University of North Carolina Athletics
Q And A With UNC Softball Coach Donna Papa
February 9, 2001 | Softball
Feb. 9, 2001
Donna Papa is in her 15th season as head coach of the University of North Carolina softball team, which opened the 2001 season last weekend with a split doubleheader at No. 18 South Carolina. UNC kicks off its home season this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders-against Elon on Saturday at 1 p.m. and against Appalachian State on Sunday at 2 p.m.-at Finley Field.
Before the start of the weekend's action, Coach Papa chatted with TarHeelBlue.com.
TarHeelBlue.com: Looking at the roster overall, what would you say are this team's strengths?
Donna Papa: I think our strength would definitely be our hitting. We have the majority of our hitting lineup back. We lost Jen Klesaris and Crystal Henderson to graduation, so we're still working with trying to develop No. 1 and 2 hitters for us in the lineup, but we feel really good about having our No. 3 through 9 hitters back.
Against South Carolina, we hit the ball really well. When the scores are 1-0, it doesn't seem like you've gotten a lot of hits, but we hit the ball very well, very solid. I feel good about where our offense is, and it's going to get better every game and every practice.
I think the other strength for us would definitely be our defense. We have an infield that has a junior at third (Kelly Ramsey), a senior at short (Michelle Semmes), a senior at first (Beth Olen), a junior behind the plate (Natalie Anter) and a senior on the mound (Radara McHugh), complemented by Michael Parrott, a sophomore. The position we're really young at is second base, but overall we have an experienced, veteran infield.
Our outfield is very quick. All of them have great speed. We don't have as much as experience out there, but I hope as we go through the season we will develop in terms of our positioning, where we need to be, and working as a unit. Our speed right now will definitely help us.
One of the areas we've tried to focus on this season base running, because I think that was an area in which we were lacking a little bit last year. We've added speed in this year's team with freshmen like Natashalyn Snipes and Lauren Looper. I think the team as a whole has gotten faster from our conditioning and some of the work we've done. We've tried to get a little smarter in our base running, so that I hope will become a strength for us.
THB: On the other end of the spectrum, what are some of the concerns you have?
Papa: Depth in our pitching staff is a concern. Radara McHugh did a great job last weekend in limiting South Carolina to five hits. She looks great and she wants the ball. Michael Parrott has made huge strides, both as a pitcher and as a hitter. The two of them will complement one another.
Jenna Bischoff, who is a freshman, is on her way and is working toward being able to contribute for us down the road. But, we don't have much experienced depth at pitcher, so I would say right now that would be one area of concern.
THB: Last year's 47-17 finish was the best in the history of UNC's fastpitch program. Do you expect last year's success serve as a building block for 2001?
Papa: I think we can use that, knowing that we were successful last year. It always builds some confidence, but you can't focus on it because then it puts a little bit too much pressure because we have a different team this year. The chemistry is different, the composition is different. We have seven freshmen and that's a lot of adjusting.
Some of our goals remain the same this year-to win the ACC Championship, to go to NCAA regionals for the first time ever. But we really need to focus one game at a time, one pitch at a time. That's where our focus is.
The team's motto-"Havin' fun, gettin' it done in 2000 and won"-kind of expresses what kind of a team it is. They're a very together team.. They like to have fun, but we want to get it done. We want to finish and be there at the end. This year, we don't want to just compete, we want to win. But I don't know if we can compare this year with what we did last year because I don't think it's fair to this team.
THB: Take a quick look at the freshman class. What roles do you see the seven new players filling this season?
Papa: Dionne Streete is starting at second for us. She's very versatile, a very solid defensive player at her position, very smooth. She's had to make a transition from shortstop to second base and learn those new responsibilities, but I think she's handling that well and getting to feel more comfortable at the position. She's a good contact hitter and has good speed.
Emily Price is another freshman in the middle infield who will provide good depth for us. She's playing behind a senior in Michelle Semmes at shortstop, but she also could see some time in the outfield or at second base. She's got a great bat, so if she's not in the game we'll look for her to fill a designated player role or as a pinch hitter.
Natashalyn Snipes is starting in center for us and gives us tremendous speed. She covers a lot of ground in the outfield and is going to be somebody you'll see a lot in our lineup.
Jenna Bischoff is a pitcher and is developing according to plan. We're happy with where she is and she'll help us down the road on the mound. She also has a very good bat.
Lauren Looper has great speed and we'll look for her to help us on the base paths as a pinch runner while she's developing in the outfield.
Jessica Robinson has a good bat and quick hands, and is somebody we'll look to in a pinch hitter role. We're looking to convert her from a catcher to a corner position and at this level, there are a lot of adjustments to be made defensively.
Heather Hughes will redshirt this year while she's rehabilitating a knee injury.
THB: The other new addition to the team is assistant coach Lisa Navas, formerly the head coach at Barry University. What qualities do you think she brings to the team?
Papa: Lisa brings her experience as a head coach. One of the reasons that I really wanted Lisa on our staff is I felt she had good insight on the game and I felt she is somebody that is good at seeing things on the field. Again, one of our goals is to become a better, smarter base running team and I thought Lisa could really add some insight there. She has been around the game, brought her team to a national championship level at Barry and I thought she could add a tremendous amount in all areas of the game to our staff.
THB: Take a look at this spring's schedule. What are some of the highlights?
Papa: I'm really excited about our schedule. We have the opportunity to play the defending national champion in Oklahoma(at Oklahoma's Worth/Oklahoma Classic) and I think any team would want to do that. Out at the Kia Klassic (in Fullerton, Calif.), we'll play DePaul, a World Series contender last season, and Arizona State, always one of the top teams in the Pac-10. Also out there are teams like Washington , Arizona and Fresno State. It's a loaded tournament.
We're not just focusing on those two, but those are some dynamite tournaments. We haven't played some of that competition on a regular basis. We've had top 25 teams throughout, but two tournaments back-to-back like that will really be a great test for our team. I want that kind of competition because you need to be tested, you need to know what it's going to take to be at another level and I think we're ready to take that next step. We've been building toward that for the last couple of years. I want this team to be tested and they want that competition, too.
The rest of our schedule is great, too. In February, we have our Triangle Classic. We want to be in the finals again like we were last year. At the end of March we go to the Buzz Classic (in Marietta, Ga.), which again is a loaded tournament.
We have the opportunity every week to make some noise and be recognized. I don't think we've gotten a lot of respect, when you look at last year and what we accomplished and we didn't even get to go to regionals. Coming into the year, we aren't ranked in the top 25. Maybe beating some of these teams will get us that respect, but we've got to earn it. We can't just compete against those teams, we've got to beat them.
THB: Carolina will open the home season Saturday at Finley Field but is schedule to move to the new field in April. Is the team thinking much about its new home right now?
Papa: Last year we were 19-1 on our home field. It's a nice place for us to play, a comfortable place for us to play. We haven't really talked about the move a whole lot. We try to give the girls updates on the construction, but right now we're just focusing on being ready for Elon and Appalachian State this weekend.
