Furman Softball Earns Bid To Knoxville Regional, Will Face No. 1 Tennessee

May 13, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - The Southern Conference champion Furman Lady Paladin softball team has earned a bid to the NCAA Regionals in Knoxville, Tenn., where it will face the top-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols on Friday at 5 p.m. at Tyson Park, it was announced on the NCAA Softball Selection Show on ESPNews this afternoon.

"We are so excited to be Southern Conference champions and have the opportunity to continue our season in the NCAA Tournament," said head coach Dana Jenkins following the announcement of the regional pairings.  "Tennessee is one of the best teams in the nation and our team is excited for the challenge."

The NCAA Tournament consists of 16 four-team regionals. The double elimination regionals are held at on-campus sites May 18-20.  The Furman vs. Tennessee (54-5) match-up will be preceded by North Carolina vs. Winthrop at 2:30 p.m.  Tournament play continues on Saturday with the winners and losers of Friday's games meeting at times to be determined.

The Lady Paladins (21-34-1) earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals and the program's first ever trip to the postseason after downing Georgia Southern 3-2 on Saturday to claim the SoCon Tournament championship in Greensboro, N.C..

The SoCon Tournament title was the second for Furman, which won the inaugural tournament in 1994 after defeating Georgia Southern, 7-0. The team title is the first under fourth-year head coach Dana Jenkins. The Lady Paladins got revenge after falling to the Eagles last season in the championship game.  Before claiming the 3-2 extra-inning victory on Saturday, Furman had dropped 13 straight contests versus the Eagles.

Centerfielder Amber Kiser earned tournament most outstanding player honors after going 2-for-5 with a triple and the game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth inning in the championship clinching victory. Brythe Blankenship, Stephanie Cushing and Blake Murray joined Kiser on the all-tournament team.

Full NCAA pairings will be available at www.ncaasports.com.

Knoxville Regional

Friday

North Carolina vs. Winthrop, 2:30 p.m.

Tennessee vs. Furman, 5:00 p.m.