No vacation in Florida for softball
No. 1 UCLA team strives for second tournament title
By Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Contributor
After rolling through the competition last weekend in their own
UCLA Easton/Reebok Invitational, the Bruin softball team will
travel across the continent in search of their second tournament
title in as many weeks.
Heading to the fun and sun of Tampa, Fla., the Bruins will be
looking ahead to anything other than a calm, relaxing vacation.
UCLA begins competition this afternoon in the 24-team
Speedline/South Florida Classic with a game against Michigan State.
Following the matchup with the Spartans, the Bruins continue their
busy day with games against Marshall, and host South Florida.
Saturday, the hectic schedule continues with games against their
final two pool opponents, Hofstra and Indiana State, followed by a
single-elimination playoff bracket Saturday night and all day
Sunday.
"We aren’t going on vacation," UCLA co-head coach Sue Enquist
said. "We’ll have no off days, as we need to stay focused on
softball and mature as a team both on and off the field."
Although the warm weather and sandy beaches of Florida may seem
amazingly similar to what the team encounters in Southern
California, little else in the tournament will look familiar to the
Bruins.
UCLA has yet to meet four of its opponents, and has played South
Florida only three times, winning all three, most recently in 1994
when B’Ann Burns and former Bruin standout DeeDee Weiman combined
to no-hit the Bulls.
The host should be some of the stiffest competition the Bruins
encounter in the tournament, as the Bulls have opened their season
on a 10-game winning streak, with a team returning seven of its
starters from a club that finished 29-20 a year ago.
The Thundering Herd of Marshall should also give the Bruins a
test, opening the season with an 8-2 record. Meanwhile, Michigan
State finished eighth in the Big Ten last year, but looks to be
considerably improved with eight starters returning.
Otherwise, the pool should not provide too much competition with
the Flying Dutchwomen of Hofstra sporting a 1-5 record, and the
Sycamores of Indiana State losing four starters from a team that
finished 24-35 a year ago.
However, competition could get much tougher once into the
single-elimination playoff structure with possible matchups against
top-25 teams such as Iowa, Illinois-Chicago, South Carolina and
Florida State.
In addition to winning the tournament title, one Bruin has her
sights set on a possible school record. Senior second baseman Kelly
Howard has managed seven doubles thus far into the season,
increasing her career output to 43, only three behind the all-time
Bruin mark of 46 held by Jennifer Brundage. With the possibility of
playing nine games this weekend, the number is very much within
reach.
* * *
Also of note this weekend, former Bruin great, shortstop Dot
Richardson, will be inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame
on Saturday. Richardson, who played at UCLA from 1981-83 and was
named NCAA Player of the Decade, will become the third Bruin
softball player to earn the honor, joining co-head coach Sue
Enquist and Debbie Doom as the softball representatives in the
113-member Hall of Fame.Comments to
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