March 17, 2008
IOWA CITY – Busy Spring Break ? The University of Iowa softball team will enjoy its Spring Break in the Sunshine State this week before traveling back to Iowa City for its home opener. The Hawkeyes will wrap up the busiest portion of their schedule this week and will have played 14 games in 10 days.
Iowa will play Tulsa and Stetson Tuesday in DeLand, FL, before traveling to Gainesville Wednesday to face a top-five team in the University of Florida. The Hawkeyes will then face Central Florida in Orlando Thursday and fly home that night to prepare for their home opening tournament to be held March 22-23.
Below is Iowa’s spring break schedule. All times listed are central.
Tuesday, March 18
vs. Tulsa (2 p.m.)
at Stetson (4 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 19
at Florida (4 p.m.)
Thursday, March 20
at Central Florida (12:30 p.m.)
Saturday, March 22
vs. Northern Illinois (2:30 p.m.)
vs. Western Illinois (4:30 p.m.)
Sunday, March 23
vs. Western Illinois (1 p.m.)
vs. Northern Illinois (3 p.m.)
Hawkeyes on the Web ? Fans can follow the team in Florida on Gametracker via hawkeyesports.com. Gametracker links can be found on the softball schedule page.
Stetson will be providing live audio and video on gohatters.com while Florida will be providing live video on its website, gatorzone.com. Both require a $9.95 monthy subscription fee.
Starting with the Hawkeye Classic March 22, all Iowa softball games will be broadcast live on hawkeyesports.com. Fans can listen for free, but do have to go through a quick registration. Audio links can be found next to the Gametracker links. Rob Brooks will handle the play-by-play.
Hawkeyes in the Polls ? Iowa is one of eight teams receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA poll.
Both polls are updated on Tuesday’s.
Opponents in the Polls ? Seven Iowa opponents are ranked in both the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls. Arizona State (1st/1st), Florida (4th/4th), Michigan (9th/9th), Northwestern (12th/12th), DePaul (15th/19th), Louisiana-Lafayette (17th/17th) and Ohio State (19th/21st) are all ranked.
In addition, North Carolina is receiving votes in both polls while Florida State is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
Last Week’s Action ? Iowa claimed the 2008 Stetson Spring Classic championship with a 4-1 record. The Hawkeyes defeated Elon (6-0), Bowling Green (2-0), Cornell (6-5) and Stetson (2-1). Iowa fell in its first game to Cornell (1-0).
Haven’t We Met? ? Iowa defeated Western Illinois, 2-0, in the first game of the 2008 season.
Freshman Chelsey Carmody finished 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base while junior Colleen McGlaughlin collected two hits.
Junior Brittany Weil threw a complete game two-hitter and struck out nine batters.
Weil On a Roll ? Junior pitcher Brittany Weil has been named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
She earned her first honor of 2008 after an impressive opening weekend at the Metrodome Classic. She tossed 24.1 innings without allowing an earned run with 29 strikeouts.
Weil was tabbed as Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after giving up only one earned run on three hits while striking out 23 batters to just three walks in 14 innings of work at the Amy S. Harrison Classic.
Spring Break Tidbits ? Iowa is 1-0 vs. Tulsa, 4-2 vs. Stetson, 22-16 vs. Northern Illinois and 21-18 vs. Western Illinois. Iowa has never faced Florida or Central Florida.
? Florida and Iowa share two common opponents this season in North Carolina and Stetson. The Gators defeated North Carolina twice (4-0, 1-0) and also beat Stetson (8-0). Iowa fell to North Carolina (1-0) but defeated Stetson (2-1).
? Central Florida and Iowa have played three common foes this season. Central Florida defeated Illnois State (5-0), Stetson (6-0) and Drake (2-1). The Hawkeyes knocked off Drake (4-1), Illinois State (2-0) and Stetson (2-1).
? Central Florida’s Abby McClain is from Waterloo and graduated from Waterloo West High School.
? Central Florida Head Coach Renee Luers-Gillispie pitched for two seasons at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. In 1981, she was ranked No. 9 nationally in the NJCAA.
? Iowa and Western Illinois both participated in the Metrodome Classic to open the season and faced three of the same opponents. Western Illinois was defeated by Northern Iowa (4-3), Drake (8-2) and Arkansas (4-3). Iowa knocked off Northern Iowa (1-0) and Drake (4-1) but was defeated by Arkansas (5-3).
? Western Illinois Head Coach Holly Van Vlymen served as Iowa’s pitching coach from 2001-04.
Oh, So Close ?? Three of Iowa’s six losses have come to ranked opponents, all by only one run.
The Hawkeyes lost to No. 4 ranked Arizona State and No. 23 ranked North Carolina by a 1-0 score. Iowa also lost to No. 16 DePaul, 5-4, in eight innings.
In addition, Iowa was defeated by Arkansas, who is receiving votes in both national polls.
Carmody in the Record Books ?? Freshman Chelsey Carmody tied two school records in Iowa’s 11-1, five-inning win over Utah Valley State March 9.
Carmody roped triples in her first two at-bats to tie the school record for triples in a single game. She also scored four runs, which tied the school record for runs scored in a single game.
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