May 11, 2003

2003 NCAA Region VII bracket in PDF format
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The University of Notre Dame softball team (36-15), fresh off its BIG EAST Championship victory on Saturday, found out where it is going in the NCAA Championship on Sunday night. The Irish will head to a familiar destination, Ann Arbor, Mich., for the NCAA Region VII Tournament and a chance to advance to the Women's College World Series. Notre Dame will face Missouri (29-18) at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The start time was originally released by the NCAA as 9 a.m., but the Michigan host site has pushed all the previously released start times back one hour on Thursday.

Notre Dame will be making its fifth appearance in Ann Arbor for an NCAA regional, having played in a University of Michigan-hosted tournament in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000. The Irish are making their eighth overall NCAA Championship appearance and fifth in a row.

The other teams in Region VII are DePaul (46-5-1), Wright State (15-35), Michigan (40-14), Western Michigan (30-22), California (41-18) and Oakland (33-23).

Notre Dame's two game options after its initial match up are as follows, a win means the Irish will play at 12:30 a.m. on Friday. A loss and Notre Dame will meet the loser of the Wright State - DePaul game at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the tournament's first elimination contest.

The 2003 NCAA women's championship is the first to feature 64 teams. Notre Dame faced 11 of the teams in the field (Boston College, Cal State Northridge, Fresno State, Northwestern, South Florida, Nebraska, Hofstra, La.-Lafayette, DePaul, California and Alabama).

NCAA Region VII Tournament

Thursday, May 15

Notre Dame (36-15) vs. Missouri (29-18), 10 a.m.

DePaul (46-5-1) vs. Wright State (15-35), 12:30 a.m.

Michigan (40-14) vs. Western Michigan (30-22), 3 p.m.

California (41-18) vs. Oakland (33-23), 5:30 p.m.