May 8, 2006

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The Lewis University softball team was selected as the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Great Lakes Region tournament, to be held May 11-15 on the campus of top-seeded Southern Illinois Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Ill. Lewis will face No. 5 Northern Kentucky in the opening round on Thursday, May 11 at 2:30 pm.

"I was extremely pleased with the way our team performed in the GLVC Championship," said Lewis head coach George DiMatteo. "With one-third of our team having past NCAA Regional experience, our chances of winning the region are as good as any team competing."

Lewis (39-13) moved up from seventh to fourth in the regional rankings after posting a second-place finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship last weekend in East Peoria , Ill. The Flyers went 3-2 in the tournament, losing twice to eventual conference champion Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The NCAA berth is the seventh in program history for the Flyers and their first since the 2004 season. Lewis' past NCAA Championship appearances came in 1987, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2004. The Flyers finished as the national runner-up in 2001.

In addition to Southern Illinois Edwardsville (46-8), Wayne State (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and West Virginia Wesleyan (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) earned automatic bids into the tournament as a result of winning their respective conference championships. Wayne State (32-24) will be the No. 6 seed and West Virginia Wesleyan (43-22) will be the No. 7 seed.

Other teams receiving at-large berths were Gannon (39-16), Southern Indiana (37-16), Northern Kentucky (38-19) and Grand Valley State (34-19). Gannon is seeded second, Southern Indiana is third and Grand Valley State took the eighth seed.

Tournament host Southern Illinois Edwardsville intends to webcast all the Regional Championship games. Information regarding the webcasts will be detailed at www.siue.edu/athletic. Fans will need to download a free Real Player (www.real.com) in order to listen to the games.

The NCAA Division II Softball Committee selected a total of 64 teams to participate in the 2006 NCAA Division II Softball Regional Championships. Eight teams will participate at each of eight regional sites in double-elimination tournaments to determine the final eight championship participants. Winners of the Regional competitions will advance to the finals to be held May 18-22, at the James I. Moyer Softball Complex in Salem , Virginia .

Great Lakes Region pairings and tournament schedule:

Thursday, May 11
Game 1 - #3 Southern Indiana vs. #6 Wayne State , 9:30 am
Game 2 - #2 Gannon vs. #7 West Virginia Wesleyan, Noon
Game 3 - #4 Lewis vs. #5 Northern Kentucky , 2:30 pm
Game 4 - #1 Southern Illinois Edwardsville vs. #8 Grand Valley State , 5 pm

Friday, May 12
Game 5 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9:30 am
Game 6 - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, Noon
Game 7 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 pm
Game 8 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 5:30 pm

Saturday, May 13
Game 9 - Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 9:30 am
Game 10 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, Noon
Game 11 - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 2:30 pm
Game 12 - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 5 pm

Sunday, May 14
Game 13 - Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 loser, Noon
Game 14 - Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 2:30 pm

Monday, May 15
Game 15 - repeat Game 14, if necessary, 1 pm

To view a tournament bracket, please click here:
2006 NCAA Division II Softball Championship - Great Lakes Regional