Feb. 5, 2008

LAS VEGAS -

Week One Release in PDF Format

Leading Off: The 2008 softball season is here and the Rebels will start the action with the Sportco Spring Kick-Off Classic (Feb. 8-10). Heading to Las Vegas for the six-team tournament are: Arizona State, Loyola-Chicago, Texas Tech, Washington and Team Canada. UNLV is scheduled to play a total of five games with two meetings vs. Washington, none vs. Team Canada and singles against the remaining three.

On Deck: The Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Feb. 14-17) will take place the second weekend of the season and feature 26 teams. The LSDC is one of the premier collegiate softball tournaments in the country, as well as, one of the largest. The games are split between three complexes (UNLV's Eller Media Stadium, Stephanie Lynn Craig Park and the Russell Road Complex). UNLV will play all seven of its contests at EMS. Oregon State, Florida International, Central Florida, Northwestern, UCLA, Illinois and Utah State will play the Rebels on their home turf.

Sportco Spring Kick-Off Classic Schedule:

Friday, Feb. 810:00 am    Washington vs. Loyola12:15 pm    Washington vs. Texas Tech02:30 pm    UNLV vs. Texas Tech04:45 pm    UNLV vs. Loyola
Saturday, Feb. 910:00 am    Loyola vs. Texas Tech12:15 am    Loyola vs. Arizona State02:30 pm    Texas Tech vs. Arizona State04:45 pm    UNLV vs. Washington07:00 pm    Team Canada vs. Washington
Sunday, Feb. 1009:00 am    Texas Tech vs. Team Canada11:00 am    Loyola vs. Arizona State01:00 pm    UNLV vs. Arizona State03:00 pm    UNLV vs. Washington

2008 Mountain West Preseason Poll: The six Mountain West Conference head coaches have voted and have selected the BYU Cougars to win the 2008 regular season title. The Cougars received five first-place votes and 25 overall points, while the San Diego State Aztecs claimed the sixth first-place vote and 19 points for second place. UNLV placed third with 15 points, while Colorado State and New Mexico tied for fourth with 13 points each. Utah rounded out the six-team league with a sixth-place selection.

The Rebels come into 2008 under the leadership of fifth-year head coach Lonni Alameda, the reigning MWC Coach of the Year, and all-conference selection, Jaci Hull. Overall, the Rebel return 12 letterwinners from the 2007 squad that went 37-27 and claimed second place in league play. Stephanie Bregante, a MWC Pitcher of the Week honoree, and Heather Slettvet return for their second season in the circle for the Rebels.

2008 Preseason National Polls: In both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Preseason Polls the UNLV Rebels received votes. Hypothetically the Rebels would place 46th in the USA Today/NFCA poll with three votes and 45th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll with two votes.

Comparing both polls, the Rebels will play 11 foes that are ranked in the preseason polls. Those 11 are: Arizona State, DePaul, Washington, Michigan, UCLA, Hawai'i, Stanford, Oregon, Texas, Ohio State and Louisiana-Lafayette. UNLV will play 15 games against those 11.

2008 Rebel Schedule: On the docket for 2007 are a scheduled 66 contests. With help from the Las Vegas climate the team will begin the year with five of the first six weekends at home. Overall the Rebels will play in seven tournaments for a total of 35 games. The MWC regular season consists of 20 contests leaving 11 non-conference tilts.

Overall the Rebels are scheduled to play 18 teams that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Of those 18, five (Hawai'i, Michigan, Arizona State, DePaul and Washington) advanced to the Super Regionals. Arizona State, DePaul and Washington were participants in the WCWS.

Five of UNLV's seven tournaments will take place in Las Vegas. After hosting the Sportco Spring Kick-Off Classic (Feb. 8-10), the team will stay in Las Vegas for the Fourth Annual Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Feb. 14-17), held at UNLV's Eller Media Stadium and in nearby Henderson at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park and at the Russell Road Complex. The team embarks on its first of four road trips to California for the Palm Springs Classic (Feb. 21-23) in Cathedral City. The Rebels return home to close out its slate of tournaments with the Eller Media Stadium Classic (Feb. 29-March 2), the UNLV Invitational (March 7-9) and the UNLV Round Robin (March 14-16). The team will participate in its last tournament of the season on March 20-22 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.

Following the conclusion of the Judi Garman Classic, the Rebels will play a doubleheader against Southern Utah (April 2) in Las Vegas, before kicking off MWC action on the road at San Diego State (April 5-6). Mixed into league play will be doubleheaders at Arizona State (April 14) and Nevada, Reno (April 30) and a single game at Northern Colorado (April 17).