Utah Softball Heads To Kia Classic This Weekend

March 12, 2002

Salt Lake City -

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COMING UP: The Utes will participate in the Kia Classic on Thurs.-Sun., Mar. 14-17 in Fullerton, Calif. On Thursday, the Utes will take on Louisiana-Lafayette at 9:00 a.m. and No. 12 ranked Washington at 1:00 p.m. On Friday, Utah will face No. 10 ranked Fresno State at 9:00 a.m. before bracket play begins that afternoon.

A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: Utah played on the road for the whole month of February. Currently, the Utes are 10-21-0 overall, 0-0-0 in MWC play. Utah's games with No. 2 ranked Arizona last week were canceled due to inclement weather. Previously, the Utes went 3-2 at the Red Desert Classic. The Utes defeated UC Santa Barbara, 8-0 and Oregon, 7-2 on Fri., Mar. 1. On Sat., Mar. 2, Utah defeated Eastern Kentucky, 10-0 and lost to No. 12 ranked Washington, 4-1. On Sun., Mar. 3, the Utes lost, 4-2 to the No. 3 ranked Stanford Cardinal.

Utah has already faced 10 teams this season that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year. The Utes could possibly face 15 more teams in their upcoming tournaments this season that made it to post-season play in 2001.

The Utes just missed receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Mar. 6th poll.

QUOTING STEVENS: On the upcoming Kia Classic Tournament- "Well, there will be no rest for the weary as we continue to face some very tough opposition. We'll be right back at it with another tournament which boasts top-25 competition. Our challenge is finding that comfort zone. We have to keep perfecting things and keep improving in order to be successful."

KIA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: The Kia Classic Tournament is an annual event hosted by the Cal-State Fullerton. The teams come from all over the country and represent several different conferences. The tournament is a four-day event with pool play followed by bracket play. Games will be played on two different fields throughout each day.

This year's tournament field includes eight out of the 16 teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Mar. 6th poll with one other team receiving votes. No. 19 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette is currently 17-3 overall. The No. 12 ranked Washington Huskies are currently 21-7, while No. 10 ranked Fresno State is 20-6 overall.

Jason Spencer of the Cal-State Fullerton sports information office is the softball contact for the tournament. Spencer will be at the tournament site daily and can be reached by calling (714) 278-7547.

KIA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT:

The Utes will get a tough early season test this weekend, playing some top-notch competition.    Thursday    No. 19 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette   9:00 a.m.                No. 12 ranked Washington            1:00 p.m.    Friday          No. 10 ranked Fresno State          9:00 a.m.                Bracket Play                            All Day    Saturday    Bracket Play                            All Day                Bracket Play                            All Day    Sunday          Bracket Play                            All Day
UP NEXT:    On Wed., Mar. 20, Utah is back at home taking on in-state rival Utah State at 3:00 p.m. On Fri., Mar. 29, the Utes open MWC play, hosting the Aztecs of San Diego State in a doubleheader contest at 1:00 p.m. Utah continues MWC play facing UNLV on Sat., Mar. 30 at 3:00 p.m at Ute Field.
HEAD COACH MONA STEVENS:    Mona Stevens, who has built a reputation as one of the top coaches in the nation on both the national and international levels, is in her fifth season as head coach at Utah.
Stevens has the best winning percentage in school history. She currently posts a 197-135-1 (.593) career overall record  and a 75-47-1 (.614) career conference record in five seasons. Her 2000 team was the NCAA Region 1 Tournament runner-up, and placed third in the NCAA Regional Tournament in 1997. Stevens was selected as the 2000 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and posted her 150th career win at the NCAA Region 1 Tournament with a 4-1 win over Mississippi State on May 20.
2002 UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC:    Utah, as a team leads the MWC in hits (185), doubles (28), total bases (255) and at bats (803). The Utes are second in runs scored (86), batters struck out (135), innings pitched (201.0) and opposing batting average (.255), and third in batting average (.230), sac bunts (21), triples (3), batters struck out looking (8) and stolen bases (22). Utah is fourth in walks (78), slugging percentage (.318), RBI (75), and fifth in on base percentage (.309), ERA (2.61) and home runs (12). Individually, 11 Utah players ranked among the top 20 in the MWC statistical leaders a combined 46 times.
STEVENS APPROACHES 200TH CAREER WIN:    Utah's winningest coach in school history, Mona Stevens is quickly approaching her 200th career win and needs just three more wins to hit the mark.
SOFTBALL APPROACHES 800TH CAREER WIN:    Utah, as a team is approaching its 800th career win and need just nine more wins to hit the mark.

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Utah Softball Heads To Kia Classic This Weekend

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Completed Event: Softball versus No. 19/20 Arizona on May 1, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 6

Completed Event: Softball versus Utah Valley on April 28, 2026 , Win , 8, to, 4

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Completed Event: Softball versus BYU on April 23, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Softball at Baylor on April 19, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 3

The University of Utah Athletics

Utah Softball Heads To Kia Classic This Weekend

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