Hawkeyes Selected To NCAA Tournament

May 15, 2005

IOWA CITY – Coach Gayle Blevins’ nationally ranked Iowa softball team will square off against Nebraska Friday at 4 p.m. Iowa time in action of the 2005 NCAA Division I Softball Championship to be played in UN’s Bowlin Stadium. Nebraska was selected to host one of 16 NCAA regionals to be staged this weekend.

Creighton and Washington will meet at 7 p.m. Friday. The regional is a double-elimination format. The Iowa-Nebraska winner will play at 4 p.m., Saturday. The loser plays at 1 p.m., Saturday. Action continues through Sunday.

2005 will be the first year the NCAA Regional Tournament will use its new format. Sixteen sites were chosen as host schools with four teams in each site. The winner of each regional will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals, held May 27-28 at campus sites to be determined.

Eight Super Regional winners will then advance to the Women’s College World Series, held June 2-8 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OK.

This is the fourth time Iowa has traveled to Lincoln for an NCAA Regional and the third year in a row. The Hawkeyes are currently 48-12 and finished runner-up at the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Iowa has made the NCAA Tournament 13 times, including each of the last six seasons.