Tampa Set To Meet Arkansas-Monticello In NCAA Softball Regional

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA released its pairings for the 2011 Softball tournament, with The University of Tampa earning a spot in the South Regional as the No. 3 seed. The Spartans will travel to Winter Park., Fla., where it will meet the University of Arkansas-Monticello in the opening round.

Rollins College will host the bracket, which also includes the University of West Alabama. The University of Alabama-Huntsville received the No. 1 seed and will host Valdosta State University, Barry University and Fort Valley State University.

The South Regional is scheduled to begin on Friday and conclude on Sunday. The winners of the Winter Park and Huntsville regionals will then meet for a best-of-three series on May 20-21 at a site to be announced.

The Spartans advance to the program's sixth NCAA tournament, with each coming under the watch of current head coach Leslie Kanter. UT has also been selected to three of the past four postseason affairs.

Tampa will play in the regional having already passed the program record for victories, standing at 38-7 on the year after finishing second in the Sunshine State Conference. Deanna Henriott leads the Spartans as the ace pitcher is 24-4 on the year with a 0.65 ERA, 264 strikeouts and 11 shutouts.

UT and UAM will meet for the third time as the Spartans swept a doubleheader from the Cotton Blossoms in 2008. The Gulf South Conference finalists enter the tournament with a 43-14 overall record as it has three players hitting over .400. Henriott expects to be challenged by UAM star pitcher Kayla Jackson, who is 26-7 to go with a 1.14 ERA.

Please check back to www.tampaspartans.com for updated game times and information on the NCAA South Regional.

Click here for the complete NCAA release with brackets

NCAA South Regional pairings
Games played in Huntsville, Ala.
No. 1 Alabama-Huntsville vs. No. 8 Fort Valley State
No. 4 Valdosta State vs. No. 5 Barry

Games played in Winter Park, Fla.
Friday, May 13
Game One: No. 3 Tampa vs. No. 6 Arkansas-Monticello, 4:30 p.m.
Game Two: No. 2 Rollins vs. No. 7 West Alabama, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 14
Game Three: Game One winner vs. Game Two winner, 1 p.m.
Game Four: Game One loser vs. Game Two loser, 3:30 p.m.
Game Five: Game Three loser vs. Game Four winner, 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 13
Game Six: Game Three winner vs. Game Five winner, 1 p.m.
Game Seven (if necessary): same teams, 3:30 p.m.