North Carolina State University Athletics
Softball Holds First Practice at Dail Softball Stadium
9/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
GoPack.com had the pleasure of attending the Wolfpack softball team’s first practice on its brand new field and is proud to present a photo gallery of the team in preparation for its upcoming season. Click here to access the gallery.
RALEIGH, N.C. Today is the day that NC State head coach Lisa Navas and the entire Wolfpack softball program has been anticipating. State took the field at the brand-new Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium on campus for the first time on Monday, Sept. 24, cutting the ribbon on its 2008 season by beginning fall practice. With two NCAA appearances and both ACC regular season and tournament championships already under its belt in just four years of existence, staff and student-athletes alike were equally excited to see the program step foot on its own home turf.
Simply put; today was a big day for NC State softball.
“This is very exciting,” said Navas. “To be able to walk out of the office and across the street to an immaculate facility; we’re very excited to be out here.
“It’s a new era for this program,” said Navas. “This is our house, and we’re proud of it. We need to take care of it. We’re excited about it because this is a fun place to be. This allows us to tell recruits that we are finally on the field,” said Navas. “It’s not a five-year dream anymore. It’s happened for us.”
The student-athletes share in the jubilation.
“I’m just excited about the field and the new season,” said senior shortstop Shanna Smith. “We belong here and we deserve this field. It’s going to be nice to have teams come to our home turf for a change. We’re just very happy to finally have a home of our own.”
State chose to begin practice today, one month in advance of a fall match-up with Georgia in Athens, Ga.
Newly acquired assistant coach Amanda Rivera added that the facility will only strengthen an already solid reputation of the Wolfpack softball program at the national level.
“When I was an assistant coach at Northwestern, NC State was known as a program that improved with every year,” said Rivera. “Going to regionals twice, grabbing a No. 1 seed and an overall No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year, winning an ACC title. In five years, that’s amazing. There are programs that have been around for 30 years and haven’t even accomplished things of that nature.
“This facility adds to that,” said Rivera. “We have all of the tools and support now to be successful, and that’s very important.”
At the end of the 2007 season, State lost nine charter members that had been with the program from day one. While a good amount of experience was lost, a solid freshmen class takes the diamond knowing full well that it will have a field to call its own for four years.
“I think its great because we can go eat at Case, head over to the locker room, walk right across the street and go to practice,” said freshman middle infielder Alyssa Ishibashi. “It’s very convenient, and it’ll be great to play on campus.”
Navas is currently working on plans to begin an annual alumnae game, in an effort to make sure that all previous letterwinners of the program are forever linked to the stadium.
“We’ve had a good amount of student-athletes that never had the opportunity to enjoy having a field of their own,” said Navas. “In reality, this is their stadium. They are responsible for the success that we have enjoyed and, had it not been for them, we wouldn’t be were we are as a program today."
The location, size and structure of the ballpark appear to make it a perfect host for potential tournament and post-season play. That’s something that Navas would certainly embrace.
“We’re in line to host an ACC Tournament in the next few years and that will be nice,” said Navas. “It’s nice to be at home, especially in the post-season. Having a facility that can host an event of that caliber is something that’s very important.”
As beautiful as the yard seemed when the Pack took the field on Monday, all of the work at the stadium hasn’t been completed. Several loose ends still need to be tied before State takes the field in February when the regular season begins.
“This facility is going to keep getting better,” said Navas. “It’s going to be one of the outstanding facilities in the conference.”
With Navas and her staff at the helm, rest assured that the team will be just as good as the facility that it now calls home.
RALEIGH, N.C. Today is the day that NC State head coach Lisa Navas and the entire Wolfpack softball program has been anticipating. State took the field at the brand-new Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium on campus for the first time on Monday, Sept. 24, cutting the ribbon on its 2008 season by beginning fall practice. With two NCAA appearances and both ACC regular season and tournament championships already under its belt in just four years of existence, staff and student-athletes alike were equally excited to see the program step foot on its own home turf.
Simply put; today was a big day for NC State softball.
“This is very exciting,” said Navas. “To be able to walk out of the office and across the street to an immaculate facility; we’re very excited to be out here.
“It’s a new era for this program,” said Navas. “This is our house, and we’re proud of it. We need to take care of it. We’re excited about it because this is a fun place to be. This allows us to tell recruits that we are finally on the field,” said Navas. “It’s not a five-year dream anymore. It’s happened for us.”
The student-athletes share in the jubilation.
“I’m just excited about the field and the new season,” said senior shortstop Shanna Smith. “We belong here and we deserve this field. It’s going to be nice to have teams come to our home turf for a change. We’re just very happy to finally have a home of our own.”
State chose to begin practice today, one month in advance of a fall match-up with Georgia in Athens, Ga.
Newly acquired assistant coach Amanda Rivera added that the facility will only strengthen an already solid reputation of the Wolfpack softball program at the national level.
“When I was an assistant coach at Northwestern, NC State was known as a program that improved with every year,” said Rivera. “Going to regionals twice, grabbing a No. 1 seed and an overall No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year, winning an ACC title. In five years, that’s amazing. There are programs that have been around for 30 years and haven’t even accomplished things of that nature.
“This facility adds to that,” said Rivera. “We have all of the tools and support now to be successful, and that’s very important.”
At the end of the 2007 season, State lost nine charter members that had been with the program from day one. While a good amount of experience was lost, a solid freshmen class takes the diamond knowing full well that it will have a field to call its own for four years.
“I think its great because we can go eat at Case, head over to the locker room, walk right across the street and go to practice,” said freshman middle infielder Alyssa Ishibashi. “It’s very convenient, and it’ll be great to play on campus.”
Navas is currently working on plans to begin an annual alumnae game, in an effort to make sure that all previous letterwinners of the program are forever linked to the stadium.
“We’ve had a good amount of student-athletes that never had the opportunity to enjoy having a field of their own,” said Navas. “In reality, this is their stadium. They are responsible for the success that we have enjoyed and, had it not been for them, we wouldn’t be were we are as a program today."
The location, size and structure of the ballpark appear to make it a perfect host for potential tournament and post-season play. That’s something that Navas would certainly embrace.
“We’re in line to host an ACC Tournament in the next few years and that will be nice,” said Navas. “It’s nice to be at home, especially in the post-season. Having a facility that can host an event of that caliber is something that’s very important.”
As beautiful as the yard seemed when the Pack took the field on Monday, all of the work at the stadium hasn’t been completed. Several loose ends still need to be tied before State takes the field in February when the regular season begins.
“This facility is going to keep getting better,” said Navas. “It’s going to be one of the outstanding facilities in the conference.”
With Navas and her staff at the helm, rest assured that the team will be just as good as the facility that it now calls home.
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