May 17, 2003
LAS VEGAS -
2003 MWC Championship Bracket in PDF Format
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The pairings were announced today for the 2003 Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship, which will be held May 21-24 at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, N.M.
UNLV enters the championship as the No. 1 seed after three straight years as the No. 5 seed. The Rebels, currently ranked No. 15 in the latest Baseball America poll, take on No. 6 seed Air Force at 11 a.m. (MDT), Wednesday, May 21. UNLV leads the all-time series 43-13, including a 6-0 mark this year, but lost its only prior meeting vs. Air Force in MWC Tournament play (13-11, May 18, 2000).
San Diego State and BYU tied for second in the conference standings, but the Aztecs earned the No. 2 seed after winning the tie break vs. BYU (SDSU was 2-4 vs. UNLV, while BYU was 1-5 vs. UNLV). SDSU will take on No. 5 Utah in the 3 p.m. (MDT) game on Wednesday, marking the seventh meeting between the teams this year with the Aztecs holding a 4-2 advantage. SDSU leads the all-time series 72-16, including a 5-4 victory in the only MWC Tournament meeting between the teams (May 18, 2001).
No. 4 seed New Mexico, host for this year's championship with the Albuquerque Convention and Visitor's Bureau, will battle No. 3 seed BYU at 7 p.m. (MDT) Wednesday. The teams split six prior meetings this season as each won two-of-three at home. BYU leads the all-time series 60-35 with one tie. The Cougars are 2-0 vs. the Lobos in MWC Tournaments.
Second-round MWC Championship games on Thursday, May 22 will be televised by College Sports Television (CSTV), with the 11 a.m. (MDT) contest on tape delay and the 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (MDT) games airing live. A recap of that day's 11 a.m. game, with highlights, will air on CSTV from 2:30-3 p.m. (MDT). CSTV is currently available to a national audience via DirecTV on channel 610.
In addition to television coverage, Creative Sports Radio Network will broadcast the championship on May 24 to 21 markets nationwide. The MWC website (www.TheMWC.com) will also provide livestats to all MWC Tournament games.
The winner of the 2003 MWC Championship will earn an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, May 26 at 11:30 a.m. (CDT) on ESPN2.
