University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball Announces 2016 Schedule
12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
2016 schedule
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers softball released its 2016 schedule with 55 games scheduled. Thirteen games will be played at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. They will play five teams that finished ranked in the NCAA top 25 and 11 that played in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
"We welcome the challenge of a tough schedule against some of the top teams in the nation this year," Coach Jessica Allister said. "We are going to be tested against great competition each weekend. I know the team is excited to get back on the field to compete."
They kick things off with a trip to Las Vegas for the Sportco Kickoff Classic from Feb. 12-14. This will be the fifth time the Gophers head to this tournament. Last season they started off strong winning all five games there. That was the start of the longest win streak to open a season in program history.
They will play five games out there taking on Utah Valley, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Long Beach State and Washington. Oklahoma advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals a year ago and finished ranked No. 12. Last season the Gophers took on Washington to start their season and topped them 8-0 in five innings. Washington finished just outside of the top 25 and went 2-2 in the NCAA Regionals last season.
One week later the Gophers will play in the B1G/ACC Challenge playing Virginia Tech and Florida State each twice. Michigan will be the other B1G team represented. Both Virginia Tech and Florida State advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year. Florida State finished No. 8 last year. Michigan and Minnesota were the only two big ten teams to finish ranked in the NCAA top 25 and will not face each other in the regular season this year.
The Maroon and Gold wrap up February at the Diamond Devils Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., playing Mt. St Mary's, Arizona State, St. Francis and two games against Houston. The Gophers topped Arizona State, No. 20 last year, 4-1 in their only meeting.
Starting March, Minnesota will head out to Athens, Ga., to take part in a tournament there. They will play West Carolina, square off against Georgia twice in the weekend and have a game against Jacksonville. Georgia made it to the NCAA Super Regionals last year finishing ranked No. 14 in the country.
The Gophers head out to Florida a week later to compete in the FAU Tournament held in Boca Raton, Fla., to start their spring break trip. At the FAU Tournament they will play five games in three days facing off against Robert Morris, UMass, Mercer, FAU and Long Island.
The Gophers will continue their spring trip going to Oklahoma for games against Tulsa and another game against Oklahoma. They finish up in Kansas with games against St. Louis who they will play twice, Kansas, Tulsa and UMKC. Kansas ended the season ranked No. 24.
The end of March sees Minnesota start conference play out in West Lafayette, Ind., taking on Purdue in three games. They begin April with three games at Evanston, Ill., playing three Big Ten games at Northwestern who made the NCAA Tournament last year. A season ago against Purdue and Northwestern the Gophers did not drop a game.
April 8-10 the Gophers will hit the field for their first homes series with Illinois coming to town. A doubleheader against Wisconsin will take place on April 13. In the border battle last season against Wisconsin the Maroon and Gold won 7-2 and 12-1.
The middle of April will see the team fly out to New Brunswick, N.J., for a three game series against Rutgers. Minnesota comes back to Cowles Stadium for a doubleheader against North Dakota State University and a three game series against Maryland to end April and start May. NDSU is another NCAA Tournament team from last season.
May 6-8 will wrap up regular season play for the Gophers as they take on Iowa. The B1G Tournament is set to be played at Penn State this year from May 12-14. A year ago in the tournament Minnesota fell to Iowa after beating them in their three regular season meetings.
NCAA Regionals are schedule to begin May 20. The Gophers have taken a program record three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament going into this season.
Quick Notes:
Utah Valley: Finished 18-41 a season ago. The two teams will meet for the first time ever.
Oklahoma: Finished 49-9 last year. The Gophers lead the series 6-4.
Texas Tech: Finished 35-19 last season. Texas Tech leads series 3-1.
Long Beach State: 28-24 a season ago. Lead the all-time series 8-2 over the Gophers.
Washington: Finished 42-17 last year. They lead series 3-1-1.
Virginia Tech: Finished 34-23 last year.
Florida State: Finished 49-14 record last season. The Gophers only win over FSU came under Coach Allister.
Mt. St. Mary's: Finished 11-33 a season ago. This will be the first time these teams play each other.
Arizona State: Finished 36-22 last year. The Gophers won over ASU 4-1 last year and are 2-2 against them under Coach Allister with ASU leading the overall series 10-5.
St. Francis: Finished 31-19 last season. The Gophers won the only meeting between the two teams.
Houston: Finished 28-27 a season ago. Minnesota won the only game the two team faced off.
West Carolina: Finished 22-31 last season. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Georgia: Finished 44-17 last year. Georgia leads the series 3-1.
Jacksonville: Finished 28-28 last season. Minnesota leads the series 2-1.
Robert Morris: Finished with a 26-23 overall record last year. The Gophers won the only time they ever played.
UMass: Finished 15-28 last season. The two teams have faced twice, each grabbing a win.
Mercer: Finished 39-19 a season ago. The Gophers have won both the previous meetings between the teams including the one time they met while Allister was head coach for Minnesota.
FAU: Finished 39-19-1 record last year.
Long Island: Finished 23-30 last season. Long Island won the only meeting between the two teams.
St. Louis: Finished 36-18 record last year. This will be the first time the two teams meet.
Kansas: Finished 40-15 last year and lead the all-time series 11-6.
Tulsa: Finished 36-18 a season ago. Minnesota leads the series 2-1.
UMKC: Finished 27-28 last season. The Maroon and Gold lead the series 4-0 all-time.
Purdue: Finished 31-25 last year. The Gophers lead the all-time series 28-21 and are 9-3 under Coach Allister.
Wisconsin: Finished 21-31 a season ago. The all-time series is tied 23-23.
Rutgers: Finished 29-20 last season. Minnesota is 6-0 all time and 2-0 with Coach Allister against Rutgers.
NDSU: Finished 45-11 last year. The Gophers lead the all-time series 21-2 while going 6-1 under Coach Allister.
Maryland: Finished 27-27 a season ago. Minnesota leads the series 3-0.
Iowa: Finished 19-40 last year. Iowa leads the series 59-46 all-time with the Gophers holding a 10-4 advantage under Coach Allister.