BULLDOG SOFTBALL BEGINS FIRST DAY OF SPRING PRACTICE
January 16, 2009
BULLDOG SOFTBALL BEGINS FIRST DAY OF SPRING PRACTICE
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University softball team began its first day of spring practice on Friday, as the squad prepares to embark on its first season at Division I and compete at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for our student-athletes to compete at the highest level," said head coach Lisa-Ann Wallace, who enters her ninth season at the helm of the Bulldogs and has already established herself as the all-time winningest coach in school history, racking up an astounding 194 wins in her first eight years. "I'm extremely confident that our team will play hard and compete in every game."
The Bulldogs could not have ended their Division II run much better that they did, capturing the program's first ever 30-win season , finishing second in the Northeast-10 with a program-best 23-5 record and making their fifth-straight trip to the NCAA Northeast regionals in 2008.
In their final five seasons in the Northeast-10 Conference, Bryant brought home two conference championships in 2005 and 2006, while advancing to the NCAA Northeast regional championship game in 2007.
With snow on the ground and temperatures nearing zero degrees outside in Smithfield, the Bulldogs will spend most of their time indoors in the Chace Center before beginning Division I play at the Centenary Tournament in Shreveport, Louisiana on February 6 against SIU-Edwardsville. Bryant will play in two other tournaments, participating in the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament from February 27-March 1, and the Rebel Games from March 8-March 13. The Bulldogs will host their first Division I game on Tuesday, March 17th when the Crusaders of Holy Cross visit the Bryant Softball Complex for a double-header.
