May 15, 2005

LAS VEGAS - UNLV (43-17) learned its fate on Sunday afternoon when ESPNEWS announced the 64-teams chosen for the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The Rebels will travel west for a Friday matchup at noon against Cal State Fullerton at Easton Stadium on the campus of the No. 7 seed UCLA Bruins. Loyola Marymount rounds out the foursome and drew UCLA in their first game. The winner of the double-elimination regional will advance to a three-game Super Regional next weekend. This is the first season that a Super Regional has been put in play, similar to that of the NCAA baseball tournament.

The at-large bid gives UNLV its eighth postseason berth in the softball program's history. In a seven-year span ranging from 1990-1996, the Rebels amassed a 16-16 record in the NCAA Tournament. In 1990, `91 and `95, UNLV ended its season at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. In the World Series, UNLV is 3-6. The best run through the postseason came in 1995, when UNLV finished the postseason with a 5-3 mark.

Currently, the 2005 Rebels hold the third-best winning record in the program's history. The 43-wins trail only the 1991 and `95 seasons, in which, both teams won 49 games en route to finishes in Oklahoma City. This season was a first for UNLV, in that they won 17-Mountain West Conference games and finished in second-place in the regular season and in the conference tournament. The 17-wins are a team-high in MWC play.

The matchup with Cal State Fullerton will be the second meeting between the Titans and Rebels this season. The teams closed out the Palm Springs Classic held in Palm Springs, Calif., on February 27th. At the time, the Titans were ranked 25th in the country according to the ESPN/USA Softball rankings. UNLV lost the game 5-1, and held a 10-8 record after the loss. Following the loss to Fullerton, UNLV reeled off 33 wins to nine losses. In the softball program's history, CSUF holds a 36-20 overall edge in the series.

No. 7 seed UCLA finished the regular season with a 30-16 overall record and ranked 12th in the country in both major softball polls, the USA Today/NFCA and the ESPN poll. The Bruins closed out their Pac-10 season in fifth-place with an 11-10 mark. Against the Bruins, UNLV has won one contest out of 19 meetings. The Rebels' lone win came in the 1994 NCAA Regionals in Columbia, S.C. UNLV defeated UCLA 1-0 in game three, before dropping two straight to the Bruins to be eliminated. The last time the schools faced each other was in the 2001 season.

Loyola Maryount enters the tournament with a 34-18 overall record and won the Pacific Coast Softball Conference's automatic bid with a first-place 16-4 finish. The Lions and Rebels have faced each other six times in the past, with UNLV holding a 5-1 advantge. The last time the two teams played each other was back in 1999.

Region 7 Game TimesFriday, May 20Game 1   Noon     - #2 UNLV vs. #3 Cal State FullertonGame 2   2:30 pm  - #1 UCLA vs. #4 Loyola Marymount
Saturday, May 21Game 3   10 am    - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2Game 4   12:30 pm - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2Game 5   3 pm     - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Sunday, May 22Game 6   Noon     - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5Game 7   2:30 pm  - If Necessary, if Game 5 winner, wins Game 6