On Mother's Day, the University of Hawai'i softball team pulled off the mother of all upsets, receiving a berth in the 64-team NCAA Regionals yesterday.

"I thought it was a done deal — that we were done," said UH coach Bob Coolen, who was convinced the Rainbow Wahine's season ended with Friday's 2-1 loss to Nevada in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. "I'm surprised. I thought we were dead."

Instead, the Rainbows are off to the Arizona State-hosted Regional in Tempe. They open against Mississippi State Friday in the double-elimination tournament.

For the Rainbows to earn an improbable bid, four of the seven WAC teams needed to be invited and the NCAA had to reverse a long history of scorning UH women's teams.

"In our house," said Nanci Coolen, the head coach's wife, "NCAA stands for 'Not Chosen As Always.' "

But it was Nanci Coolen who had the deepest faith. A skilled Internet surfer, she knew the Rainbows were ranked No. 39 in a widely used power-ratings index, and that the margin was one run in each of their last six losses.

"Call it mother's intuition," she said, laughing. "I'm the only one in the house who believed. I mean, come on, are you kidding me? They had a great season and played a great WAC tournament."

But Bob Coolen had been conned too often by bait-and-switch hopefulness.

The Rainbows finished third in the WAC's regular season. Louisiana Tech, the No. 4 seed, defeated Nevada to win the WAC tournament and accompanying automatic NCAA Regional berth.

If the NCAA invited three WAC teams — a big if — then surely regular-season champion Nevada and second-place Fresno State would fill the dance card.

What's more, the Rainbows were reduced to a one-starting-pitcher team. With Courtney Baughman out for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury, Kate Robinson remained as the only true starting pitcher. She started UH's four games in the WAC tournament.

But Nanci noted that many of the nation's top teams had only one reliable starter.

She urged her husband to go to East Side Grill, where the team was to gather to watch the telecast of the NCAA selection show.

Coolen, who had been in a funk since Friday's loss, wanted to stay home. He already was planning the exit interviews for his players.

After Friday's loss, Coolen recalled, "I went home, sat down and commiserated with myself. I left my family at the field. I went home and sat there for an hour by myself, just rehashing the whole season — what could have been, what might have been, what if this happened."

Nanci told her husband: "You're going to go down to East Side Grill and do your job. You're not going to stay home. You're going to go down there and cry with them or go down there and celebrate with them. You'll regret it if you're not there."

Coolen went to the University Avenue restaurant to join his players.

There was an uneasy moment when the Louisiana Tech team entered the restaurant. The Rainbows offered their congratulations.

As the show went on, Coolen's mood turned mournful.

"When they shipped Long Beach State (of the Big West) to somewhere in the Midwest, that right there, I was like, 'I don't know who they're covering on the West Coast,' " Coolen recalled.

Coolen was fixated on an upper bracket on the television screen when a thunderous roar resonated in the restaurant. UH had been invited as the fourth WAC team.

"That's amazing," Coolen said. "Four teams out of the WAC. I had no idea. There are a lot of people to thank. The seniors gained a lot of respect. Kate Robinson's name alone has given us a lot of respect. I think the WAC stepped it up this year. That showed with our No. 8 conference (rating). A lot of teams stepped up. Four teams out of the WAC is unprecedented."

And then Coolen thanked the one who believed the most.

"She knew," Coolen said of his wife. "She was high-fiving and going crazy. This is exciting for her."

Nanci said: "This was a great Mother's Day. It was the icing on the cake for a perfect day. I'm so happy for the players. They worked so hard."

Indeed, the Rainbows had to overcome the loss of two of last year's leaders — Tyleen Tausaga and Alana Power — both of whom completed their eligibility.

Then during a recruiting trip to Australia in January, Coolen visited Justine Smethurst, the Rainbows' ace pitcher in 2006 and 2007. It was then, a month before the start of the season, Smethurst said she would remain in Australia for the semester to play for her country's national team.

"Losing that pitcher to the Australian team, and then losing a second pitcher recently, they never gave up," athletic director Jim Donovan said. "They're fighters. It's great to see their hard work paid off. We're all proud of them."

NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

Gainesville Regional - May 16-18 at Gainesville, Fla.

*No. 1 seed Florida (62-2) vs. Georgia Tech (31-29)

Central Florida (46-18) vs. South Florida (44-18)

Fresno Regional - May 16-18 at Fresno, Calif.

San Diego State (43-15) vs. California (40-24)

Sacramento State (32-19) vs. *No. 16 seed Fresno St. (51-11)

Baton Rouge Regional - May 16-18 at Baton Rouge, La.

*No. 9 seed LSU (42-16) vs. Mississippi Valley St. (28-26)

East Carolina (36-28) vs. La.-Lafayette (46-12)

Houston Regional - May 16-18 at Houston

Washington (28-23-1) vs. Texas (28-21-2)

Delaware State (29-23) vs. *No. 8 seed Houston (50-9)

College Station Regional - May 16-18 at College Station, Texas

*No. 5 seed Texas A&M (49-7) vs. Stephen F. Austin (36-23)

Louisiana Tech (35-27) vs. Auburn (37-20)

Amherst Regional - May 16-18 at Amherst, Mass.

* Massachusetts (36-11) vs. Princeton (25-22)

Lehigh (38-15-1) vs. No. 12 seed Stanford (46-12)

Knoxville Regional - May 16-18 at Knoxville, Tenn.

*No. 13 seed Tennessee (47-14) vs. Winthrop (36-17)

Louisville (30-21) vs. Virginia Tech (44-15)

Ann Arbor Regional - May 16-18 at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Notre Dame (37-20-1) vs. Kent State (44-10)

Wright State (33-24) vs. *No. 4 seed Michigan (48-6)

Tuscaloosa Regional - May 15-17 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

*No. 3 seed Alabama (51-6) vs. Chattanooga (41-20)

Jacksonville St. (38-14) vs. Florida St. (37-26)

Iowa City Regional - May 16-18 at Iowa City, Iowa

Missouri (44-15) vs. *Iowa (40-18)

Creighton (43-15) vs. No. 14 seed Long Beach St. (39-15)

Evanston Regional - May 16-18 at Evanston, Ill.

*No. 11 seed Northwestern (37-13) vs. Western Illinois (14-31)

Drake (29-24) vs. DePaul (48-16)

Tempe Regional - May 16-18 at Tempe, Ariz.

Mississippi St. (40-20) vs. HAWAI'I (38-18)

Stony Brook (33-21-1) vs. *No. 6 seed Arizona St. (56-5)

Hempstead Regional - May 16-18 at Hempstead, N.Y.

No. 7 seed Arizona (36-16) vs. Canisius (38-12)

Long Island (34-15) vs. *Hofstra (43-11)

Norman Regional - May 16-18 at Norman, Okla.

Arkansas (36-27) vs. Tulsa (34-23)

Oregon (33-27) vs. *No. 10 seed Oklahoma (43-12)

Chapel Hill Regional - May 15-17 at Chapel Hill, N.C.

No. 15 seed Georgia (43-22) vs. Campbell (41-23)

Brigham Young (42-18) vs. *North Carolina (50-10-1)

Los Angeles Regional - May 16-18 at Los Angeles

Nevada (42-16) vs. Purdue (34-21)

Cal St. Fullerton (27-26-1) vs. *No. 2 seed UCLA (45-7)

* Hosting institution.