Oct. 15, 2008

LAS VEGAS -

2009 UNLV Schedule in PDF Format

2009 UNLV Home Tournaments in PDF Format

2009 UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in PDF Format

The 2009 UNLV softball schedule was announced Wednesday by the athletics department. The Rebels have 52 games scheduled with the season opening on Feb. 6. UNLV will play in seven tournaments before entering into Mountain West Conference play. The Rebels' schedule is loaded with 14 opponents that reached the 2008 NCAA Tournament, four of which advanced to Super Regionals including the reigning national champion (Arizona State).

The Rebels will open up play with their first 10 games at home in back-to-back tournaments at Eller Media Stadium. UNLV will open up the season with the Sportco Kick-Off Classic (Feb. 6-8) and then host the 21-team Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Feb. 12-15). The "Louisville" will again be split between UNLV's home stadium and Stephanie Lynn Craig Park, which is located in nearby Henderson.

Following two weeks of playing in Las Vegas, the Rebels will make their first of four trips to California. UNLV will make its fifth straight trip to Cathedral City, for the newly named Cathedral City Classic (Feb. 20-22) hosted by Oregon State.

After returning from the Golden State, UNLV will host its final two home tournaments with the Eller Media Stadium Tournament (Feb. 26-March 1) and the UNLV Invitational (March 6-8).

Once the home tournaments are completed, the Rebels will head to Northern California to close out the road ones. UNLV will play in the National Invitational Softball Tournament (March 13-15) hosted by San Jose State in San Jose and then head back to the area the following weekend for the Capital Classic Tournament (March 20-21) hosted by Sacramento State in California's capital city.

The beginning of April signals the end of tournament play and the start of the conference season. Starting on April 4, UNLV will have 18 games remaining, 15 of which are against MWC foes. The Rebels have three non-conference tilts left with a doubleheader at Arizona State in Tempe (April 7) and a one-game affair at Northern Colorado (April 23).

In all, UNLV will play 37 games amongst schools in 16 conferences and one independent. The Rebels have five games, the most against any single conference, scheduled vs. the Big West. The Pac-10 comes in second with four matches. Highlighting the 2009 schedule are games against Arizona State (April 7), UCLA (Feb. 13), Florida (Feb. 21), California (March 20), Notre Dame (March 8) and in-state rival Nevada, Reno (Feb. 15).