May 3, 2009

• 2009 ACC Softball Championship Site

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Official seedings for the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Championship, set to begin this Friday, May 8, in Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium on the campus of North Carolina State University, were finalized Sunday afternoon with the completion of the ACC regular season. Georgia Tech, who finished the season with a 17-3 conference record, will enter the Championship as the league’s top seed for the first time since 2005.

The Yellow Jackets (40-13, 17-3), currently ranked No. 23/16, will begin their quest for the school’s third-ever ACC crown with a first-round matchup against No. 8 seed Virginia (25-21, 2-15) at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 8. Georgia Tech swept the Cavaliers, 3-0, in Charlottesville, Va., in their regular season series on April 18-19.

Taking the second seed is ten-time ACC-champion Florida State (41-13, 17-4). The Seminoles under first year head coach Lonni Alameda achieve their best seeding since taking the second seed in 2005. Florida State will draw No. 7 seeded Boston College (18-32, 3-15) for Friday’s 2:30 p.m. game. The matchup will reprise last year’s tournament opener for both teams and mark the fourth game between the teams in seven days.

Seeded three and four, respectively, are North Carolina (44-10, 15-5) and Maryland (29-25, 9-11). The Tar Heels will face sixth-seeded host NC State (23-24, 5-13) in the opening game at Noon on Friday. Maryland will take on the fifth seed and two-time defending league champion Virginia Tech (27-27, 8-10) in Friday’s night-cap starting at 7:30 p.m.

The first round of the single-elimination tournament will take place on Friday, May 8. The winners will advance to the semifinals which take place on Saturday, May 9 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sunday’s final will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Coverage of the Championship’s first two days will be available live and free at www.ACCSelect.com. Sunday’s final will be televised on the league’s regional sports networks.