University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Reach NCAA Tournament for First Time Ever
May 16, 1999 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- When the NCAA Selection Committee announced the 48-team field for the 1999 Softball Tournament, the Lady Vol softball team heard the news it had been awaiting since the inception of its program four years ago. With a 44-25 overall record and a first-ever Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title on its resume, Jim Beitia's club earned an at-large bid to one of the eight, six-team regional sites.
As the third seed, Tennessee will travel to Seattle, Washington, for a first round meeting with number four seed Cal State-Fullerton (34-27). Host Washington (44-17), rated sixth in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today poll, drew the top seed in the double-elimination event and will encounter Patriot League winner Colgate (23-23). The other pairing pits third-seed Hawaii (32-21) against fifth-seeded Texas A&M (40-20).
The Lady Vols will open play on Thursday afternoon at 10 a.m. PT against the Titans, a member of the Big West Conference. In its only previous meeting, UT faced Fullerton on its Spring Break trip in 1997 and dropped both ends of a doubleheader, 8-4 and 11-8. On the flip side, the Orange handled Hawaii earlier this season at the Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Arizona.
The winner of each Regional will advance to the Women's College World Series to be held from May 27-31 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Three other SEC teams made the NCAA field, including regular and post-season champion LSU (53-8), which will host a four-day tourney in Baton Rouge. South Carolina (47-19) earned the second seed in Fresno, Calif., while Alabama (39-24) received the sixth seed and will face top-ranked UCLA (55-6) in Los Angeles.
