February 9, 2004

The Virginia Tech softball squad will open up its 2004 season this weekend, but a battle with the United States Olympic Softball Team highlights this year's schedule. The Hokies will compete in six tournaments, including their own Hokie Fastpitch Club Classic.

Tech will open its season on Friday at the Georgia Softball Invitational in Athens, Ga. The Hokies open up with Buffalo at noon, followed by seventh-ranked Georgia at 4 p.m. On Saturday, Tech will take on Appalachian State at 10 a.m. Following the three games, the four teams will be seeded for a two-game tournament, playing one more on Saturday and one game on Sunday.

The Hokies will then travel to Burlington, N.C., for the Elon Tournament, where they will take on Elon, Akron, North Carolina A&T, Robert Morris and Campbell.

Up next is the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., where most of the top teams in the country will be competing. Oklahoma, Arizona State, Texas, DePaul, Washington, California, LSU and Florida State are just a few of the top-notch teams competing. Tech will take on Michigan, Georgia Tech and Nebraska in pool play, but the biggest game is one that doesn't even count in the stat columns.

The Hokies will have a rare chance to take on the worlds best when they face the U.S. Olympic Team on Feb. 27 at 8:30 p.m., in a scrimmage at the Stadium Field, the same field where the U.S. Team won the Gold Medal in the 1996 Olympic Games. Lisa Fernandez, Jennie Finch, Crystl Bustos, Stacey Nuveman, Leah O'Brien-Amico and Natasha Watley will all be a part of that team that will take on the Hokies and eventually participate in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The team is takingon college teams at different tournaments, as well as all-star teams from around the country, as part of their 2004 "Aiming for Athens" tour.

"This is an incredible opportunity for this team and program," said head coach Scot Thomas, who is entering his ninth season at the helm. "Playing the Olympic team will be something our players and coaches will always remember and no one can take that experience away from them."

After a doubleheader at Radford, the Hokies will begin their spring break trip in Kissimmee, Fla., participating in the Rebel Spring Games. Tech will take on George Mason, Toledo, St. Bonaventure, Central Michigan, Niagara and Butler throughout the week. The second part of the trip will take the Hokies to Miami for the Blue & Gold Classic, hosted by Florida International. There, Tech will take on UMass, Miami of Ohio and FIU.

After a home doubleheader against James Madison on March 17 - the Hokies' home opener - Tech will host the Hokie Fastpitch Club Classic, which will feature ETSU, St. Francis, Marshall, Appalachian State and Mount St. Mary's.

Doubleheaders with the University of Virginia, Boston College, Connecticut, Rutgers, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Liberty, St. John's, Seton Hall, Providence, Notre Dame and Syracuse, along with single games against ETSU, Tennessee and UVa, round out the regular season.

The 2004 BIG EAST Conference Championship will be held May 13-15 at Syracuse, N.Y.