No. 1 UF softball opens NCAAs at home

Was there ever a doubt?

Florida was awarded the No. 1 national seed for the NCAA softball tournament, the NCAA announced late Sunday night. It is the first No. 1 seed in program history and gives the Gators the chance to stay at home, where they are 34-0 this season, all the way until the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Florida will host an NCAA Regional, beginning Friday, and would also host a Super Regional for the first time in school history should it advance. The Gators (62-2) will meet Georgia Tech (31-29) on Friday while Central Florida (46-18) faces South Florida (44-18) in the regional's other game.

The winner of the Gainesville Regional will play the winner of the Fresno Regional in a Super Regional. Sixteenth-seeded Fresno State (51-11) is hosting the Fresno Regional.

Florida ended the season with a remarkable resume that included the nation's No. 1 ranking and No. 1 RPI, the nation's best record and a 35-game winning streak that included Saturday's win over No. 3 Alabama in the SEC Tournament championship game.

This will be Florida's sixth straight NCAA appearance and ninth in the program's 12-year history.

The Gators have already faced USF this season. The Gators won 5-1 over the Bulls in Tampa on Feb. 10.

Florida is one of eight SEC teams to make the tournament, the most of any conference in the nation. Four SEC teams are top 16 seeded teams, including No. 3 Alabama, No. 9 LSU, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 15 Georgia.

Alabama, LSU and Tennessee are also hosting regionals. Additional SEC teams making the field of 64 are Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia and Mississippi State.