University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Softball Opens 2002 Season
February 8, 2002 | Softball
Feb. 8, 2002
The University of North Carolina softball team opens the 2002 season Friday at the Gator Classic in Gainesville, Fla. The Tar Heels will face South Florida at 2:30 p.m. and Florida at 5 p.m. on Friday and Florida International at noon on Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. following the consolation game at 10:30 a.m.
Donna J. Papa is in her 17th year as the Tar Heels' head coach. Before the team left Chapel Hill on Thursday, she took a few minutes to talk to TarHeelBlue.com about this weekend and the upcoming season.
TarHeelBlue.com: What do you hope your team gains from this weekend's tournament?
Donna J. Papa: This weekend will be a great opportunity for us to get some games under our belt and play against very good competition. I think it will give us an early read on where we are, where we need to go, how we need to get the team even more ready as the season goes on. I think it's great that we're starting off with such good competition ... in warm weather! We're really looking forward to the trip. After a while, you get tired of practicing against yourself. You need to see another opponent.
THB: The team's biggest question mark this year is the entirely new pitching staff. How have those players looked so far?
DJP: There are a lot of question marks whenever you have a new pitching staff. None of these players have pitched for us before, other than in the fall. Shannon Walsh, a senior who transferred from Washington, brings great experience with her and will help keep our staff in check. She'll be the rock on our staff.
Our three freshmen have also made really great progress. Ashley Allen has stood out in being probably our number two pitcher, and Brandi Griffin and Erica Ennis are really coming along nicely. They've been developing and refining their pitches, getting more game experience in practice situations and scrimmages.
The more experience they all get, the better they're going to be. As we go through the season, I think each one of them is going to improve even more.
THB: The infield has also seen some major changes with the graduation of starting first baseman Beth Olen and shortstop Michelle Semmes. How does that lineup look now?
DJP: The infield is definitely a different mix of people. We lost Michelle and Beth, who have been steady starters there for four years. But this year's group works together well, and they're going to learn each time they go out. They're going to get more confident and learn about each other, what they can and can't do.
We have a couple of different combinations that we're working with right now.
Kelly Ramsey, a senior, is a really good receiver and that's why we've moved her to first base from third. She's got good experience in the infield, even though she's been at a different position. We needed Emily Price's bat in the lineup last year so she played in the outfield, but now she's at shortstop, which is her natural position. Dionne Streete, like Emily a sophomore, has moved from second to third and she'll be playing both positions throughout the season. And we'll have Sarah Young, another senior, at second. All of them have worked well together. Ashley Allen, if she's not pitching, will be at third if we have Dionne at second. That kind of depends on who we're playing and who's pitching.
THB: Catcher Natalie Anter is now a senior and a fourth-year starter behind the plate. What effect does she have on the team from that spot?
DJP: Natalie has grown so much as a player. She's assumed a take-charge role in practice. She's called timeouts to bring the team together and get them refocused.
I think our seniors as a whole have taken on more of a leadership role with this team. We have five seniors and they're all good role models and have taken it seriously. They've done a lot of things with the team to promote team bonding. Our chemistry is very positive, probably the best since I've been associated with the Carolina team.
THB: How do you see the outfield shaping up?
DJP: We have an experienced outfield in that we have Rosie Gustavson, a senior who has been a starter since she was a freshman, Quinn Porter, a junior who has been a starter since she was a freshman, and Tiffany Tolleson, a junior who has played at another Division I school (Stetson University). Our sophomores, Natashalyn Snipes and Lauren Looper, have progressed offensively and defensively. Lauren Parker, a junior, is hitting the ball really well. Jessica Young, a freshman, also will help us this year as our designated player.
Our outfield is really strong. We have some good footspeed, good arms and good bats. I'm looking to them to be a solid outfield in terms of speed and hitting. The lineup is going to be a tough call because a lot of them could step in and play. They battle each other every day at practice.
THB: How does this team look at the plate?
DJP: Offensively, I've seen the team progress from the fall to now. I think we're seeing the ball better, we're being a little more patient. We still have a ways to go-we haven't been tested by opposing pitchers and in game situations. What I've seen so far, I like. I think we're making better contact, being more patient. I think we're a little smarter hitting team this year than we may have been last year. Those are all positive things, and hopefully we can put the hits together at the rights times. People like Natalie Anter and Kelly Ramsey, their bats are going to take us some places. Our lineup from top to bottom is solid and we have a combination of speed, power and slappers-It's just a matter of us trying to get the right mix.
THB: How much has last season's success, the program's first ACC Championship and NCAA Tournament experience, carried over to this year's team?
DJP: It's carried over a lot. I think when we came back in the fall we had a different mindset, thinking in terms of what we know we can accomplish as opposed to what we think we can accomplish. We were able to put our foot in the door last year--winning the ACC Championship was huge and being able to get to NCAA regionals was another big step for the program. I think now the players feel that is a goal we should attain and they want to go farther, looking toward the College World Series.
As a team, we want to have success like last year's consistently. Now they players are thinking in those terms. As opposed to thinking, "I wish we could" or "I think we can", now we know we can and that's a really different mindset.
