May 13, 2001
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State softball program, which set a school-record for victories and advanced to the finals of the Mountain West Conference, received the program's first berth into the NCAA Division I Softball Championships. The fourth-seeded Aztecs will play third-seeded Cal State Northridge on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. PDT in Los Angeles, Calif.
"It's absolutely historic," Aztec coach Kathy Van Wyk said. "This is a huge boost for our program. We were extremely disappointed after the conference championship game yesterday and now to be making the first NCAA tournament appearance is absolutely fantastic."
UCLA will play host to the six-team, double-elimination tournament to be conducted Thursday through Sunday. The second-ranked Bruins, earned the region's top seed, with a 53-3 record. The second-seed is Fresno State with a 38-17 record. The 17th-ranked Bulldogs received an automatic berth by winning the Western Athletic Conference championship.
Third-seeded Cal State Northridge, which finished in third place in the Big West Conference, is ranked 23rd nationally with a 31-22 record. The Aztecs, which have won eight of their last 10 games and own a 38-23 record overall, are seeded fourth. Wisconsin, the fifth-seed, and sixth-seeded Coastal Carolina complete the Los Angeles bracket.
The winners of the eight, six-team regions advance to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the 2001 Women's College World Series from May 24-28.
2001 NCAA Division I Softball Regional Los Angeles, Calif. (UCLA, host)
Thursday, May 17
Game 2: (2) Fresno State vs. (5) Wisconsin, 9 a.m.
Game 3: (3) Cal State Northridge vs. (4) San Diego State, 11:30 a.m.
Game 1: (1) UCLA vs. (6) Costal Carolina, 2 p.m.
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 4:30 p.m.
Friday, May 18
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 10 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 5, 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 19
Game 8: Bye or Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 6, 10 a.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6, 12:30 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 20
Game 11: Championship Game 1, 12:30 p.m.
Game 12: Championship Game 2 (if necessary), 3 p.m.