LOWELL, MA (May 2, 2007) – The UMass Lowell softball team earned the No. 5 seed for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and will face No. 4 Bryant Friday (12:00) at host Le Moyne College.

Le Moyne, the NE-10 regular season champion, earned the No. 1 seed with a 23-4 record in the Conference (30-13 overall) while Southern New Hampshire (21-7, 24-10) was named the No. 2 seed. Both teams will bypass the first round.

Le Moyne will meet the winner between UML (19-9, 24-20) and Bryant (19-9, 23-14) Friday at 3:30. Southern New Hampshire will meet the winner between No. 3 Southern Connecticut (21-7, 32-13) and No. 6 Merrimack (17-11, 20-18).

The River Hawks enter the Tournament winner of eight of their last 10 games, the sole blemishes a 2-0 and 5-4 sweep at Le Moyne last Sunday.

“We’ve finished strong,” said UML head coach Harry Sauter, in his 13th year. “We’ve won eight of our last 10 and the games we did lose we played very well. I think we’re on a roll.”

Bryant won the regular season meetings over the River Hawks, 1-0 and 6-2 in Lowell on Apr. 19. Since, the Bulldogs have gone 6-6 and are fresh off a 13-0, 2-1 sweep of Bentley which halted a three-game losing skein.

“I think we match up well (with Bryant),” Sauter added. “It’s usually a one or two run game between us. They hit very well, they’re very spirited and they’re always up for it. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Despite its late-season surge, UML is currently ranked No. 10 in the latest NCAA Northeast Region poll and will likely need to advance to the final or even win the Tournament.

Last year, Bryant battled from a game down to stun the River Hawks, 6-3 and 6-5, in the NE-10 Championship.

In Friday’s clash, senior P Kristen Mahoney (Burlington, MA) will likely get the starting nod. Mahoney is enjoying another stellar year, having posted a 13-8 record with a 1.54 ERA and 159 strikeouts over 150 innings.

Offensively, UML will be counting on senior CF Vikki Guido (Winchester, MA), who leads UML with a .355 average and an NE-10-best 55 hits (54 singles). Additionally, junior LF Jachael Guanci (Everett, MA) and junior RF Laurie Tanguay (Lowell, MA) have also been consistent hitters and have combined for 12 home runs.

Guanci brings a .316 average with 32 RBI and six home runs while Tanguay is currently hitting .311 with 27 RBI and six home runs.

Tournament Schedule
Friday, May 4				Results
Game 1:	#4 Bryant vs. #5 UMass Lowell	noon	Site A	UML Win: 8-4
Game 2:	#3 Southern CT vs. #6 Merrimack	noon	Site B	MER Win: 4-2
Game 3:	#5 UMass Lowell vs. #1 LeMoyne	3:30 pm	Site A	UML Win: 4-2
Game 4:	Merrimack vs. #2 Southern NH	3:30 pm	Site B	MER Win: 7-4
Saturday, May 5
Game 5:	So. CT vs. LeMoyne	noon	Site A	LEM Win: 2-1
Game 6:	Bryant vs. So. NH	noon	Site B	BRY Win: 6-1
Game 7:	UMass Lowell vs. Merrimack	3:30 pm	Site A	UML Win: 5-2
Game 8:	LeMoyne vs. Bryant	3:30 pm	Site B	LEM Win: 2-0
Sunday, May 6
Game 9:	Merrimack vs. LeMoyne	10:00 am	Site A
Game 10:	UMass Lowell vs. Game 9 Winner	noon	Site A
Game 11:	If nessary	3:00 pm	Site A