University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Official Athletic Site - Softball
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Quotes from Wednesday's press conferences.
May 19, 1999
Missouri Head Coach Jay Miller:
"Obviously like everyone else, we're real excited to be here at the regional tournament. We struggled a bit last year, and this is something we've been working for since last August, to get back to the NCAA tournament. It's a goal our ballclub has had all year long and they've worked very hard to get here, putting in the time and effort on things that they needed to do to compete at this level. We feel real excited about being here and we're ready to play ball." "We've been playing every weekend since Valentine's Day weekend. We've had a lot of trips, and this has probably been the smoothest trip so far.""We didn't make the regionals last year because we were a younger ballclub. We were trying to put the pieces together. It was a combination of not playing as well as we could have at the times we needed to." (On his team's style of play): "We have a very fast team. We make some things happen defensively."
Missouri Outfielder Stacy Gemeinhardt:
"Like Coach said, we worked hard, we're prepared. We just need to go out and play our game. It doesn't matter who we play."
Minnesota Co-Head Coach Lisa Bernstein:
"Our team is very consistent in all three facets of the game - senior leadership, good pitching on the mound and good hitting throughout the lineup. It's a very easy-going team. They work hard and pay attention to detail."(On playing on the road): "We're so used to being on the road. Out of 68 games, we played 13 at home. Last year we were at Fresno, this year we're at UCLA. We're looking at this as four opportunities to play god ball."
(On UCLA's Stacey Nuveman): "She's a tremendous hitter. UCLA has talent throughout the entire lineup. We just have to be strategic and not let one or two people hurt you." "All the time we were at Michigan (at the Big Ten Championships), we weren't thinking about anybody else but Minnesota. If you take care of your own game, you're going to be in good shape."
Alabama Head Coach Pat Murphy:
"We're just really happy to be here. Our goal was to get to the NCAA Regionals. There was some anxiety when we didn't hear our names announced (for the selection show). It was probably 50/50 that night (on getting into the tournament). I thought that four teams from the SEC deserved to get in and that we played a great schedule." (On the Mar. 12 0-1 loss to UCLA): "It was a clean game, a great game. There were great defensive stops on both sides. There were no cheap outs." "I know the players realize we're going to have to score some runs to be in the game." (On how to pitch to Stacey Nuveman): "Very carefully. We pitched her really in or really away. I've been in softball since 1990, and I've never seen a lineup like they have."
UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist:
"We're just excited to be here. We feel fortunate we have an opportunity to host. We're looking forward to playing Bruin softball. If we come in focused and play inning by inning, hopefully everything will take care of itself."(On earlier Alabama game): "When we went out to Tennessee and faced them, we hit the ball fairly well but didn't really collect so much on our hits. They did a good job of holding us down offensively. I think it's really important for our team to be disciplined at the plate and make good decisions, and to rely on our defense and our pitching. Alabama is a good club. They've lost a lot of games by one or two runs. The Bruins are going to come out tomorrow with a lot of respect for their opponents. If we go out there and play our game, everything will work out. But if we get caught up in being too excitable and wanting it too much, that'll put us out of our game plan. Our goal is to remain disciplined and continue to keep the routine we've been establishing throughout the year."
"Any pressure we feel is self-induced because we have a high standard. We really try on a day to day basis, to just manage our own fundamental game, and that is executing on defense, doing a good job at hitting our spots in the circle, and being smart at the plate. The pressure for this club is really to just prove it to one another. I think there is an incredible commitment in the squad to prove to one another. I think the nice thing about coaching this club this year has been that they're internally motivated, they truly are. They're not a club that gets real high or gets real low based on the opponent. As a coach, you really appreciate that because many times you have teams that are externally motivated, so they'll play well against the bigger teams and don't show up for the lower level teams. This team has done a great job of managing the pressure and staying motivated from within. That's why you've seen the consistency that they've showed this season."
(On having already played four of the six teams in the regionals): "When they line up the pairings, you really hope that you have the opportunity to play a team that you've already faced. I enjoy knowing that I've played a team before. It's nice to know what they did and didn't do when we played them last. We do know a bit about Alabama and it's comforting to know how to be prepared based on how we did in Tennessee."
"This is a really good region because there are solid teams in here. It's not a cakewalk for anybody, all these teams have good reputations, and they play solid softball. I think that the community and the softball fans are going to see some excellent competition." "We really want to focus on just executing and I really don't think about the wins and losses until we're all done and we have to put everything away. We really want to execute and play our game and let the W's and the L's fall where they may."
"In all my years I've never seen the depth in the Pac-10 like I've seen it this year. It's been very competitive and demanding all year, but at this time of year I think it's an advantage because we've played such competitive teams for a six to eight week period. Our team has seen a lot of competition, and hopefully we'll see our Pac-10 rivals and other teams do well in their regions as well, because I really think that the Pac-10 is the strongest conference in the country."
UCLA Pitcher Courtney Dale:
"Overall for the team, we're just really excited to be here in the
post-season and really excited to be a part of this. We're going to
take it one game at a time and just play softball like we've been
doing all season."
"I think our team has phenomenal defense and offense. It's calming to me when I'm out there pitching, I know that anything that's hit is going to get eaten up by the defense. It's also very reassuring when your offense is on, and you have runs behind you when you go out there on the circle."
UCLA Center Fielder Christie Ambrosi:
"When we look back at everything we've been through as a team, it makes us focus on this weekend and getting the job done together. This is the first step. Everything we've done to this point has been working for tomorrow and the day after that."(On the earlier game vs. Alabama): "I remember there was a lot of rivalry; I had never played that team but for some reason there was a rivalry between us. I think it's good that we are starting off playing them, because at this point everybody's even. What we've done to this point doesn't matter, you lose two ballgames and you're out, so it is going to help us stay focused and not look past them. There was a lot of tension in that game, and we only won by one run. There was a lot of excitement on both sides and both of our teams really wanted to win, and it was a close ballgame the whole game. It just made the game a lot more competitive."
"(Alabama) has a lot of talent and it's going to be one of those games where whoever executes best is going to win. You can't go out there expecting to win easily against them. You have to look at everybody as if they belong (in the seeding) where they are at right now."
Cal State Northridge Head Coach Janet Sherman: "We're excited to be here. It's a great day, and we're happy to make playoffs. We're looking forward to playing Missouri, and it's going to be an exciting game."
"I'm excited for our seniors and for our freshmen; it's a great way to break in a huge freshman class, and it's what we asked for to send off our seniors. They deserve to be here, they've worked hard all season. We've earned our opportunity to be here."
(On playing Arizona): "It was the key point in our season. The weekend before that we dropped three to Sacramento. It was the low point, and everything from there was up. Yes, beating Arizona was big and it showed us that we could (do it). Then we went right into conference (play) and we knew what we had to do." "Missouri is a very good team, they're very fast and they run the bases a lot. They hit the ball and catch the ball just like we do. So we're going to go out and try to play our game, staying focused and confident. Tara (Glaister) is going to keep them off the bases, and we're going to let our offense go to bat for us."
"My advice to the freshmen, and the seniors, is to enjoy the moment. For the freshmen it's important to get through the jitters, and then they can enjoy it and have fun because that's when they play their best. Our seniors have been here before, and the jitters that exist for the freshmen don't exist for them; they're here, they want to win it, this is the last hurrah, and I want them to go out and win it." "Because our season was almost over, it made us closer as a team. We're confident and emotionally focused on the task. We're fired up and we're excited."
"I want this Northridge team to see (what it's like to win a championship) and to achieve that. I've won here (as a player on the UCLA team), and we can win too."
Cal State Northridge Pitcher Tara Glaister (On her strategy) "I don't really know anything about Missouri so I'll just have to play it by ear and see what they throw at us, and adjust to it."
"I really don't have any jitters. I feel really confident about this weekend probably because we've been playing really well the last month and a half. I have a lot of confidence in our team and I'm not nervous about it at all."
"It makes us appreciate it more, that it's not just something we get just because we have a name. We have to earn it. This year I feel very lucky to be here and it's more important to me." "Just the fact of winning will be outrageous, because we've never won it before. Winning is the ultimate goal."
Creighton Head Coach Brent Vigness:
"We're excited to be here. After we went on a ten-game losing streak in California, we went on a seven-game win streak. Our bats have come alive recently. We're excited that we're still playing softball at this time of the year." "We hope to continue doing what we've been doing, especially in the last half of the season. I don't know enough about Minnesota to say how we're going to approach them. We're just going to make adjustments. Our ability to adjust is going to be the factor in winning the game." (On their earlier game against UCLA): "Our team wasn't intimidated when we started, but UCLA stuck it to us. They have a very dangerous lineup."
Creighton Infielder Heidi Geier:
"We have a tremendous sense of togetherness. We're tremendously excited to be here. We can't ask for more than the opportunity to compete in LA against the best teams." (On the team's strength): "Our defense. We're not a power hitting team, and our hitting is contagious. We hope to continue our offensive and defensive effort." (On facing UCLA earlier): "At least we had a chance to see what UCLA has, and hopefully we'll have a chance to face them again. We did earn our way here, and we should have that confidence under our belt."