May 11, 2003

NCAA Regional Bracket
Download Free Acrobat Reader

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of North Carolina softball team was rewarded for playing its toughest schedule ever with an NCAA Tournament bid tonight, announced by the NCAA Committee. The Tar Heels went 0-2 at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament but ended the year 39-20-1, including 29-7-1 down the stretch to earn their second NCAA Tournament berth in three years. Carolina will be a sixth seed in Fresno, Calif., and face three seed Michigan State at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 15.

"I'm just really excited about the opportunity to go to regionals," said head coach Donna Papa. "We have three goals at the beginning of the season, win the ACC Championship (which we didn't do), go to regionals and earn a bid to the College World Series and we still have the opportunity to do that.

"I'm just thrilled for our seniors and the team because they have worked so hard this season. I'm excited that the committee chose us and it's a great opportunity to wipe out this past weekend."

UNC broke one tournament record at the ACC Championship on Saturday, May 10, as Maryland and the Tar Heels scored 17 combined runs to set a new tourney record. Carolina tied a school record with two home runs at the tournament to bring its total to 39 on the season, tying the record set last season.

Also participating in the regional will be top seed UCLA, #2 Georgia, #4 Fresno State, #5 Long Beach State, #7 Long Island and #8 Colgate. The NCAA Regional will last from Thursday, May 15 to Sunday, May 18. The winner will advance to the College World Series May 22-26 in Oklahoma City, Okla.