For: Immediate Release
February 13, 2003



Roanoke Ranked 13th to Start Season
Maroons Looking For Fifth Straight ODAC Title/NCAA Bid

BRIDGEWATER, VA--The Roanoke College softball team is ranked 13th in the nation in the National FastPitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III preseason poll. The Maroons, who finished last season as the nation’s 11th ranked team in the same poll, are coming off of a year in which they went 38-5 overall, won their fourth consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship, and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament for the fourth straight season.

The Maroons head into the 2003 season, which begins on March 1st with a home game against Southern Virginia, returning all but three of their starting field players. Overall, Bayse’s squad returns 10 players off of last season’s team, including senior Rachel Capozzi (Revere, MA/Winchester) and Amy Zachary (Richmond, VA/Monocan), both of whom were First Team All-ODAC picks last season. They will be joined by 2002 ODAC Rookie of the Year Kim Rowe (Hampton, VA/Bethel), Jessica Worsham (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan), and Crystal Berry (Timberville, VA/Broadway), all of which were also First Team All-ODAC picks.

The Maroons open their season on the first day of March with a game against Southern Virginia at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, VA. That double-header will be the start of a 36-game regular season schedule. The Maroons will play 16 ODAC contests, that after Guilford College added softball as a varsity sport for this spring. The ODAC tournament will again be held at the Moyer Sports Complex and will take place April 25-26.

For more information on the Roanoke College softball team, contact Director of Athletic Communications Chris Cummings at 540-375-2344 or head coach Alan Bayse at 540-378-5130.