Jan. 31, 2011
USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team is at the midpoint of its "training camp" leading up to the 2011 campaign, which begins on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas during the Sportco Kick-Off Classic (Feb. 11-13). This year will mark the 30th season of softball sponsored by the university, which began in 1980 and weathered a two-year period (1984, 1985) when the sport was dropped.
The 2011 Rebels' roster will have a much different appearance to it than in years past. After fielding a senior-laden team in 2010, this year's edition will lean more towards underclassmen with 12. In all, there will be nine seniors and juniors combined to help guide the team through the four-month schedule. The team will welcome seven freshmen and two transfers into the fold, as well.
"The team has worked hard in preparation for our upcoming tournaments these past two weeks," said head coach Pete Manarino. "With us having such a youthful team, it takes time, effort and chemistry. The team has shown a lot of determination. We have a couple of weeks left to prepare. We are already excited to see where we are and what we need to do to get ready to play games. I like their enthusiasm and work ethic."
UNLV will participate in eight tournaments, which will comprise 36 of the team's 53 scheduled games. The Rebels will host four tournaments, including the Sportco Kick-Off Classic and the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Feb. 17-20) that take place the first two weeks of the season. The team will also present the Eller Media Stadium Classic (March 4-6) and the Pre-Conference Round-Up (April 2-3).
The team will hit the road for four tournaments to be played in the Golden State. UC Riverside will be the Rebels' first destination Feb. 25-27 prior to three consecutive weekends on the road at UC Santa Barbara (March 11-13), Stanford (March 18-20) and Cal Poly (March 25-27).
The Rebels will play two non-conference contests against Southern Utah (Feb. 22) and Western Illinois (March 16) in between the eight tournaments and the 15-game Mountain West Conference slate that begins in Fort Collins, Colo., at Colorado State on April 8.
The schedule is peppered with six teams (BYU, Oregon, San Diego State, Stanford, Tennessee and Washington) that the Rebels will play a total of 11 times this year that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament.
There are five teams ranked in both college softball preseason polls (USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball) that the Rebels will face this season. Tennessee is the highest positioned of the quintet with a fourth-place entry into the USA Today/NFCA poll, while they are seventh according to the ESPN.com/USA Softball. Washington (#10/#11), Oregon (#14), BYU (#16/#20) and Stanford (#20/#18) round out the other four ranked highly by the pollsters.
