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Dec. 1, 2006

2007 UNI Softball Schedule

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- A five-team tournament in the UNI-Dome highlights an ambitious 57-game schedule for the University of Northern Iowa softball team in 2007, as announced Friday by head coach Christy Hebert.

The Panthers kick off the 2007 slate with the Ramada Inn UNI-Dome Softball Invitational, an event which will bring softball into the UNI-Dome for the first time in 10 years.  The Panthers hosted an annual tournament in the UNI-Dome 10 times in the 11 seasons between 1987 and 1997 but have not ventured indoors for home competition since.  This year's event brings five teams (UNI, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Northern Illinois and Drake) to the Dome for 10 games over two days on the weekend of Feb. 10-11.

"To start off our spring season at home in the Dome is a great opportunity for our team," said Hebert, who enters her fifth season at the helm of UNI's program. "In the history of our program, the team has never played its first game of the spring on our home turf. It allows us to showcase our team's talent early in the year in hopes of gaining support early in the season, and our team is extremely proud to be hosting the tournament."

Following a weekend off, the Panthers return to action in another indoor tournament, the Schutt Showcase, hosted by Bradley at Dragon's Dome in Pekin, Ill. UNI will face Saint Louis, IUPUI, Butler and the host Braves over the weekend of Feb. 24-25.

UNI ventures outdoors for the first time at the Holiday Inn Express-Arkansas Invitational, a three-day tourney hosted by Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. from March 2-4. The Panthers will play three games each against Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas.  UNI's annual spring break trip takes the Panthers west for the National Invitational Softball Tournament, hosted by San Jose State in Sunnyvale, Calif., March 9-11, where they will face Santa Clara, San Jose State, UC Davis, UC Riverside and California.  The Panthers will stay in California for doubleheaders against San Jose State and Santa Clara in their last action before beginning conference play.

"Our staff's goal is to schedule a tough non-conference schedule to prepare the team for the Valley," Hebert said. "We begin our conference season at Illinois State, so we have to be ready to compete at a high level right away."

Hebert's team begins its Missouri Valley Conference slate with three road games against defending league champion Illinois State March 17-18 before playing its first games of the season at Panther Park, a non-conference doubleheader against North Dakota State on March 22.  Road trips to in-state rivals Drake (March 24-25) and Iowa State (March 28) are up next, followed by a five-game homestand in which the Panthers host MVC foes Indiana State (March 31-April 1) and Bradley (April 4).

The Panthers travel to Springfield, Mo., for three games against Missouri State (April 6-7) before returning home to host Wartburg College, an NCAA Division III program from nearby Waverly, Iowa, on April 11.  A three-game home set with Wichita State follows on April 14-15 before the Panthers head to Illinois for a single game against Bradley on April 17 and a doubleheader with Western Illinois on April 18.

UNI then returns to Cedar Falls for its longest homestand of the season, a run of seven consecutive games at Panther Park beginning with three games against Southern Illinois April 21-22, a single game against in-state rival Iowa on April 24 and a three-game set with Creighton April 28-29.  The Panthers wrap up their regular season with three games at Evansville May 5-6 before the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament gets underway May 10-12 in Normal, Ill.

"Everyone knows how strong the Missouri Valley Conference has become for softball," Hebert said. "The fact that we are sending three teams to the NCAA postseason year in and year out says a lot about the strength of our league and the well-deserved respect it has received. There have been no easy games in the Valley the past few seasons, and this year's schedule will be no exception."