May 16, 2004

Santa Barbara, Calif. - The 2004 UC Santa Barbara softball team (32-29) continues to make its mark in the UCSB record books when it received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, marking the Gauchos' first ever postseason appearance. Santa Barbara, who earned a second place finish in the Big West with a 14-7 conference record, was awarded the No. 6 seed at the Tucson Regional hosted by the University of Arizona and will face No. 3 seed Northwestern on Thursday, May 20th. Joining the Gauchos and the two Wildcats in Tucson are No. 2 seed Oklahoma, No. 4 seed South Carolina, No. 5 seed Louisianna-Lafayette, No. 7 seed Temple, and No. 8 seed Centenary.

When UCSB head coach Kristy Schroeder took over the Gaucho softball program she said that in three years she wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament, and when the 64-team field was announced today by the NCAA, Schroeder's commitment to that goal came to fruition. "I knew that if we finished in the top three in the Big West that we would have a good shot at making the tournament, and I knew that this team was very capable of achieving that goal," said Schroeder. "We struggled at the start of the season, but when we found our chemistry we came together at the end of the season when it really mattered [entering the conference season]. I am so proud of this team and I truly believe that we are capable of upsetting any team out there, there is no team that I think we cannot beat."

The UCSB softball program has existed for 32 seasons and it will be making its first ever postseason appearance. It will be joining fellow Big West members Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge, and Pacific in this year's tourney, marking the second straight year that four conference members were awarded bids.