March 8, 2005

Northern Colorado Softball to Open Home Season Wednesday Against Regis

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University of Northern Colorado Bears (4-10)

vs. Regis University (5-3)

Game #15 l  Wednesday, March 9, 2005  l  12 p.m. (Mountain)

Greeley, Colo.  l  UNC Softball Field

 

University of Northern Colorado Bears (4-10)

at Rebel Spring Games

Tournament #3 l  Sunday-Thursday, March 13-17, 2005  l  All Day

Orlando, Fla.

 

GAME INFORMATION

The University of Northern Colorado Bears' softball squad will open its home season on Wednesday against the Regis University Rangers in doubleheader action. Northern Colorado will also travel to Orlando, Fla., later this week to begin play in the Rebel Spring Games, which begin on Sunday. Northern Colorado will match up against Butler, George Mason, Tennessee-Martin, Youngstown State, George Washington, Southeast Missouri State, Bucknell, Colgate, Army and Wisconsin-Green Bay at the Rebel Spring Games. The action will begin on Sunday and continue through Thursday for the Bears in Florida.

 

THE BEAR FACTS

 

FOR OPENERS

The Bears have posted a 3-3 record in home openers since the program was restarted in the 1999 season.

 

SCOOP ON THE RANGERS

Regis comes into Wednesday's contest with a record of 5-3. The Rangers are an NCAA Division II member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Last season, Regis swept a doubleheader from the Bears in Denver as both games went nine innings.

 

BEARS FIND THEIR WINNING WAYS

After struggling to a 1-8 start to the season, Northern Colorado found its winning ways this past weekend at the Charleston Southern Tournament. The Bears were able to post a 3-2 record in the tournament, including victories over Morehead State, Furman and Providence. UNC advanced to the single-elimination portion of the tournament after going 3-1 in pool play. The Bears' only loss in pool play came against No. 5-ranked Tenneesee. The Lady Vols posted a 12-0 win over the Bears. UNC was knocked out of the tournament by UNC-Wilmington when the Seahawks notched a 7-1 victory late on Saturday night.

 

PLATTEN LEADS THE WAY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Senior catcher Whitney Platten put together a solid weekend of play for the Bears as she hit .545 and tallied her first home run of the season. For the season, Platten is hitting a team-best .417 (15-of-36) with four doubles, four runs scored and eight RBI. Platten also leads the team with a .611 slugging percentage. Platten is also currently on a nine-game hitting streak.

 

DUMLER FINDS HER MARK

Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Dumler put together an undefeated weekend in the pitching circle. Dumler went 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in four appearances for the Bears. On the season, Dumler is 3-5 with a 4.97 ERA in seven appearances.

 

SISTER ACT

Senior Stephani Miller and freshman Kati Miller are enjoying spending the season playing together as teammates. Stephani is leading the team with a 3.56 ERA in 41 1/3 innings pitched, while Kati is hitting .273 and has not committed an error at second base in 31 chances.

 

PRESEASON PICK

University of Northern Colorado senior catcher Whitney Platten (Lakewood, Colo.) was named to the preseason NCAA Division I All-Independent team. Platten hit .350 last season with six home runs and tallied 22 runs batted in. Platten also scored 11 runs and was named to the Division I-II All-Independent team in 2004.

 

BEARS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK

After struggling to a 6-32 finish in the 2004 season, the Bears will look to bounce back to the form they had in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons when they averaged 23 wins a season.

 

HAPPY HOME

Head coach Linda Witt is happy to have a home schedule to talk about this season. With the Bears in the midst of a transition from Division II to Division I it has become increasingly difficult to nail down home games. Witt was able to land home series this season with Regis (March 9), UTEP (March 25-26), Colorado State (March 29) and Utah Valley State (April 23-24).

 

BEARS CONTINUE DIVISION I TRANSITION

On May 10, 2002 the UNC Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a move for the UNC intercollegiate athletics program to NCAA Division I. This season is the second of a four-year transition period before officially becoming a Division I school in 2007. UNC will be unable to compete in NCAA postseason competition until the 2007-08 season. UNC will be competing as an independent during the 2004-05 school year and will hopefully find conference affiliation before the end of the reclassification period.

 

HEAD COACH

Linda Witt is entering her fifth season as the head coach of the UNC softball squad. During Witt's tenure as the Bears' leader she has compiled a record of 68-99 overall. Witt will be charged with taking the Bears back to Division I softball, a level she is very familiar with at UNC.

 

"We are going back to Division I and it's exciting because I was a part of the tradition as a player and now I have the opportunity to do it as a coach," Witt said.

 

Witt was named the Co-Coach of the Year in 2002 after leading the Bears to a 28-18 overall mark and an 11-5 record in league action. Witt has compiled an overall mark of 41-36 in two full seasons as the Bears' head coach. Witt played for the Bears' during here college days and led the squad to the NCAA championship game in 1978 before falling to UCLA, 2-0, in the title contest.

 

A 1978 graduate of UNC, Linda Witt spent 20 years as a teacher and coach at University High School (UNC Laboratory School). While at University High, Witt coached the girls' gymnastics team (1979-93), girls' track & field team (1979-2000) and boys' track & field team (1984-2000). Her gymnastics' squads captured 10 state championships and five runner-up finishes during her tenure, including several individual state championship performances. In addition, she coached numerous track & field athletes to individual state titles.

 

Along the way, Witt has garnered many coaching honors, including National High School Athletic Coaches Association - National Coach of the Year Runnerup (1994), NHSACA Regional Coach of the Year (1994), Gatorade "Coach Who Cares" Award (1993), McDonald's Regional Coach of the Year (1992) and Colorado Sportswoman Coach of the Year (1985).

 

Witt has also been very active in the Northern Colorado softball community. She coached several competitive travel teams from 1989-93 and helped initiate numerous softball tournaments, camps and clinics. From 1995-97, she served as a softball instructor and clinician at the Greg Riddoch Sports Academy.

 

As a student-athlete at UNC, Witt excelled in field hockey and softball. For her efforts, Witt was inducted into the UNC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and was recognized along with her 1978 softball teammates during the induction of the team at the 1998 ceremony. Witt was also a member of the United States Field Hockey team from 1979-1982.