May 16, 2011

By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Tennessee Lady Vol softball team (47-10) will host NCAA Regionals for the seventh consecutive campaign according to Sunday's announcement via ESPNU of the annual NCAA Tournament bracket.

The Big Orange has been chosen as the No. 14 national seed and will welcome in three squads to Lee Softball Stadium over May 20-22 in the form of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular-season champion Georgia Tech (44-10), Oklahoma State (37-17) of the Big 12 Conference and Big South Conference Tournament titlist Liberty (30-28).

Tickets for the Knoxville Regional will be on sale online on Monday, May 16, and over the phone starting at 8:30 a.m. ET. Prices are: $25 all-session reserved, $15 all-session general admission, $15 single-day reserved & $10 single day general admission. Fans are strongly encouraged to order in advance. Groups of 15 or more may order for a special rate by calling 865-974-1059. Cash is the only method of payment accepted at Lee Softball Stadium the day of the event. Everyone regardless of age must have a ticket.

The ESPNU commentators on the NCAA Selection Show referenced the Knoxville Regional as the nation's toughest in their opinion as the grouping boasts three of the top 18 schools in the most recent Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) issued on May 11 (Tennessee - 13, Georgia Tech - 14, Oklahoma State - 18).

"This NCAA Regional will be a definite challenge," Lady Vol Co-Head Coach Ralph Weekly said. "This team has shown before that it embraces challenges. Bottom line is there are no easy roads to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series. After the initial disappointment of the bracket release, Karen and I and our team decided life is 20% what happens to you and 80% how you react to it. We will be ready to play on Friday."

Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State will open the Knoxville Regional on Friday, May 20, at 4 p.m. ET with Liberty and No. 7 Tennessee slated for approximately 6:30 p.m. ET. Live stats will be provided via Gametracker for all match-ups through utladyvols.com.

If the Orange & White advance through to the NCAA Super Regionals for the fifth time in program history, they would potentially face-off against Big 12 Conference power Texas. The third-seeded Longhorns (44-8) will face Texas State (33-23) in their opening round contest while Houston (40-18) faces Louisiana-Lafayette (49-9) in the other half of their bracket.

This visit to the "Big Dance" marks the ninth overall NCAA Regional trip (39-18 overall NCAA record) for the Lady Vols. It is also UT's eighth consecutive selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) to the field of 64 under the guidance of co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. Tennessee has been to four Women's College World Series where the Lady Vols finished third nationally in 2005, 2006 & 2010 and second overall in 2007.

2011 Knoxville Regional

Friday, May 20

4 p.m. ET Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma State (Game One)

6:30 p.m. ET Liberty vs. Tennessee (Game Two)

Saturday, May 21

2 p.m. ET Winner Game One/Winner Game Two (Game Three)

4:30 p.m. ET Loser Game One/Loser Game Two (Game Four)

7 p.m. ET Loser Game Three/Winner Game Four (Game Five)

Sunday, May 22

2 p.m. ET Winner Game Three/Winner Game Five (Game Six)

4:30 p.m. ET (if necessary) Rematch of Game Six