Huskers Earn NCAA Tournament Berth

The Nebraska softball team earned one of 34 at-large invitations into the 2010 NCAA Softball Tournament, the NCAA announced live on ESPNU Sunday night. The Huskers are the No. 3 seed in the four-team Seattle Regional and will face second-seeded North Carolina on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (Central) in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

Joining Nebraska in Seattle is host Washington, the defending national champion and the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament. The Huskies will face North Dakota State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the other first-round game. The postseason berth marks Nebraska’s 20th overall NCAA Tournament appearance ? the 10th-most appearances in NCAA history - and is the 15th time the Huskers have made the postseason in the past 16 seasons.

“Just by the sound of the room when our name was called, it was exciting for everybody,” Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said. “I think it speaks to the strength of our conference that we were able to get seven teams in.

“It’s priceless to know we’re going to have such a young squad experience the postseason and be able to carry over that experience into the future. This team had to fight through a lot of adversity this season, and we’re proud of them and they’ve earned this.”

Nebraska takes a 29-27 record into the postseason, after the Huskers lost in the first round of the Big 12 Championship to 19th-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday. Nebraska should be prepared for the strong competition that comes with postseason play, as eight of the Huskers’ last nine games have come against NCAA Tournament teams, including seven contests against teams currently ranked in the top 20.

NU is one of seven teams from the Big 12 Conference in the field of 64. The Huskers played 22 total games against 13 teams in the NCAA Tournament, posting a 7-15 record in those games.

The Huskers are hitting the road for NCAA Tournament play for the second straight season, after Nebraska went 1-2 at the Knoxville, Tenn., regional last season hosted by the University of Tennessee. Nebraska owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 52-41, as the 52 victories rank eighth nationally.

The trip to Seattle will mark Nebraska’s first-ever games in the state of Washington, while the Huskies will be hosting the Huskers for the first time, after Nebraska hosted Washington in NCAA Tournament action in 2005 and 2007.

Seattle Regional Schedule
Friday, May 21
Nebraska vs. North Carolina, 4:30 p.m. (Game 1)
North Dakota State at Washington, 7 p.m. (Game 2)

Saturday, May 22
Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Game 3)
Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 7:30 p.m. (Game 4)
Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser, 10 p.m. (Game 5)

Sunday, May 23
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 4:30 p.m. (Game 6)
Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 7 p.m. (if necessary)

Note: All times listed are Central and all games will be televised live on ESPNU.