Warhawks earn No. 1 seed

By GAZETTE STAFF Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Despite falling short in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament, UW-Whitewater’s softball team has a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Division III postseason.

Whitewater plays in a regional hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, beginning Thursday. The Warhawks (36-5) open with a 4 p.m. game against the loser between fourth-seeded Coe College (34-10) and fifth-seeded defending national champion UW-Eau Claire (27-14).

Coe and Eau Claire play at 10 a.m., followed by No. 3 Alma (27-11) vs. No. 6 Concordia, Wis. (24-21) at noon, and No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan (34-14) vs. No. 7 St. Norbert (17-17) at 2 p.m.

Weather permitting, the double-elimination regional will continue with four games Friday, three Saturday and one or two on Sunday.

Whitewater and Eau Claire are joined in the NCAA tournament by WIAC rival UW-La Crosse (34-10), which won the conference tournament over UW-Superior and earned an automatic postseason berth. The Eagles play in a regional hosted by Simpson College at Indianola, Iowa, where they’ll face Wartburg (38-6) at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The eight regional winners advance to the May 15-19 final eight at Montclair, N.J., to determine the national champion. Whitewater was the national runner-up to Eau Claire last year.

Whitewater repeated as the WIAC’s regular-season champion this season with a 16-0 record. The Warhawks went 2-2 in the conference tournament—losing to Superior, defeating Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh, then losing 5-2 to UW-River Falls.

This is Whitewater’s WIAC-high 14th NCAA appearance. Eau Claire, which also finished third in 2007, is making its fourth straight appearance and eighth overall. La Crosse has qualified for only the second time, and first since 1986.

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