2007 Softball Schedule Set; Features Nine NCAA Tournament Participants From Season Ago

10/31/06 -- Long Island University softball head coach Roy Kortmann announced the team's 2007 schedule today, which includes nine teams from the 2006 NCAA tournament field and four that ended the season ranked in the top 25.

LIU will begin the season at a three-day tournament hosted by Florida Atlantic on Feb. 16-18. The Owls were an NCAA participant a season ago. The Blackbirds will face St. John's in their first game of hte tournament on Friday, Feb. 16 at 4:00 p.m.

The following weekend, Long Island will travel to Palm Springs, Calif. to compete in the Palm Springs Classic. The nationally-recognized tournament features three teams that participated in last year's tournament, including Arizona State. The Sun Devils finished the season ranked sixth in the nation in 2006 and defeated LIU, 6-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Softball Championship.

March features four tournaments, three of which take place in Florida. The adidas Tampa Tournament on Mar. 8-11 includes N.C. State, who finished last year ranked No. 24 after winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and advancing to their first-ever NCAA tournament.

From there, the Blackbirds travel to Clearwater for the University of South Florida Invitational. The two-day tournament on Mar. 13-14 includes the host Bulls and Indiana, both 2006 NCAA Tournament teams, as well as Northeast Conference opponent Quinnipiac.

LIU returns back to Tampa, Fla. two days later for the Speedline Tampa Tournament. Kent State, UNLV and Rhode Island will be the Blackbirds' first three opponents before the championship round on Mar. 18.

The final tournament on the docket is the Stony Brook Invitational in Stony Brook, N.Y. Quinnipiac is included in the field of participants, as are Fairfield and the host Seawolves.

Northeast Conference play begins on Mar. 31 with a doubleheader at Wagner. LIU will travel to Robert Morris on Saturday, Apr. 28 for a conference doubleheader in a rematch of last season's championship final. The Blackbirds defeated the Colonials, 4-2, to advance to their fifth NCAA tournament.