Feb. 6, 2003
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The University of Missouri softball team will open up its 2003 season at the Auburn Invitational in Auburn Ala. Joining the Tigers in the tournament are Mercer University, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and the host-team, Auburn. Ty Singleton will begin his first season leading the Mizzou softball team this weekend. Singleton took over the MU program last summer after spending the past two years as the head coach at Northwestern State (La.) University. MU opens play against Mercer on Friday at 11 a.m.
INSIDE AUBURN
The Auburn Tigers are the host team for this weekend's tournament and have started the 2003 season 2-5.
Last Tuesday, Auburn dropped both games of a doubleheader to Florida State. The Tigers lost game one to FSU 8-0, then fell in extra innings in the second game by a 3-2 score.
Last season, the Tigers finished 38-27 and were third in the SEC West. Tina Deese is in her seventh season as the Tiger head coach and has compiled a record of 182-203-1. She has a career record of 468-325-2 in 15 years.
INSIDE MERCER
Mercer opened its 2003 season last weekend by sweeping a doubleheader with Alabama State.
The Bears then split a doubleheader with Florida A&M on Tuesday to move to 3-1 on the year.
The Bears are coming off a 21-35 record last season, which was Tony Foti's first season as the Bears head coach.
INSIDE CHATTANOOGA
The Lady Mocs will begin their season with this weekend's tournament in Auburn.
UTC won the Southern Conference last season, finishing the year 44-15 and 17-2 in conference play. The Lady Mocs are the favorite to win the conference again this season.
Frank Reed is in his second year at the helm of the UTC program. He has compiled a 520-102 overall record.
TOURNEY TIME
Missouri will play in five tournaments this season beginning with this weekend's Auburn Invitational.
Last season, MU participated in six tournament, including hosting three. The Tigers were 16-16 in tournament play in 2002, including winning the Missouri Invitational.
Following this weekend's tournament, MU will travel to the Stanford Invitational, the Troy Cox Invitational, the UCLA Tournament and the Houston Tournament.
SINGLETON GUIDES MIZZOU
Ty Singleton was named the sixth head coach in Mizzou softball history last June.
Singleton spent the last two season as the head coach at Northwestern State (La.) University, compiling a 75-45 record.
He is no stranger to the Big 12 Conference, after spending four season as an assistant coach at the University of Texas.
Singleton brings a aggressive approach of softball to Mizzou. His teams have been known for being aggressive at the plate, on the bases and in the field. The first hire the Singleton made at MU was Tom Royder as the Tiger pitching coach. Royder was also an assistant for Singleton at Northwestern State.
Karrie Rider completes the Mizzou staff. She was an assistant coach at Harvard last season and serves as the Tigers' fielding coach, as well as assisting in other areas.
SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
The strength of the Big 12 Conference along with the non-conference opponents of Mizzou, makes the 2003 Tiger schedule one of the toughest in the nation.
Six of the Tigers' 2003 opponents are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25. Three of those teams are in the top 10 and three Big 12 teams are among the top 25.
Missouri will face the top team in the country, UCLA later this month at the UCLA Tournament.
The Tigers will also face No. 4 Nebraska, No. 8 Oklahoma, No 12 Texas, No. 14 Stanford and No. 24 Texas A&M this season.
The Tigers begin the 2003 campaign with a four-tournament, 20-game road trip.
The first home contest for MU will be on March 12, when Pittsburg State will take on the Tigers in a doubleheader. Following the set with PSU, Mizzou is back on the road for four games at the Houston Tournament.
Big 12 Conference play begins on March 20 when rival Kansas visits University Field.
MAKING THE GRADE
The student-athletes at the University of Missouri have excelled not just on the field, but also off the field.
This past fall semester the overall GPA for Missouri student-athletes was an all-time high 2.90.
The softball team had a 2.85 GPA and had 10 players with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Mizzou also had six players make the Dean's List.
The graduation rate among MU student-athletes is also at an all-time high of 72%, which is the best in the Big 12 Conference.
WELCOME BACK...
Among those returning to the Tigers from last year's squad are the team leaders in nearly all major categories.
Rachael McGinnis led MU in hits (67), batting average (.379), slugging percentage (.610), RBI (47), doubles (10), triples (5), homeruns (7), total bases (108) and walks (25).
The leading base stealer for the Tigers last year was Sara Vassmer, who stole 20 bases in 31 attempts and returns in 2003.
The top two pitchers for the 2002 Tigers are back this season. Erin Kalka led Mizzou in innings pitched (171.2), strikeouts (137), ERA (1.88), wins (14) and appearances (41).
Ingrid Werner was the team leader in games started (31) and complete games (11).
...AND WELCOME ABOARD
Joining the Tiger veterans is a strong group of freshman. Several freshman are likely to see significant time on the field for Mizzou.
On the mound, Samantha Fleeman has been impressive in preseason practices after having a good fall season. Fleeman is likely to move into the rotation quickly.
Morgan Kent is in the mix at the catcher spot and will see time behind the plate. In last weekend's Black and Gold game, Kent provided the offensive power, crushing a homerun to left field to score the White team's lone run.
The right side of the infield could also have a fresh look. Joanne Loethen, who put up the team's best offensive numbers last fall will see time at first base.
Kendra Power has spent the preseason working to win the starting spot at second base. She has proven to be a very strong defensive player.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE COACHES PICK MU NINTH
The Big 12 Conference preseason coaches poll has the Tigers ranked ninth in the league. Mizzou finished ninth in the Big 12 last year.
Nebraska received the No. 1 spot with 77 points and five first place votes. Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor also received first place votes.
Four Big 12 teams are ranked in the Top 25. Nebraska is No. 4, Oklahoma is No. 8, Texas is No. 12 and Texas A&M is No. 24. Baylor also received votes in the Top 25 poll.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Two MU seniors are moving up the charts in the career record books at Mizzou.
Sara Vassmer is currently seventh in career batting average at MU, with a .334 mark.
Vassmer is also moving up the career stolen bases list at Mizzou. Heading into this season, Vassmer has swiped 44 bases, placing her 12th all-time in Tiger softball history.
Ingrid Werner's name shows up several time in the pitching record books.
Werner is eighth in career strikeouts with 222 heading into the weekend.
She is also in 10th place in innings pitched with 420.2 innings pitched prior to this weekend's tournament. Werner also has 10 career shutouts, placing her 10th all-time at Missouri.
She is also 11th in both complete games (31) and wins (29).
TIGERS SIGN SEVEN FOR 2003 RECRUITING CLASS
Tiger coach Ty Singleton announced his first recruiting class at Mizzou on Dec. 5. Seven high school standouts signed National Letters of Intent to play at Mizzou next season.
Leanne Bowers (Arnold, Mo.) is a three-time all-state selection and a four-time all-conference team member and led the St. Louis area in home runs as a senior.
Allison Kennewell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was a team captain as a senior for Eden Prairie High, leading the team to the state championship. She was a three-year letterwinner and was an all-conference selection twice.
Kerri Lamkin was the team MVP and was selected to the all-league first team and also captured all-district honors. She helped her team to the state semifinals in 1999 and 2000 and was named team captain as a senior.
Kathy Masterson, from Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, is a three-time selection to the all-conference team and a three-time member of the all-district team.
Micaela Minner, a two-time all-state selection was the District 9-3A co-off-ensive MVP as a sophomore and was the district offensive MVP her junior season.
Erica Peterson is a senior at Coppell (Texas) High School. She led Coppell to the state championship as a sophomore, as hit .347 at the plate and had a 6-0 record and 0.45 ERA as a pitcher during the championship series.
Sarah Stringer is a senior at nearby North Callaway High School. She hit .564 with 26 runs scored and 34 stolen bases during her senior season.
ON TAP
Next up for Mizzou is a trip to Palo Alto Calif, to take part in the Stanford Invitational next Friday thru Sunday.
Joining the Tigers in the tournament will be Stanford, Kentucky and Penn State.
Mizzou will begin play on Friday against Penn State at 11 a.m.