University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI Softball Sets 2018 Slate
1/10/2018 9:00:00 AM | Softball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The 2018 University of Northern Iowa softball schedule has been revealed. The slate includes games against five NCAA tournament participants, two of which advanced to the super regionals.
The Panthers will enter the 2018 season as the defending regular season MVC champions. UNI will look to repeat as conference champions for the first time in program history. UNI has captured MVC regular season titles in 2000, 2012 and 2017.
It will be the 11th season for the Panthers under the leadership of head coach Ryan Jacobs. Jacobs and his coaching staff were honored as the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017.
"As a team, we're very excited about the 2018 schedule" Jacobs said. "The team has done a great job preparing for the regular season, especially with preparing and developing new players.
"The team should be very balanced this season, both offensively and defensively. We lost four seniors, but we are very confident with the way that the team is adapting to new players and roles."
The season kicks off Feb. 9-11 with the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic, hosted by UNI. The Panthers will take on Southeast Missouri State, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, South Dakota State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
From there, UNI will travel to Orlando, Florida, to compete in the Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invitational, Feb. 16-18. In addition to games against Quinnipiac, UCF and George Washington, the Panthers are scheduled to face off against Kennesaw State, Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.
UNI will also take part in the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Feb. 23-25, where it will face off against perennial powerhouses in Alabama and Florida State. In addition, the Panthers will take on Georgia State twice.
The Panthers will take part in the Belmont Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, March 2-4, and match up twice with both North Carolina A&T and Butler, along with single game against Belmont.
The last tournament of the regular season will see the Panthers traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, to take part in the Kansas Invitational, March 9-11. The other teams in the field will be Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Missouri-Kansas City and Tulsa.
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference opener for UNI is scheduled for March 17 as UNI takes on Bradley in a doubleheader to begin a three-game series. After that, the Panthers will head to Evansville, March 24-25, for a three-game series, and finish off the road trip with a Tuesday matinee game on March 27, against the Wisconsin Badgers.
UNI will return home March 30-31, for a three-game set against Missouri State. The Panthers will then hit the road for a matchup with Iowa on April 4, as well as a league series against Valparaiso, April 7-8.
The Panthers will stay in Cedar Falls until the last week of April, with a contest against Iowa State on April 11, as well as a series between Loyola, April 14-15. Drake will come to town as the Panthers play host to the Bulldogs in an intrastate doubleheader on April 17. The penultimate regular season home series will be against Indiana State, Apr. 21-22.
UNI will travel to Drake for a single game on April 24, before returning home for the last regular season home series, vs. Illinois State, April 28-29. The final series of the regular season will see the Panthers traveling to Southern Illinois, May 5-6.
The 2018 MVC Tournament is scheduled for May 10-12, and will be held in Des Moines, Iowa.
The NCAA Tournament selection show is scheduled for Sun., May 13, and the NCAA Tournament will begin the following weekend. There will be 64 teams facing off across 16 regional sites over the course of the tournament. UNI is searching for its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
For the latest information on Panther Softball, follow @UNISoftball on Twitter, unisoftball on Instagram and @UNIPantherSoftball on Facebook.
The Panthers will enter the 2018 season as the defending regular season MVC champions. UNI will look to repeat as conference champions for the first time in program history. UNI has captured MVC regular season titles in 2000, 2012 and 2017.
It will be the 11th season for the Panthers under the leadership of head coach Ryan Jacobs. Jacobs and his coaching staff were honored as the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017.
"As a team, we're very excited about the 2018 schedule" Jacobs said. "The team has done a great job preparing for the regular season, especially with preparing and developing new players.
"The team should be very balanced this season, both offensively and defensively. We lost four seniors, but we are very confident with the way that the team is adapting to new players and roles."
The season kicks off Feb. 9-11 with the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic, hosted by UNI. The Panthers will take on Southeast Missouri State, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, South Dakota State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
From there, UNI will travel to Orlando, Florida, to compete in the Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invitational, Feb. 16-18. In addition to games against Quinnipiac, UCF and George Washington, the Panthers are scheduled to face off against Kennesaw State, Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.
UNI will also take part in the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Feb. 23-25, where it will face off against perennial powerhouses in Alabama and Florida State. In addition, the Panthers will take on Georgia State twice.
The Panthers will take part in the Belmont Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, March 2-4, and match up twice with both North Carolina A&T and Butler, along with single game against Belmont.
The last tournament of the regular season will see the Panthers traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, to take part in the Kansas Invitational, March 9-11. The other teams in the field will be Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Missouri-Kansas City and Tulsa.
The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference opener for UNI is scheduled for March 17 as UNI takes on Bradley in a doubleheader to begin a three-game series. After that, the Panthers will head to Evansville, March 24-25, for a three-game series, and finish off the road trip with a Tuesday matinee game on March 27, against the Wisconsin Badgers.
UNI will return home March 30-31, for a three-game set against Missouri State. The Panthers will then hit the road for a matchup with Iowa on April 4, as well as a league series against Valparaiso, April 7-8.
The Panthers will stay in Cedar Falls until the last week of April, with a contest against Iowa State on April 11, as well as a series between Loyola, April 14-15. Drake will come to town as the Panthers play host to the Bulldogs in an intrastate doubleheader on April 17. The penultimate regular season home series will be against Indiana State, Apr. 21-22.
UNI will travel to Drake for a single game on April 24, before returning home for the last regular season home series, vs. Illinois State, April 28-29. The final series of the regular season will see the Panthers traveling to Southern Illinois, May 5-6.
The 2018 MVC Tournament is scheduled for May 10-12, and will be held in Des Moines, Iowa.
The NCAA Tournament selection show is scheduled for Sun., May 13, and the NCAA Tournament will begin the following weekend. There will be 64 teams facing off across 16 regional sites over the course of the tournament. UNI is searching for its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
For the latest information on Panther Softball, follow @UNISoftball on Twitter, unisoftball on Instagram and @UNIPantherSoftball on Facebook.
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