GLASSBORO, N.J. – Second-seeded William Paterson (32-7, 13-5 NJAC) was declared the winner of the 2009 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Softball Tournament after rain washed out the finals series between the Pioneers and sixth-seeded Montclair State (25-16, 9-9 NJAC) on Sunday, May 3, at Rowan University. William Paterson receives the conference's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament, and will find out its regional destination when the tourney field is announced on Monday, May 4, at approximately 11:00 a.m. via a live broadcast on www.ncaa.com. Instructions to make sure your system is equipped to view the show are located at http://www.cstv.com/ot/sl2_faq.html#system.

No. 22 William Paterson was a perfect 3-0 during the double-elimination NJAC Tournament, defeating fifth-seeded Kean 3-0 on April 28, third-seeded The College of New Jersey 14-6 in five innings on May 1, and top-seeded Rowan 7-6 on May 2. The Red Hawks were 2-1 in tourney play, losing the opener at Rowan (3-0, April 28) before defeating Kean (6-0, May 1) and fourth-seeded Ramapo (2-0, May 2). The Red Hawks would have had to defeat the Pioneers twice on May 3 in order to take home the trophy.

The Pioneers won their fourth NJAC Tournament title (1999, 2001, 2005, 2009), and will make their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009). During both the 2001 and 2005 seasons, William Paterson won the NCAA Tournament East Regional titles to advance to the NCAA Division III Championship Finals.

Eight pre-determined sites will host NCAA Regionals May 7-10 or May 7-11, and the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Finals will be conducted May 15-19 at the Montclair State University Softball Stadium in Montclair, N.J.