As the snow piles up and the temperature remains in the single digits on campus, Illinois softball will be heading south this weekend to begin the 2007 season and face some of the best teams in the nation at the Fun and Sun Classic in Miami, Fla.

The opportunity to play elite teams at the beginning of the season has the Illini players and coaches excited to get back on the field and showcase their new team.

“It’s a really challenging tournament, and every time you have a challenge then you have an opportunity,” head coach Terri Sullivan said. “We are looking to use this tournament to build some momentum going into the beginning of the season.”

After leading the team to a 21-25 record in 2006, Sullivan will begin her eighth season in charge of the Illini.

With her first season in 2000, Sullivan has been the only head coach in Illinois softball history.

This season, she will be leading a rebuilt team that features veteran leadership and young pitching.

“We have experience in the infield and a young pitching staff who wants to compete,” said junior infielder Shanna Diller, who ranks seventh on the Illinois career RBI list.

Sullivan said the team will be able to rely on a renewed sense of confidence in its defense.

“We have a great feel right now in our chemistry. We have confidence in our pitching, and we have confidence in our infield, defense and outfield,” Sullivan said.

Along with Diller, the Illini infield will feature junior Angelena Mexicano, who led the Big Ten in RBIs last season, and third-team All-Big Ten selections Kirsten Martin and Molly Lawhead.

Sullivan said she believes the difference for the Illini this year will be the depth at pitching. While junior Claire DeVreese, last season’s top pitcher, recovers from off-season shoulder surgery, sophomore Brooke Buzard and highly-touted freshmen Vicky Brown and Ashley Wright will work the pitching rotation for the Illini.

“This team is full of energy and excitement,” said Mexicano. “We are just looking forward to seeing how good we can be. We had a great fall, so we have high expectations.”

The Illini went 8-0 in the fall and look to carry their streak over to a spring season that will have them playing some of the best teams in the nation. Along with facing No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 20 Louisville in Miami this weekend, the Illini will meet 14 other teams that qualified for last season’s NCAA tournament over the course of this season.

“We did a really good job of playing under pressure in the fall,” Sullivan said. “We want to see how we respond to pressure against these teams and how we match up against the nation’s best.”

As the players make their final preparations for the beginning of the long season ahead of them, Mexicano says she believes the team is confident in their ability and is excited to get the season started after months of waiting.

“I think we already know that we’re going to do well at this tournament,” said Mexicano. “Its really going to show us where we are and what we need to work on for the season to come.”