Dec. 20, 2010
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Head coach Marla Looper and the University of Iowa softball program announced the details of its 2011 schedule on Monday. The Hawkeyes will play 12 opponents that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, which includes a pair of Women’s College World Series participants.
Iowa will open the season with six tournaments beginning with the Black & Red Showcase in Athens, Ga., on Feb. 11-13. The squad will play Lipscomb and Maryland on Feb. 11 before facing East Carolina, Georgia and Illinois State to round out the weekend. The Bulldogs advanced to the WCWS last season, while Lipscomb, East Carolina and Illinois State all played in the NCAA Regionals.
The Hawkeyes will next head to Tempe, Ariz., on Feb. 18-19 for the Littlewood Classic. Iowa will open the tournament against Idaho State and Seattle on Feb. 18 before playing Illinois State and Super Regional qualifier Arizona State on Feb. 19.
The following weekend, Iowa will head to the Sunshine State for the FGCU Spring Break Invitational in Fort Myers, Fla. The Hawkeyes will face the likes of Albany, Florida Gulf Coast, UMBC, Eastern Michigan and Southern Illinois in the three-day competition.
Once the calendar turns to March, Iowa will travel to the west coast for the DeMarina Invitational, hosted by Cal State-Fullerton. The Hawkeyes will open play on March 4 against NCAA Regional qualifier Stanford before facing the host Titans. The squad will then match-up against IPFW and California — a 2010 Super Regional squad — before rounding out play against Murray State on March 6.
The Hawkeyes will then make their second trip to Florida on March 11-15 for a pair of tournaments at Stetson — the Stetson Classic and the Stetson Hatter Roundup. Iowa will meet Liberty, Stetson and Delaware State in the Classic, before playing Colgate and the host Hatters in the Roundup.
Before returning to Iowa City, the Hawkeyes will make a stop in Knoxville, Tenn., to square off against WCWS participant Tennessee on March 17 and March 18. The Lady Vols finished with a 49-15 overall record and finished as the No. 4/3 team in the final 2010 rankings.
Iowa will return to Iowa City on March 20 for its Pearl Field debut, hosting South Dakota in a doubleheader. The squad will then hit the road for its Big Ten opener at Ohio State on March 26-27 before playing at Western Illinois on March 30. The Buckeyes participated in the 2010 NCAA Regionals, while the Leathernecks claimed The Summit League regular season title.
Following road dates at Purdue (April 2-3) and Drake (April 6), the Hawkeyes will return home for 11-of-17 games to close out the season. Iowa hosts Michigan State on April 9-10 before heading to Minneapolis to face the Golden Gophers in a doubleheader on April 13.
The Hawkeyes will then host Northwestern (April 16-17) and Iowa State (April 20) before going to Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 23-24 to meet the Wolverines. Michigan, who won the Big Ten regular season title with an 18-1 record, advanced to the Super Regionals last season.
The regular season concludes with six-of-eight games being contested at Pearl Field. Iowa will host Wisconsin in a doubleheader April 27 before playing its final road series at Indiana on April 30-May 1. The Hawkeyes will then close out the season by hosting NCAA qualifier Illinois (May 4) and Penn State (May 7-8). Iowa will recognize its three seniors – Chelsey Carmody, Stephanie Ochoa and Jenny Schuelke – prior to the final regular season game.
The NCAA Regionals are set for May 21-22, Super Regionals are set for May 28-29 and the 2011 NCAA Women’s College World Series will take place June 1-6 in Oklahoma City, Okla.