Lake Forest College Sports Information
May 5, 2002
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Lake Forest Seeded First In Regional Tourney
Foresters will play at Illinois Wesleyan
  

 43 teams will compete in the NCAA Div. III Tournament.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The NCAA Softball Tournament selection committee announced its 43-team field Sunday (May 5th), its eight regional sites, and its seedings at each site. Lake Forest, who qualified for the tourney with its first Midwest Conference Championship since 1988, was listed as the top seed in the Great Lakes Region. The Foresters are 26-10 this season and ranked tied-for-11th in the country in the latest USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll (May 1st).

Seeded second in the region is Benedictine University (27-14), who Lake Forest swept in a doubleheader at home on April 25th. The number three seed is host Illinois Wesleyan University (31-9). Webster University (27-5) is seeded fourth, Eureka College (21-13) fifth, and Washington University (23-17) sixth.

Benedictine and Eureka of the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference and Washington University of the University Athletic Association were three of eight schools in the national field whose conference did not qualify for an automatic bid. Wesleyan won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship and Webster won the title in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 

On Friday (May 10th), day one of the double-elimination regional tournament, Webster will take on Eureka in the opening round and the winner will advance to play Lake Forest. The other half of the bracket has Wesleyan and Washington University playing each other and Benedictine taking on the winner. Play will continue Saturday through Monday (May 11-13th) until all but one team has lost twice.

The tournament champion will join the other seven regional winners in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for the NCAA Division III National Tournament, which is scheduled for May 16-20th.

Bracket