Oct. 30, 2007
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State softball head coach Kathy Van Wyk has announced a 58-game spring schedule, highlighted by a game against 2007 NCAA champion Arizona and contests against six of the other seven teams who made last year's Women's College World Series. The Aztecs, who finished 32-24 a year ago, will host three tournaments, highlighted by games against UCLA, Oregon and Texas A&M.
Of its 38 opponents, 22 (57.9 percent) will be against teams who made the 2007 NCAA tournament. In addition, SDSU will play seven of the top-10 RPI teams from a year ago, 12 of the top-25 and 23 of the top-50.
San Diego State will begin its season on the road for the first time since 2004 when it travels to compete in the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. At the classic, which runs from Feb. 8-10, the Aztecs will take on three top-40 RPI teams in Cal Poly, California and Mississippi State with additional games against UC Davis and Portland State.
The following weekend (Feb. 14-17), SDSU will play host to the prestigious 18th annual Campbell/Cartier Classic. Campbell/Cartier will feature San Diego State games against UC Santa Barbara, Indiana, Tulsa, Fresno State and Utah State.
The Aztecs head back to Palm Springs the following weekend when they play in arguably their toughest tournament of the season, the Palm Springs Tourney. Four of their five games in the Tourney will be against top-10 RPI teams, including a contest against 2007 NCAA champion Arizona. Besides the Wildcats, SDSU will play Northwestern (No. 3), Baylor (No. 10), Georgia (No. 25) and Oklahoma (No. 6).
San Diego State returns to Montezuma Mesa for a seven-game homestand over the period of Feb. 28-March 5. Following a single game against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 28, the Aztecs will co-host, along with USD, the San Diego Classic I from Feb. 29-March 2 with scheduled games against St. Peters, Harvard, UCLA, Eastern Michigan and Oregon.
Following a single contest against Loyola-Chicago on March 5, SDSU travels to Tempe, Ariz., to participate in the Arizona State Tourney. In the tourney, SDSU will play Pacific twice, USD, UC Davis and the host Sun Devils.
Along with USD, San Diego State will put on its final tournament of the year in the San Diego Classic II. Scheduled to play the Aztecs include Cal State Fullerton, New Mexico State, Long Beach State, Texas A&M and Iowa State.
SDSU ends its tournament schedule the following weekend when its makes the short drive north to Fullerton for the Judy Garman Classic. San Diego State will take on perennial powers Washington, Michigan, DePaul, along with Mountain West Conference foe UNLV and Big Ten's Illinois.
The Aztecs begin their quest for their fourth MWC crown in seven years when it plays host to UNLV on April 5-6.
SDSU will play each of the five teams in the conference four times, twice at home and twice on the road, to round out the season of regular season play. The Aztecs only non-conference game in between MWC play is a short drive to USD on April 16.
Following league action, San Diego State will await a possible bid to the NCAA tournament.