Nov. 10, 2008

NCAA Tournament Bracket

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Fresh off its SEC Tournament Championship, the University of Tennessee women's soccer team will take on Charlotte in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament on Friday. The Lady Vols will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., where No. 1 seed North Carolina will take on Western Carolina in the other first round matchup at Fetzer Field.

UNC will play Western Carolina at 5 p.m. Later the same day at 7:30 p.m., Tennessee will play Charlotte. The winners of the two first-round games will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m.

North Carolina Athletics encourages fans to purchase NCAA women's soccer tickets online and in advance, allowing fans to print their own tickets from home. Ticketing options on game day are still available but only one entrance to Fetzer Field will be available to those purchasing on game day.

• BUY TICKETS

Due to construction, fans are encouraged to buy online so that you may continue to enter the gates in which you are accustomed.

Fans that purchase online will use the print-at-home ticket option, and be permitted to enter at any gate.

If you do not choose to purchase your tickets in advance you will need to proceed to the ticket trailer at the Eddie Smith Field House parking lot to purchase tickets. This will be the only location where tickets will be sold on game day, and only cash will be accepted on game day.

The closest available parking to the ticket trailer at the Eddie Smith Field House is the Ram's Head Parking Deck.

The Orange and White will make its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after securing the conference's automatic bid into the championships with its fourth tournament title in program history. UT is 10-6-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, going 6-0-1 in first round matches.

Charlotte enters the tournament with a 17-3-1 record, earning the Atlantic-10 automatic bid with the conference tournament championship. Charlotte enters the tournament riding a school-record 14 match win streak and outscoring opponents 52-6. The 49ers and Lady Vols have met just once before, when UT took a 3-0 victory at home on Sept. 14, 2003.

Tennessee will make its third NCAA Tournament trip to UNC in program history, with its last coming in the 2006 Sweet 16. The Orange and White has played its first round match at Fetzer Field just once before, when it played to a 1-1 draw with Duke before falling on penalties in 2001.

The Lady Vols enter the 2008 NCAA Tournament with a 10-10-2 overall record and a résumé that includes 12 matches against squads in the tournament field. The Orange and White have posted two wins and a tie against tournament teams in the last week.