Miami Gains Bid To NCAA Regional
May 28, 2002
By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
AP Sports Writer
Florida State hopes to parlay its No. 1 seeding into its first College WorldSeries title.
“We know what it takes to get to Omaha, and hopefully we can continue toplay well to get back there,” coach Mike Martin said Monday.
This is the first time Florida State has been seeded first in the Division Ibaseball tournament.
The Seminoles (56-21) are in the regionals for the 25th straight year and40th overall. They were runners-up in 1970, ’86 and ’99.
They are on a 22-game winning streak, tying a school record, and open thedouble-elimination first round Friday against Stetson.
“Our guys have taken advantage of every opportunity they’ve had the pastfive or six weeks,” said Martin, who has led Florida State to 50 or more wins20 times.
The other seeded teams in the 64-team field are: Clemson (47-14), Alabama(48-13), Rice (47-11), Texas (48-14), South Carolina (48-14), Wake Forest(44-11-1) and Stanford (40-16).
In addition to the top eight seeded teams, regional hosts include ArizonaState, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Southern Californiaand Wichita State.
Also in the tournament is defending-champion Miami (30-26), which overcame amediocre season to extend its NCAA record with its 30th straight regionalappearance.
“I knew we were on the bubble, and I didn’t know whether we’d get in,”coach Jim Morris said. “The fact is, we got in and I don’t know exactly howthat happened. But we got in and we’re excited to be there.”
The Hurricanes, whose record hovered around .500 all season, played one ofthe toughest schedules in the country and won their last five games.
“The main factor was that 34 of their games were played against top-50opponents,” said Wally Groff, chairman of the Division I baseball committee.
The 10-member committee, focusing on safety and travel concerns, selectedthe 16 regional sites by secret ballot after all 64 teams were selected. Teamswere grouped primarily on geographic proximity. Previously, regional sites weredetermined a week before the field was announced.
“I don’t believe it’s a permanent situation,” said Groff, the athleticdirector at Texas A&M. “It was because of 9-11, and I’m sure our championshipcabinet will review this before next year.”
There were 35 teams that made bids to play host to regionals, but none fromthe Northeast. As a result, most of the Northeast teams will make long trips:Maine at Los Angeles, Marist at Lincoln, Neb., and Central Connecticut State atAustin, Texas.
The Southeastern Conference, with Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida,Georgia, LSU and South Carolina led all conferences with seven teams aftersending a record-eight last year. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 andConference USA had five each.
Tennessee (27-28) was the only College World Series team from last year notamong this year’s 64 teams – 40 of which were in the 2001 tournament. CentralConnecticut State, Elon, Louisville, New Mexico State and San Diego are makingtheir first tournament appearances.
Groff said Mississippi (37-19), Mississippi State (33-22-1) and OklahomaState (37-21) were among the last cuts.
Harvard (20-24) and Navy (22-23) won conference titles to receive automaticbids despite losing records.
The winners of each four-team regional will advance to the super regionalsat eight sites to be determined. The eight winners of the super regionals,which begin June 7, will play in the College World Series, which starts June 14at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
