Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Releases Stellar 2010 Schedule
11/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Nov. 12, 2009
Northwestern's 2010 Softball Schedule
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head coach Kate Drohan announced today (Nov. 12) the Wildcats' schedule for the 2010 season, featuring five pre-conference tournaments and a bevy of strong opponents and marquee match-ups.
Northwestern has faced a top-10 strength of schedule in three of the last four years and a top-25 SOS in the other season (according to fullysports.com). That will not change in 2010, with 52 percent of NU's scheduled 52 games coming against teams that finished in the top-50 of the NCAA RPI a year ago.
Eight of those games are against top-10 teams and another eight are against top-25 RPI opponents. Northwestern will play 25 times against teams from the 2009 NCAA Tournament field and six times against four different squads who qualified for the 2009 Women's College World Series.
The Wildcats open the year Feb. 12-14 with their traditional first tournament, the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. There, NU will face top-50 RPI clubs Arizona, Cal State Fullerton and Nevada. Northwestern then travels to the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic Feb. 19-21 in Las Vegas, Nev., taking on top-25 RPI foes Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and California.
Northwestern once again will be part of softball's premier showcase, the Cathedral City Classic taking place Feb. 26-28. There, NU will meet Pac-10 opponents Stanford and UCLA before returning to California the following weekend (March 5-7) for the DeMarini Invitational hosted by Cal State Fullerton. A meeting with North Carolina and a re-match with Stanford await the Wildcats in Fullerton.
After winter quarter finals, Northwestern will travel to Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Classic March 19-21 where the Wildcats and 2009 WCWS participant Tigers will square off.
Northwestern opens its home schedule at 1 p.m. CT Saturday, March 27, against Purdue at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. In addition to Purdue, NU welcomes Big Ten opponents Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin to Evanston this season. The Wildcats have 12 home games currently on the schedule for 2010.
Northwestern's conference schedule is a tough one in 2010, with the Wildcats hitting the road to face the three other Big Ten teams that finished in the top four of the standings with NU in 2009. The road trips begin with an April 7 doubleheader at Iowa before a drive to Michigan (April 17-18) and the regular-season finale at Ohio State (May 14-15).
During the Wildcats' off week in conference play April 10-11, they will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a two-game showdown with 2009 WCWS semifinalist Alabama. The trip for the Wildcats returns a venture north the Crimson Tide made in 2007 for a three-team tournament at DePaul.
