Utah Valley at Sportco Kick Off Classic 
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 12-14, 2016  
Las Vegas, Nev.   |   UNLV's Eller Media Stadium (Friday & Sunday)
Henderson, Nev.  |  Stephanie Lynn Craig Complex (Saturday)
Tournament Central Page  |  UVU Game Notes
Live Video Sunday vs. UNLV
Live Stats: Texas Tech | Minnesota | Lamar | South Dakota | UNLV  
 

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UTAH VALLEY SOFTBALL SET TO OPEN 2016 CAMPAIGN FRIDAY IN LAS VEGAS
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University softball team will head to Las Vegas, Nevada to open its 2016 season at UNLV's Sportco Kick Off Classic this weekend. The Wolverines will be tested right out of the gates, as they will face Texas Tech (10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT) and #14 Minnesota (12:15 p.m. MT/11:15 a.m. PT) on Friday, Lamar (2:30 p.m. MT/1:30 p.m. PT) and South Dakota (4:45 p.m. MT/3:45 p.m. PT) on Saturday and the host Rebels (4:45 p.m. MT/3:45 p.m. PT) on Sunday.
 
Friday and Sunday's games will take place at UNLV's Eller Media Stadium while Saturday's twinbill against the Cardinals and Coyotes will be contested at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Complex in Henderson. Live stats will be available for all five games by visiting WolverineGreen.com while live video will be streamed only for Sunday's contest against UNLV by visiting UNLVRebels.com.
 
"We're facing some top teams down there right away. I think it's good for our program and for our girls to start preparing for the postseason immediately against this strong competition this weekend," head coach Nikki Palmer said. "We're looking forward to hitting the road and putting into play what we've been working so hard on in practice."  
 
The Wolverines, who won the WAC Tournament two seasons ago to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 2014, are coming off of an 18-41 season and a sixth-place showing in the Western Athletic Conference with a 3-12 league record. Despite the losing record last year, Utah Valley managed to lead the nation in double plays by turning a school-record 45 of them. The Wolverines also managed to top their first-ever nationally ranked opponent in No. 25 Cal State Fullerton, 9-0, as well as knocking off other top programs in Wisconsin (9-5), Indiana (4-1), Texas Tech (6-5), Virginia (5-4), UConn (4-3), New Mexico (9-3) and in-state rival BYU (13-0).
 
UVU welcomes back a total of 20 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's team, as well as three All-WAC honorees in junior infielder Brittney Vansway, senior utility Morgan Smith and sophomore outfielder Jaylen Watson.
 
"Our returners are really, really strong. We graduated three solid players from last year's team but also managed to retain some of our top talent," Palmer stated. "We'll look for big things once again from our two-time all-conference performer Brittney Vansway, as well as offensively from Brianna Gatlin. Tiani Hensley also gives us great consistency up the middle, as does Morgan Smith in the outfield with her speed and Bailey Moore in the circle."
 
UVU will also welcome in four newcomers to the fold this season in infielders Jaymee Lawton (Goodyear, Ariz.) and Eryn Sustayta (West Covina, Calif.), outfielder Kendall Ohman (Parker, Colo.) and catcher Raven Sapla (Ewa Beach, Hawaii).
 
"We're excited about what our newcomers will bring to the program," added Palmer. "Eryn Sustayta is very fun to watch on defense and will show us what she can do this opening weekend. Jaymee Lawton also stepped it up for us in the fall and will look to continue that trend by bringing power to the lineup and consistency in the infield."
 
The Wolverines will play their first 26 games away from Orem this season, as they won't have their first home game until March 15 when in-state foe Utah State comes to town for a midweek contest. During the 26-game stretch, UVU will also head to Cathedral City, California for five games at the Mary Nutter Classic Feb. 19-21, Honolulu, Hawaii for six games at the Hawaii Invitational Feb. 26-28, San Diego, California March 4-6 for five games at the San Diego Classic I and Long Beach, California March 10-12 for five more contests at the Long Beach Louisville Slugger Invitational.


"We go to the best tournaments and often times that includes the best opponents. We hold ourselves to a high standard and try to perform at that level," Palmer said. "It is important for us to face these teams because these are the types of opponents that we will face in the postseason."
 
UVU, who was selected to finish sixth in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll, will then open conference play at CSU Bakersfield on April 1. The season will then culminate with the WAC Tournament May 12-14 in Seattle, Washington.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
The Red Raiders finished the 2015 season 25-26 overall and fourth in the Big 12 with a 9-9 record. Texas Tech was picked to finish sixth in the 2016 preseason coaches poll and holds a 4-1 all-time series advantage over UVU.
 
The Golden Gophers enter the season ranked 14th in the nation after going 49-11 a year ago and taking second in the Big Ten with a 20-3 conference record. Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament in 2015 but had their tournament run cut short at the Tucson Regional. Friday's contest will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Gophers on the softball field.
 
Lamar went 26-28 a year ago and took fifth in the Southland Conference with a 14-10 record. The Cardinals were picked to finish fourth this season in the preseason Southland poll. Saturday's ballgame will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Cardinals.
 
South Dakota finished with a 28-25-1 record last season and took second in the Summit League with a 10-4 clip. The Coyotes were recently picked to finish third in the Summit League Preseason Poll in 2016. Saturday's contest will mark the seventh all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Yotes. UVU will enter play with a 5-1 series advantage and having won three straight over USD.
 
The host Rebels went 25-30 a year ago and placed fifth in the Mountain West with an 11-13 league record. UNLV was once again tabbed to take fifth in the Mountain West this season on the league's preseason poll. Sunday's ballgame will mark the eighth all-time contest between UVU and UNLV. The Rebels will enter play with a 6-1 series advantage.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following the Sportco Kick Off Classic, UVU will once again hit the road next weekend (Feb. 19-21) to face #24 Notre Dame, George Washington, Army, Bethune-Cookman and Binghamton at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California.