University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host Carolina Classic To Open 2007
February 5, 2007 | Softball
Feb. 5, 2007
CHAPEL HILL --- With North Carolina's first softball game of the season just days away (2:30 p.m. Friday) and with a packed slate of games set for the weekend, Tar Heel head coach Donna J. Papa sat down with TarHeelBlue.com to break down the 2007 Carolina Classic. The tournament will feature a loaded, nine-team field playing a combined 22 games over three days, with UNC will playing five contests in that span. Admission and parking are free and concessions will be available.
On starting the season with a bang with the Carolina Classic:
We're really excited about it. Every year we like to start off at home and have a quality tournament. This year probably is one of the strongest fields we've had at this tournament, especially with Tennessee coming and they're the No. 2 preseason ranked team in the country. They return Monica Abbott, who is a premiere pitcher in collegiate softball right now. We've got NC State, who was a regional team last year, and they're picked first in our conference. We've got Penn St., who's a Big Ten opponent, and they always are a strong team. We've got teams - Coastal Carolina has been to regional play - and a lot of other really good teams. We're really excited. The weather is going to be in our favor this year, and that's always been questionable, but it looks like this weekend is going to come off really, really good.
It's been a long fall. You practice every day, and we're looking forward to being able to play now against some quality opponents and get our season kicked off. We're looking forward to it - can't wait to play against somebody different than ourselves.
On playing such great competition to start the season:
I think it's a gauge in the beginning. If you can beat a team, say a Tennessee, it's certainly going to give your team a lot of confidence. If you don't beat them, you played a quality team and you can learn from that experience and learn how to get better to get to be at that level. Really, I think it's a win-win situation, no matter what because it is early in the season, you do have the opportunity to play a quality opponent, but at the same time, win or lose, it's going to do some good things for you.
On the team this year:
We've practiced all fall, and we have a returning team. We just lost Crystal [Cox], who was an All-America. At the same time, we've added six freshmen. And our freshmen have been a great addition to the team, with speed, with offense, and with their defense.
I think one of our strengths going in to this season will be our defense. We return starters, upperclassmen, at shortstop, at third, at second, at first, and we have good depth at all of those positions. We return both of our catchers, who are both seniors. I think the only area where we may be questionable - and it's only because of experience and not because of ability or talent - is our pitching. Our pitchers are both sophomores, Amber Johnson and Lisa Norris, and then we've added Lisa Norris, who is a freshman. So our pitching, right now - great talent just haven't had as much experience whereas Crystal last year, being a senior, had loads of experience.
I think defensively and offensively we've made a lot of strides from last season to this season, so I'm really excited about that and if we can play strong defense, I think we can help our pitchers out a lot.
On the wealth of returning experience:
I think it's great. Every year though, even though the team has the same people coming back, you still have your chemistry, your dynamics. You have the same group to work with, but everything is different, too.
I think last year we realized that at the end of the year the girls were a little tired, and we need to figure out a way by the end of this year that we're not tired, so we can really finish strong. The big thing for us this year, probably one of our themes, is going to be finishing games and finishing our season on a strong note. We did so many good things last year. We didn't lose more than two games in a row the whole season until the end, and that's when it really counted for ACCs, for Regionals, to go on and advance. I think finishing every play is going to be one of our main themes and one of the things we're going to have to do well to be a successful team.
On her hopes for this weekend:
Starting the season, [I would be pleased by us] playing every single pitch, playing every single inning, being focused, going after it. Outcomes, everybody wants to win every game, but I think it's the process of how you get there. I want to see us be tough at the plate. I want to see us be a tough out. I want to see us have confidence up at the plate, out in the field. I want to have a presence out there. I want to excel in the things we've been working on. I want us to be strong defensively and not allow the other team to take advantage of us by making mistakes. I want us to be able to set the tone both offensively and defensively. Those are the kind of things that I would like to see coming out of this weekend.
And with those things, if you're executing - if we're executing our bunts, if we're executing our hits and runs, if our pitchers are hitting their spots - those kind of things are going to be really important for us. And if you do those things well, you should get a good outcome. It's not always necessarily maybe going to be a win, but we certainly going in to every game believing and expecting that we're going to win. But we've got to do the things it takes; you can't just show up on the field and expect to win. We've got to be able to execute inning-in, inning-out and win each inning and then go from there.
On what softball fans can expect:
I think they're going to see some great softball. There are teams represented - the Southern Conference, the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC. I think it's going to be so exciting, some great teams, great softball, great preview to see a lot of teams in action. I think it's going to be a fun atmosphere the fans to come out to. The weather's going to be great - for this time of the year it's great. In the high 40s and 50s - that's good. So I would encourage everyone to come out and just enjoy softball. You might want to bring a blanket but we're really looking forward to it, and I think our stadium, it's a great setting to watch softball.
