Feb. 3, 2004
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STORYLINE: The UNLV Softball team opens its 23rd season of play this week at the Pepsi Arizona Tournament in Tucson, Ariz., from Feb. 6-8 ... The University of Arizona hosts four other teams in this round-robin format tournament: Cal State Northridge, Mississippi, New Mexico and UNLV. Following round-robin play, the top four teams will advance to a bracket-style championship with just one game each on Sunday, Feb. 8 ... All games will be played at Arizona's Hillenbrand Stadium (2,500) ... The season opener against Cal State Northridge will mark the debut of head coach Lonni Alameda, who became the program's third head coach on June 26, 2003.
ABOUT UNLV: Under first-year head coach Lonni Alameda, the Rebels return 12 letterwinners and nine starters from their 2003 squad. Offensively, Lisa Sampson (.276/0/14) has led the team in hitting in both of the last two seasons and returns for her senior campaign. Junior third-baseman Pauline Glenn (.199/6/23) led the Rebels with six home runs and 23 RBI last year and was an All-Mountain West Conference choice as a freshman. Defensively, junior pitcher Jacqueline Kerrigan (16-16, 2.12) was an all-conference selection last year and looks to lead UNLV from the circle again.
HEAD COACH Lonni Alameda: The UNLV softball team has a new face in the dugout this year as Lonni Alameda begins her first season as the Rebels' head coach. Alameda came to Las Vegas from Stanford University, where she oversaw the Cardinal pitching staff and helped coach the team to six straight NCAA Regional appearances. A two-sport star at the University of Oklahoma, Alameda was a two-time All-Big Eight infielder and hit .359 as a senior in 1992.
ABOUT CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Like the Rebels, Cal State Northridge opens its season on Friday, Feb. 6. The Matadors face Mississippi in the early game of the tournament before meeting UNLV at 11 a.m. ... CSUN is coming off a third-place finish in the Big West Conference last season after posting a 12-8 league record and 27-23 overall mark ... Pitcher Kia Fennell was a second-team All-American in 2003 ... The Matadors lead the all-time series with UNLV 17-6, including a come-from-behind 3-2 victory in the first round of last year's Kia Classic.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO: A familiar foe from within the Mountain West Conference, New Mexico also opens its season in Tucson and will begin the year by facing the Rebels, a team that ended the Lobos' season in 2003. UNLV met New Mexico five times last season, with the Lobos taking three of four during the regular season. But, the two met a fifth time at last season's Mountain West Conference Tournament. Pauline Glenn hit a seventh-inning homer to give UNLV a 3-1 win and oust UNM from the tourney, ending its season at 25-37 ... Friday's game will be a non-conference matchup and the first of five scheduled games between the two this year ... New Mexico leads the series 18-15.
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI: Saturday's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the Rebels and the Rebels ... Ole Miss finished last season with a 19-32 overall record, 8-22 in the SEC which earned the a tie for fifth place in the Western Division. However, the team returns all eight of its position starters ... The Mississippi Rebels will face Cal State Northridge and host Arizona on Friday before clashing with the Scarlet & Gray Rebels on Saturday.
ABOUT ARIZONA: Ranked No. 2 in the NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll, the hosts also open the 2004 season in earnest this week. The Wildcats host New Mexico and Mississippi on Friday night before catching Cal State Northridge and UNLV to complete round-robin play ... Arizona rolled to a 56-7 record last year and its 16th appearance at the Women's College World Series ... The Cats have not lost at home since May of 2000, a string of 49 games that could reach 52 before the Rebels play there ... U of A leads the all-time series against UNLV, 20-2, including a 3-0 victory over UNLV at last year's Kia Classic. Arizona's Alicia Hollowell struck out 18 in a two-hit shutout.
PRESEASON POLLS: While UNLV did not rank in the NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll, the Rebels did check in at No. 5 in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll announced Jan. 22. With 23 points and four first-place votes, San Diego State was chosen as a slight favorite to win its third straight league title over Colorado State, which scored 21 points and the other two first-place votes. Rounding out the poll were BYU (18), Utah (13), UNLV (9) and New Mexico (6).
ON DECK: Following the trip to Tucson, the Rebels begin a 14-game homestand against Hawaii on Friday, Feb. 13, the first day of the 15-team UNLV Softball Classic. The Classic, played over three days at two venues, will feature some of the premier softball teams in the country, including top-ranked UCLA, California, Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and LSU.
