VILLANOVA, Pa.—One day after winning the first BIG EAST title in program history, Villanova learned its postseason destination on Sunday night when the field of 64 teams for the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Championship was announced live on ESPN2. Villanova (36-13) will play it first-ever NCAA Tournament game against Ole Miss (34-20) on Friday, May 21 at 6 p.m. Eastern time on ESPNU as part of the Tucson, Ariz. regional. The other teams at the site are national #11 seed Arizona (36-13) and UMBC (25-11).
 
Competition at each of the 16 regional sites on the first weekend of the tournament is double elimination with nearly the same schedule structure as the Wildcats advanced through at the BIG EAST Championship this past weekend. The winners and losers of Friday's games will face each other on Saturday during the second of three days of regional play, with game times and TV information to be announced as the tournament progresses.
 
Villanova heads into its first NCAA Tournament with a 36-13 record, a .735 winning percentage and 36 wins in its last 43 games. The Wildcats rallied from a loss in their opening game at the BIG EAST Championship to reel off four consecutive victories and claim the program's first conference title. Villanova became only the fifth team in BIG EAST history and first since 2002 to win the championship after losing its first game.
 
There is plenty of star power throughout the Wildcats roster, beginning with senior pitcher/utility Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) who is one of the nation's top performers both at the plate and in the circle. She became the first person to be named both the BIG EAST Player of the Year and the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in the same season, and this past weekend was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Championship.
 
Rauch was a first team All-BIG EAST selection along with junior catcher Ryan Henry (Ramsey, N.J.) when postseason awards were announced last week. Senior second baseman Angela Giampolo (East Windsor, N.J.), sophomore catcher Ally Jones (Brielle, N.J.) and junior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) were all second team all-conference honorees. Giampolo, Kern and senior first baseman Julia DaCosta (North Attleboro, Mass.) were selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team along with Rauch.
 
Villanova has faced Ole Miss on two previous occasions, both in 2013 during the UCF Spring Fling in Orlando, Fla.. The Rebels won those games by scores of 7-0 and 2-0. Of the other two teams at the Tucson regional, the Wildcats have never faced host Arizona but have an all-time record of 3-2 against UMBC which includes the teams splitting a doubleheader in Baltimore earlier this season.