Nov. 5, 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.--The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles received the No.2 seed in the NCAA Division II Women's Southeast Regional officials announced Monday afternoon.

Carson-Newman (14-5) will play its first match on Sunday, November 11th in Columbus, Ga.

The Lady Eagles received a first-round bye, and will face the winner of No.3 Columbus State (17-3-1) and No.6 Queens (North Carolina) (7-10-4).

"We're thrilled to get this opportunity," Carson-Newman Head Coach Philip McNamara said. "We didn't finish as strongly as we would have liked, but its' obvious our schedule put us in position to make the tournament."

The Lady Eagles are making their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. C-N's best finish was third in 2005.

"I'm delighted for this team," McNamara said. "These seniors are making their fourth-straight appearance, and that speaks volumes for what they've meant to our program. As for our freshmen, they've already had more success (by reaching the second round) than the senior class that we just graduated."

The other side of the regional bracket will be played in Savannah, Georgia. Armstrong-Atlantic State will host Lincoln Memorial in a Friday match, with the winner to face top-seeded Tusculum on Sunday.

Carson-Newman faced every team in the regional in 2007. The Lady Eagles beat Queens, Tusculum, LMU, and Columbus State during the regular season, while dropping a 3-1 decision to Armstrong-Atlantic State in September.

Tusculum beat Carson-Newman last week in the first round of the South Atlantic Conference tournament, despite being outshot by the Lady Eagles 30-6.

"I think we're the only team to have faced each team in the regional tournament," McNamara said. "We went 4-1 against this field in the regular season, and thankfully the NCAA has rewarded our strength of schedule with a No.2 seed."

Sunday's match against the Columbus State/Queens winner will begin at 1 p.m.