JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF gets its home half of the 2019 schedule underway with the  UNF Invitational February 15-17 when it hosts Colgate, Charleston, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State at the UNF Softball Complex.

UNF swept the field in the same tournament last season, topping Providence, UT-Arlington and Canisius twice.

Live Coverage Links
Live Stats
Live Video

The Matchups

Opponents	Colgate	South Dakota State	Northern Iowa	Charleston
Date-Time	Friday, Feb. 15 - 4:30 p.m.	Friday, Feb. 15 - 7 p.m.	Saturday, Feb. 16 - 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17 - 12 p.m.	Saturday, Feb. 16 - 7 p.m.

Three Games, Three Ranked Opponents

• The 2019 season's first three games has seen UNF play three ranked opponents in No. 21 Minnesota, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 4 Florida.
• UNF had one scheduled against George Mason and UCF at the UCF Invitational last weekend, although persistent rains washed out both contests.
• Senior Megan Woodson is leading the Ospreys at the dish, hitting .500 (3-for-6) with one stolen bag.

Veteran Presence

• Seniors Navia Penrod and Dominica Cocuzza highlight a strong returning class for the UNF Softball team, and both received Preseason All-ASUN Honors.
• Tiffany Lower and Kayla McGory round out returning players that appeared in 50+ games.
• Sydney Matzko and Morgan Blourne are set to share time on the rubber, as they combined for 87% of starts on the mound in the 2018 campaign.
• Penrod was also selected to Softball America's first-ever Top 100 Team February 7.

New Birds

• Freshman Veronika Klimplova played with the Czech Republic Women's Softball National Team and hit .471 with her club team.
• Freshman hurler Morgan Clausen spun a complete game in her first ever appearance. The Arvada, Colo., native allowed only three runs in a loss against Ohio State Feb. 9.
• Junior Taylor Engman joins a solid outfield core after two years at State College of Florida. Engman finished last year with a .374/.415/.469 line for the Manatees
• The Ospreys have 7 freshman on the squad, most by a single freshman class since 2011.

Series History:
vs. Colgate | UNF leads, 1-0
vs. College of Charleston | CofC leads, 2-0
vs. Northern Iowa | Series tied, 2-2
vs. SDSU | SDSU leads, 1-0

Scouting the Opponents

Colgate

• The Raiders will be making their season opener in Jacksonville against SDSU at 2 p.m. on Friday.
• Colgate finished 11-32 last year, going 6-12 in Patriot League play.
• Colgate returns 16 letterwinners from last year, losing only four. Seven of those returners were starters last year.
• Catcher Virginia Irby was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team after garnering second team honors last year.The junior hit .310 with a .396 on-base percentage last season.

Charleston

• Charleston is 4-1 coming into the weekend after an impressive showing at the Cougar Classic.
• The Cougars topped Purdue (8-4), Pittsburgh (10-4), Wichita State (4-1) and Central Michigan (3-1).
• Charleston has four players hitting .400 or higher in the early going this season. Brittany Vicary headlines that group, hitting .400 with nine RBI and four extra-base hits.
• The Colonial Athletic Association team finished 31-27 last season, going 8-13 in conference play.

Northern Iowa

• UNI is 3-2 after opening the year at the UNI Dome last weekend. The Panthers fell twice to Southeast Missouri State, while they picked up victories against Saint Louis, Toledo and South Dakota State.
• Head coach Ryan Jacobs is in his 12th season for the Panthers, going 326-254 during his tenure. Last season they went an even 26-26, finishing 11-14 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Northern Iowa returns 2018 First Team All-MVC honoree Sammey Bunch and senior hurler Brooke Craig who went for 14 wins and 155 innings pitched last year.

South Dakota State

• The Jackrabbits are 3-2 after spending last weekend at the UNI Dome Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
• SDSU was selected to finish second in the Summit League Softball Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving three first-place votes.
• South Dakota State is coming off its only postseason appearance in program history after receiving an invitation to the 2018 National Invitational Softball Championship in Greeley, Colorado.
• 2018 NFCA All-Midwest Region Second Team performer Julia Anderson returns. The outfielder hit .397 en route to tying the single-season hits record.