Feb. 4, 2002
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STORYLINE: The Rebel Softball team officially begins the 2002 season this week when it hosts Saint Mary's College (3-2) in a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday at Eller Media Stadium. Although the Rebels opened their new facility in grand fashion with a cermemonial game against the program's alumni back on Jan. 26, Tuesday's game will be the first official played in the new park ... Following the Tuesday doubleheader, UNLV makes its annual trip to Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the Fiesta Bowl Tournament. The tournament, spanning four days and two sites, boasts a 17-school field with eight teams ranked in the Top 25 and four in the Top 10. Each team will play a set schedule with no championship or bracket play. The Rebels will face Wisconsin, Nebraska, Massachusetts, California and Texas A&M.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV returns five starters in the field, three on the mound and 11 letterwinners from last year's 26-30 squad, including senior pitcher Geney Orris who should earn the start in Tuesday's opener ... The Rebels meet Saint Mary's in their season opener for the second straight year as UNLV handed the Gaels losses of 11-3 and 8-1... UNLV also faced both Nebraska and Massachusetts at last year's Fiesta Bowl Tourney, losing 3-0 and 6-0 respectively. The Rebels will be without the services of two injured outfielders this week: sophomores Bianca Gonzales (knee) and Lisa Moses (shoulder) ... Head coach Shan McDonald begins her 16th season at the helm of the Rebel program, carrying a 460-416-2 mark.
ABOUT SAINT MARY'S: Saint Mary's (3-2) carries five games' experience into Tuesday's matchup after posting a 3-2 record at the Canyon Park Thunderbird Classic in St. George, Utah, last weekend ... Among its foes last week was defending MWC champ BYU, who topped the Gaels 11-4 ... Six starters and 11 letterwinners return from last season's 29-34 squad ... Former St. Mary's standout Trisha Dean is in her first season as the Gaels' head coach ... The Rebels lead the all-time series 4-0, including two victories to open the 2001 season.
ABOUT WISCONSIN: Wisconsin (0-0) also returns six starters and 10 letterwinners from last year ... The Badgers finished 33-27 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten to finish tied for fifth ... Seventh-year head coach Karen Gallagher brings a 161-168-2 record into Tempe ... UW meets UNLV for the second time in as many years as the Badgers scored a 1-0 win in the schools' first meeting last season ... Wisconsin received 30 votes in the USA Today preseason poll, ranking them 29th overall.
ABOUT NEBRASKA: Nebraska (0-0) comes into the week ranked 12th in the USA Today preseason poll ... Eight starters and nine letterwinners return from the 2001 squad that finished 51-15, win the Big 12 regular season title and qualified for the NCAA Tournament ... Head coach Rhonda Revelle begins her 10th season with an overall record of 341-192 ... The Cornhuskers and Rebels have met seven times since 1985, with Nebraska taking a 5-2 edge in the series following last season's 3-0 win at the same tournament.
ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts (0-0) opens its 2002 season in Tempe ... The Minutewomen bring back seven starters and 13 letterwinners from last year's 44-13 squad that won the Atlantic 10 Conference ... Elaine Sortino begins her 23rd year as the UMass head coach, claiming a record of 732-327-3 ... The 24th-ranked Minutewomen won their only meeting with UNLV, a 6-0 decision at last year's Fiesta Bowl Tournament.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA: No. 5 California (2-1), the highest ranked opponent UNLV will face this week, comes into Arizona with a 2-1 mark following a doubleheader sweep of Sacramento State and a 4-0 loss to No. 19 Pacific ... Eight letterwinners are back from the 54-18 squad that advanced to the College World Series ... In her 15th season, Diane Ninemire has a 597-317 career record as the Bears' head coach ... With a 3-0 win over the Rebels last season, Cal took a 6-5 edge in the all-time series.
ABOUT TEXAS A&M: Texas A&M (2-0) swept Texas-San Antonio in its season-opening doubleheader last Sunday, 8-0 and 2-0 ... The Aggies return seven starters and 13 letterwinners from a squad that went 32-19 in 2001 ... Head coach Jo Evans has an overall record of 487-322-2 in 16 years and owns a 174-118-2 mark in five seasons as the Aggies' mentor ... UNLV has won two of the five all-time meetings between the schools, who have not faced off since the 2000 season ... Rebel head coach Shan McDonald and assistant coach Kendall Richards both starred on the diamond for the Aggies.
ALUMNI REVIEW: Although the Rebels officially begin the season on Tuesday, the 2002 squad got a little practice in last week when it hosted the program's alumni at the Grand Opening of Eller Media Stadium on Jan. 26. In a tight battle, the Alumni's Christine Parris drove in the game's only run in the top of the eighth inning. Platooned pitching for the Rebels held a no-hitter until the seventh while catcher Melissa Inuoye collected three of the team's five hits.
UP NEXT: Following a busy week of play with seven games scheduled, the Rebels will happily return home before hosting their own in-season tournament, the UNLV Softball Classic. The three-day, 16-team event will begin on Friday, Feb. 15, at Las Vegas' Desert Breeze Softball Complex, located at the corner of Spring Mountain Rd. and Durango Rd. UNLV will face Alabama, Kansas, Texas Tech, Central Michigan and Cal Poly.
