Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 9:47 am

LOUISVILLE BOUND – OVC Tournament MVP Kara Harper (left) talks with Paij Lintz about UT Martin’s NCAA Tournament matchup with Arizona in the first round of the Louisville Regional.

The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team will make its NCAA postseason debut against eight-time national champion and No. 9 overall seed Arizona in the Louisville Regional. Also appearing in the Regional will be host Louisville of the Big East and Purdue of the Big 10.
“This is a great day for our program,” said Skyhawks head coach Donley Canary. “We are excited about the matchup with Arizona, coach Candrea and I have worked together at camps before so it will be exciting to play one of his teams.”
The Skyhawks went 38-22 overall and 13-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference while capturing their first-ever OVC championship in last week’s OVC Tournament.
The conference tournament win earned them the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field of 64. Joining the Skyhawks in the tournament will be OVC regular-season champion Jacksonville State, marking the first time that the league has gotten multiple bids into the tournament.
Speaking of the matchup with Arizona, Canary said that, “we know they are a very fast team that has a great pitching staff. We will have to hang with them early and if you can be in the game late you never know what can happen.