCESS:
The NCAA Division I Softball Committee selected teams from the following eight regions to participate in the championship: Central, East, Northeast, South, Mideast, Midwest, West and Pacific. Twenty-nine conferences have been granted automatic qualification for the 2006 championship.
SEEDING, SITES:
Teams were selected to the field of 64 teams. The top 16 teams were seeded in order, and the remaining teams were placed in regional brackets to create balanced competition and avoid conference match-ups, when possible.
TICKET INFORMATION
NCAA Softball Austin Regional Ticket Information:
On Sale Sunday, May 14
Austin Regional
Friday-Sunday, May 19-21
Red and Charline McCombs Field
All Times Central
Friday, May 19- First Round
Utah (38-19) vs. Indiana (29-23-1), 4 p.m.
Texas-San Antonio (37-12) vs. No. 3 Texas (49-7), 6:30 p.m.
Tickets for the NCAA Softball Austin Regional are currently on sale as of Sunday afternoon (May 14). Only a limited amount of tickets for the general public are available for the Austin Regionals.
Tickets for the NCAA Softball Regional at McCombs Field go on sale to the general public on Sunday via the internet at www.TexasBoxOffice.com ONLY.
Sales will take place over the phones and in person beginning on Monday morning, May 15, at 9 a.m. (Central). Beginning on Monday, tickets may be purchased at the UT Athletics Ticket Office, located in the Bellmont Hall first floor lobby, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Central). To purchase tickets via phone beginning Monday at 9 a.m., call 800-982-BEVO or 512-471-3333. Phone hours are Monday-Friday (9 a.m.-6 p.m. Central) and Saturday (10 a.m.-4 p.m. Central).
NOTE: All-session tickets ONLY will be available until Wednesday, May 17. Prices are listed below. There are no senior citizen or youth/student ticket discounts for this NCAA event.
NCAA Softball Regional Ticket Prices (at UT's McCombs Field)
Friday-Sunday, May 19-21, 2006; 3 sessions
Prices listed are per person; there are no senior citizen or youth/student ticket discounts).
All-Sessions Reserved - $30
All-Sessions General Admission - $24
Single Session Reserved - $12 (available on Wed., May 19)
Single Session General Admission - $8 (available on Wed., May 19)