The Georgia softball team earned the No. 3 seed in the Southeastern Conference tournament hosted by the University of Tennessee at Sherri Parker Lee Softball Stadium in Knoxville.

The Bulldogs (39-9, 18-7 SEC) are set to take on the sixth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats as the tournament kicks off Thursday.

“We are really looking forward to going up there for the tournament, and then preparing for the [NCAA] regionals after that,” Georgia head coach Lu Harris-Champer said in a SEC media teleconference on Monday.

Georgia has an all-time record of 12-13 in the SEC Tournament, and has not won a game in the tourney since 2006. Georgia has never captured a tournament title, despite winning the conference regular season championships in 2003 and 2005. Last season, the Bulldogs fell 5-2 to Tennessee in the first round.

The host Volunteers’ brand new Sherri Parker Lee Softball Stadium is a state-of-the-art complex built in 2008 that many of the coaches around the league are extremely impressed with.

“Our stadium is a beautiful stadium that is extremely fan-friendly and sits around 1600 people – we are very excited to invite the rest of the SEC up here,” said Ralph Weekly, co-head coach of the fifth-seeded Volunteers.

Each of the eight participating team’s coaches were very upbeat about the upcoming single-elimination competition, citing how each team has a fair shot of taking home the title. Even the regular season SEC champion and No. 1 seed Florida Gators are not taking anyone lightly in the three-day event.

“[Our team is] excited about being the 2009 SEC champs as this is one of the toughest years I can ever remember in the SEC,” said Florida head coach Tim Walton. “This tournament this year is any team’s to win and nothing will surprise me.”

2009 Tournament Bracket
Thursday, May 7
Game 1: #3 Georgia vs. #6 Kentucky 11:00 am
Game 2: #2 Alabama vs. #7 Arkansas 1:30 pm
Game 3: #1 Florida vs. #8 Auburn 5:00 pm
Game 4: #4 LSU vs. #5 Tennessee 7:30 pm

Friday, May 8 (Semifinals)
Game 5: 5:00 pm
Game 6: 7:30 pm

Saturday, May 9
Championship Game: 1:30 pm