Gulf South Conference West Division champion Arkansas Tech was not among the 64 institutions that heard their names called on Monday morning when the 2011 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament bracket was announced.
Eight softball teams from the NCAA Division II South Region received invitations to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas Tech was ranked No. 6 in the final regular season NCAA Division II South Region rankings and had been hopeful of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but those hopes were undone because of events at the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
The Golden Suns went 1-2 in that event. Meanwhile, regionally seventh-ranked West Alabama and regionally eighth-ranked Arkansas-Monticello were both able to leap frog Arkansas Tech and earn the final two at-large berths in the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament from the South Region.
West Alabama advanced to the GSC Tournament semifinals by defeating Arkansas Tech 7-4 on Saturday in an elimination game at the GSC Tournament. With the win, the Tigers improved to 2-0 against the Golden Suns this season.
Arkansas-Monticello, which was 0-4 against Arkansas Tech in 2011, made it all the way to the GSC Tournament championship round before falling to Valdosta State.
Click here to view the selections for the 2011 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament.
Head coach Gidget Pambianchi and the Golden Suns finished their 2011 season with an overall record of 34-19. Arkansas Tech won the GSC West softball title and advanced to the GSC Tournament for the third time in the last four years.
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