Maryland Softball Opens Season At Alabama's Crimson Classic

Feb. 17, 2005

2005 Season Preview

MARYLAND (0-0, 0-0 ACC) at the CRIMSON CLASSIC
Feb. 18-20, 2005
University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Tournament Schedule

The University of Maryland softball team travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to open its season at the Crimson Classic on Friday. The Terps open the tournament against Missouri, followed by matchups with No. 6/8 Alabama and Penn State. Following the four-team round robin format, bracket play will begin Saturday and the tournament champion will be crowned following Sunday's consolation and championship games. Live stats are available at www.umterps.com and the Terrapins' 2:30 p.m. game with Alabama on Friday (and any game the Terps may play vs. the Crimson Tide over the weekend) can be heard live through www.rolltide.com.

NOTING THE TERRAPINS

Maryland opens its 11th season of softball Friday, having compiled a 310-242-1 record over the last decade. Head coach Gina LaMandre has been at the helm of the Terps since their inaugural season in 1995 and earned a share of the ACC Championship in 1997. LaMandre was the ACC and NFCA Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year in 1999 after leading the Terps to 51 victories and the school's first NCAA appearance.

Maryland returns 11 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's 33-27 squad that finished fourth at the conference tournament and earned the program's 300th overall victory.

Returning for their final seasons are seniors Jessica Aditays, Nneka Cardoza, Lauren Pollock, Crystal Rizzuto and Crystal Tweedy. As a class, the players have amassed more than 90 victories and will provide a solid core of leadership to the 2005 Terrapins. Aditays will be called upon to take charge of the Terps' pitching rotation while Cardoza and Rizzuto anchor the left side of the infield at shortstop and third base, respectively. Pollock and Tweedy return in the outfield with speed and offensive firepower.

Also back for the Terps in the infield are sophomore standouts Keri Lounge and Lindsay Klein. Lounge was an All-ACC and ACC All-Tournament selection in her first season at second base and led the team in hits (57), doubles (15) and slugging percentage (.514). Klein, meanwhile, started every game at first base last season and finished the year with a team-high tying six home runs and 36 RBI.

FRESH FACES

LaMandre's squad welcomes seven new faces in 2005. Freshmen Jenny Belak, Meghan Booth, Medley McGuire and Whitney Reigel are the Terps' class of 2008, while sophomore Abbey Welch joins the program from Longwood University and juniors Nikki Smith and Crystal Crews come to College Park from Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Fla.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri enters the weekend with a 4-0 record after winning the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., last weekend. The Tigers earned two victories over both Nicholls State (6-0 and 11-1) and host No. 10 Florida State (3-2 and 6-3).

Missouri is receiving votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA TODAY/NFCA polls after notching victories over 10th-ranked FSU.

Leading the Tigers in Tallahassee was Micaela Minner and Heather Kunkel. Minner had two homeruns and eight RBI over the weekend while hitting .545, while Kunkel was 6-for-15 (.400) for the weekend with three RBI, a home run and a stolen base. Pitcher Erica Peterson, meanwhile, is 3-0 on the year with 23 strikeouts.

Ty Singleton, now in his third year as head coach of Missouri, led the Tigers to a 29-26 record, a second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament and a third-place finish in the Big 12 Conference last season.

Maryland and Missouri have never met in softball action.

SCOUTING ALABAMA

No. 6/8 Alabama is 11-0 on the year after winning the Bama Bash on Feb. 4-6 with victories over UAB, Evansville and Georgia Southern and going undefeated at the Houston Hilton Invitational with wins over then-No. 12 Oklahoma, Houston and Sam Houston State.

Junior pitcher Stephanie VanBrakle, the Southeastern Conference's Pitcher of the Week, is 5-0 on the year and shut out 12th-ranked Oklahoma at the Houston Invitational. She also hit the game-winning home run against the Sooners. VanBrakle has notched 50 strikeouts so far this season.

Also leading the Tide is Staci Ramsey (eight RBI, .306 BA), Capper Reed (five RBI, .308 BA, five SB) and Ashley Courtney (four RBI, seven runs scored).

Head coach Patrick Murphy is in his sixth year at Alabama and has taken the Tide to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

Maryland trails the all-time series with Alabama, 4-1, with a victory during the 1999 season. The teams met last season in College Park and the Terps lost two tough games, 3-0 and 3-1.

SCOUTING PENN STATE

The Nittany Lions, like Maryland, are opening their season on the road at the Crimson Classic. Penn State is coming off a 25-33 record in 2004 and returns five starters from that team.

Penn State was led in 2004 by Jen Williams, who returns from a freshman season in which she started 55 games for the Nittany Lions and earned second-team All-Big Ten recognition. Also returning for PSU is Meghan Wolfer (.320 BA, second-team All-Big Ten) and senior captain Steph Viola (nine SB, .986 fielding percentage).

Head coach Robin Petrini is in her ninth season at the helm of Penn State.

Maryland trails the all-time series with Penn State, 3-1, but won the teams' last meeting in 2002. In that game at the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., the Terps won 5-1 and current Terp Nneka Cardoza had a 2-for-3 day at the plate.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS: OUR HOUSE

The Terrapins' 2005 schedule is highlighted by being selected to host the ACC Softball Tournament from May 12-15. The Terrapin Softball Complex, now in its third full season as the home of the Terps, will provide an outstanding facility for the conference tournament.

TERPS PICKED SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLL

As determined by a preseason vote of the league's head coaches, the Terrapins were picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Florida State was tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

CALLAWAY RETURNS TO MARYLAND AS ASSISTANT COACH

Former Terrapin infielder Jillian Callaway, a 2003 University of Maryland graduate, joined the staff of her former team as an assistant coach in August 2004. A standout for the Terrapin softball team from 1999-2003, Callaway finished her career on Maryland's all-time top 10 list for games played (195) and started (189), hits (128) and RBI (63).

Callaway joins former teammate Michelle Burrell on head coach Gina LaMandre's staff. Burrell, a 2001 Maryland graduate, was an outstanding outfielder for the Terps from 1998-2001 and is in her fourth season as an assistant coach.

EMAIL STRAIGHT TO YOU

If you would like the latest Maryland softball news sent directly to you as soon as it breaks, email softball contact Amy Mulligan at mulligan@umd.edu with "Softball Email" as the subject and you will automatically receive every update on the team.

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