JAMESTOWN, N.Y. - West Chester University will take on Winston-Salem State University on Monday afternoon in the Atlantic Region championship. Winston-Salem State eliminated both Shippensburg and Mercyhurst Sunday to reach the championship game.
West Chester (39-11) will have to win one game before Winston-Salem State (39-18) wins twice to claim the regional title. The winner of the Atlantic Region advances to the 2017 NCAA Division II national finals in Grand Prairie, Texas, which get under way next Saturday, May 27.
West Chester, the second seed entering the tournament, defeated Winston-Salem State, 5-4, on the first day of the Atlantic Regional last Thursday afternoon. Since then, the Golden Rams have defeated Shepherd and Mercyhurst to emerge as the winner's bracket champion. Meanwhile, Winston-Salem State has shown impressive resiliency in winning four straight games to come out of the loser's bracket and reach the championship, after falling in the first game of the double-elimination tournament.
West Chester finds itself in its eighth regional final overall, and first since 2012, when the Golden Rams won the Atlantic Regional en route to the program's first national championship. West Chester is 3-4 in regional finals overall and 3-1 when it enters the finals needing just one win to advance to the national finals. Kutztown swept a doubleheader from West Chester in the finals in 2010 to account for the only time that the Golden Rams failed to get a win on the final day.
As a 7-seed in the region, Winston-Salem State represents the lowest remaining seed in any of the eight regions. Central Oklahoma, in the Central Region, is also a 7-seed, which will be playing for a region title on Monday. However, they too must win two games to get to Grand Prairie, Texas.
