Team heads east in second weekend

Normally, junior Brooke Monroe and sophomore Stormy Hanson are just your run-of-the-mill energetic athletes. But this week the two have hardly been able to contain their excitement. \nAfter weeks of anxiously awaiting the start of the women's softball season, the Hoosiers' scheduled season opener Saturday at Evansville was canceled because of soggy field conditions. The cancellation of the game has made the co-captains that much more ecstatic about starting the season, which they will finally be able to do today against Virginia at the Triangle Classic at North Carolina State.\n"I think our whole team was all ready to go last weekend." Hanson said. "It was a disappointment; all the other teams are playing by this time, and we had to wait."\nCoach Diane Stephenson agrees the week was somewhat difficult for her young team to deal with, particularly the freshman players who might be unfamiliar with the practice of rain-outs, which have become a common event for the Hoosiers. Last season, inclement weather forced the Hoosiers to cancel four games.\n"Unlike other sports, it's hard for us to get geared up and then not play," Stephenson said. "I think for the younger players, it was hard for them to be ready to go and just like that have the game canceled."\nConsidering the long wait the team has had to endure, that first game against the Cavaliers carries somewhat greater significance.\n"We're looking to get some wins, but especially getting the first game," Monroe said of the team's goals for the classic.\nThe Hoosiers are paired in a pool with Virginia, Long Island and Elon. On top of their 2 p.m. game against UV, the team also has a 6 p.m. game against Elon (0-6) today, followed by a game at noon Saturday against Long Island.\nThe classic will be the first game of the season for both Virginia and LIU.\nAfter pool play has finished, the six pool winners and the top two second-place teams advance to the "gold bracket" while the rest of the second-place teams and the top four third-place teams will be placed in the "silver bracket." There will be a champion for each bracket. \nFor the Hoosiers, the tournament schedule is inconsequential; they just want to go out and win.\n"We want to win every game we play," Stephenson said. "We want to play against the game and just do the things we have to do."\nOne aspect of pre-season tournaments the Hoosiers like is the fact it allows them to come together as a team.\n"It's a bonding time; you room with two other girls, and everybody gets to know each other," Monroe said of the road-heavy pre-season schedule.\nA resounding theme for the Hoosiers is that they are just plain ready to get the season started and see what they're capable of.\n"It's just going to feel good to get out and play," Stephenson said. "We can't get better until we start playing"