May 16, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 2004 UC Santa Barbara softball team had its best Big West Conference season ever, finishing in second-place with a 14-7 record. On Sunday, the Gauchos were rewarded with their first NCAA Tournament bid in the program's history.

UCSB will travel to Tucson, Arizona, to take part in NCAA Region I. The Gauchos will take on Northwestern University on Thursday, May 20. Santa Barbara is seeded sixth at Region I, the Wildcats are seeded third.

UCSB and Northwestern will be joined by top-seeded Arizona, second-seeded Oklahoma, fourth-seeded South Carolina, fifth-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette, sixth-seeded Temple and eighth-seeded Centenary.

The Gauchos enter the postseason with an overall record of 32-29. Since struggling at midseason, UCSB has had an outstanding run late. In the second-half of the season, Santa Barbara has posted wins over a number of nationally-ranked teams. The Gauchos swept a doubleheader from Fresno State, beat Stanford, beat Long Beach State, and took two-of-three from Big West foes and NCAA Tournament participants Cal State Northridge and Pacific.

UCSB is guided by third-year head coach Kristy Schroeder. Schroeder earned Big West Coach of the Year honors her first season, 2002, and she will probably repeat the honor this season as she has paced the Gauchos to their best finish ever.

In all, four Big West schools were selected to take part in the NCAA Softball Tournament. UCSB and Big West champion Long Beach State are joined by Cal State Northridge and Pacific.