The Marquette club softball team will look to bounce back from a 1-5 trip to Florida last week when the team travels to Joliet College (Ill.) for a doubleheader on Saturday.
"We played some very competitive junior college teams," said junior infielder Rachel Skogseth. "They have Division I players who either don't have the grades to transfer or need some more time to develop so it's not like the other teams we play."
The team gained more depth to their pitching this season with addition of freshman Amy Hammer to the roster that already included sophomores Megan Mazur and Maggie Johnson.
"Pitching is definitely a strength and we have a good defense to back it up," Skogseth said.
Marquette has a young team with 12 freshman and five sophomores, along with five juniors and two seniors. The team will look to build off a split doubleheader last semester, the team's only two games during the fall season.
The team will play its home opener on April 2 against Wisconsin at Kulwiki Park.
Curling team competes at national tournament
The club curling team competed in the college curling national tournament last Friday. Both Marquette teams entered in the competition went 1-2 in their matches.
"We did the best we could against teams comprised of seasoned, competitive curlers," said junior Alex Smith, club president. "Even though we didn't win, we had a wonderful experience."
The competition took place in Chicago with 40 teams competing across five divisions based on curling experience. This was the team's first competition since a team win in October, according to Smith.
"All four teams that defeated the Marquette teams had major competition experience. They go to bonspiels (curling tournaments) every weekend," Smith said. "We don't have the budget for that so we don't get the experience that they get."
Marquette A competed in Division 1 and defeated Wisconsin-Marathon County but lost to Wisconsin and Washington. The second team, Marquette B, beat Michigan but lost to the Medical College of Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth in Division II.
"All of our players are returning next year," Smith said. "So look for us to make a serious bid for the national championship."