CLEMSON, S.C. – Following an impressive postseason run in the ACC Championships and a spectacular regular season on the pitch, the Clemson Tigers (15-3-3) officially earned the No. 1 seed in the bottom left quadrant of the NCAA Tournament bracket, as announced during the selection show on Monday.
The Tigers are one of four teams to secure No. 1 seeds in the 64-team bracket, joining Florida State, BYU and UCLA who each earned the top seed in their portion of the bracket. This is Clemson’s highest seeding since the 2000 team earned the No. 3 overall seed in the previous bracket format, which included 48 teams.
“This is always one of the most exciting days of the season when it is the selection show and you’re in the tournament and you find out who you are going to play,” Head Coach Eddie Radwanski said. “It was just a bonus today to be rewarded as the number one seed, and honestly credit to the girls and the team because they are the ones that earned it. They put in the consistent work and effort the entire season. We finished on a great note, it was a very exciting championship final that we participated in. Obviously people liked what they saw and felt that our resume was warranted enough to earn one of the top seeds.”
This marks Clemson’s tenth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, all under Radwanski’s guidance, and the Tigers’ 24th overall appearance in the postseason.
“As fifth-years, this is why we are here and we want to prove ourselves and the only people who truly believe in us are in this room so I think it is a time to prove to other people that we deserve to be in one of the top spots,” Graduate Caroline Conti said.
The Tigers ended the regular season with an impressive 13-2-3 record as they finished third overall in the ACC. Securing their place in the ACC Championships, the Tigers garnered two more wins to send them to the ACC Championship Title Match for the first time since 2002. Following their ACC Championship run, the Tigers round out the season and enter the NCAA tournament with a 15-3-3 overall record.
“It feels great to be the one seed but I still think we need to go into the tournament with the mindset that we need to prove why we are there and I think that will give us a little bit of fire going into the tournament,” Graduate Hal Hershfelt said.
