OFFICIAL NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET

EVANSTON, Ill. – Following a furious rally over the final 20 games of the regular season, Northwestern has been rewarded with one of 32 at-large bids into the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats will travel to the Athens Regional hosted by No. 16 overall seed Georgia and face Oklahoma State in the opening round at noon CT Friday, May 20. America East automatic qualifier Maine rounds out the Regional field, beginning competition against the Bulldogs. The Regional will be televised by ESPN3.

The winner of the Athens Region will move on to play the winner of the Gainesville Regional hosted by two-time defending national champion and No. 1 overall seed Florida.

#DANCE!! #B1GCats are headed to Athens for the #D1softball #RoadToWCWS! pic.twitter.com/LANPQD6i4y
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) May 16, 2016

Northwestern is making its 16th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 11th in the 15-year Drohan era. NU has advanced to the NCAA Regional final six times under the Drohans, winning its Region four times and making two trips to the Women's College World Series. NU has a 29-23 record in NCAA play in that span.

The Wildcats finished the 2016 regular season with a 15-5 record over their final 20 games, clawing all the way back from 10 games under .500 to reach postseason eligibility. Northwestern's trademark strength of schedule again ranked among the toughest in the country, with NU putting up signature wins against a couple of seeded teams: No. 2 Michigan and No. 12 UCLA.

In Big Ten play, the Wildcats surged to a third-place finish and earned a bye through to the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. There, NU defeated Ohio State to move on to the semifinals for the second-straight year, where they fell to eventual champion Minnesota.

Northwestern's at-large bid with an even-.500 record has precedent: In 2012, the Wildcats concluded the year with wins in eight of their last nine games to finish 27-27, and picked up a No. 4 seed at the Austin Regional. There, Northwestern defeated No. 6 overall seed Texas in the opening round before eventually advancing to the Regional title round.

Northwestern's complete game notes package and NCAA Tournament preview will be released later this week.

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Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

Strong Finish Earns Wildcats an NCAA Tournament At-Large Bid

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