Five WCWS Teams Highlight 2009 Michigan Slate
9/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team announced its schedule for the 2009 season on Monday (Sept. 29). The slate consists of six early-season tournament appearances and 11 regular-season home dates, including nine against Big Ten Conference competition. The Big Ten schedule will take new form in 2009, featuring Saturday/Sunday series and Wednesday doubleheaders. The Big Ten will no longer host a conference tournament.
Among Michigan's slated opponents for early-season tournament competition are 12 teams from last season's NCAA Tournament and five from the 2008 Women's College World Series. The Maize and Blue will face perennial powers DePaul and UCLA at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 13-15, and make road trips to Florida State and Florida Feb. 24-25, before wrapping up tournament rotation against five teams from the 2008 NCAA field at the Judi Garman Classic, running March 12-15, including national champion Arizona State and World Series participants Arizona and Louisiana-Lafayette. Complete tournament schedules for the Wolverines' three additional early-season events will be released as they are announced.
"Our schedule is probably the toughest it's been in a while," said head coach Carol Hutchins. "We are always on a quest to get back to the World Series and win a national championship, and you have to play the appropriate teams to put yourself in that position. We're going to be tested very early. We will definitely see where we're at, but it's our hope that we can be successful. We don't play those games to see where we're at; we play them to win. The one thing I hope our early-season schedule does is set the bar really high for us. By the time we get to the Big Ten season, my freshmen will practically be juniors."
The defending Big Ten champion Wolverines kick off the home portion of their 2009 schedule against Loyola Chicago on March 28 and will host Big Ten Conference meetings against Purdue April 4-5, Minnesota April 11-12, Indiana on April 29, Iowa May 2-3, Ohio State on May 6 and intrastate rival Michigan State on May 8. Michigan averaged more than 1,500 fans in its inaugural season at the Wilpon Softball Complex, home of Alumni Field.
"I think Alumni Field has always been one of the great college environments," said Hutchins. "What is different now with the new facility is that it's louder. The field itself is much louder; I actually felt that was something we needed to get used to last year. It's just one of the greatest venues in college softball, and we have some of the best fans in college softball. We continue to rank among the nation's top 10 in attendance without nearly the number of home contests. I think that speaks for itself."
Season ticket information for the 2009 season will be finalized in December. For more information, fans are asked to email the U-M Ticket Office (mtickets@umich.edu) with their name, mailing address and phone number. Ticket information will be sent out as it becomes available.
Softball Media Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
