San Francisco, CA -- Head Coach Rachel Sherman and the Academy of Art University softball team have proudly announced their 2012 schedule. Since early September, the Urban Knights have continued to prepare for an intense 49-game campaign which begins this February and that features several games against top teams from the NCAA Division II West Region.

“I am very excited about this year's schedule,” Coach Sherman said. “We have put together the most challenging schedule to date, but I know our team is ready for it. In the past we have played out-of-region and out-of-division teams to fill our schedule. This season, however, we are stacked with all NCAA DII elite competition which will not only prepare us for conference, but also puts us in a position to be recognized in the rankings for the 2013 season when we may be post-season eligible. It gives our team an idea of the opponents we might face in post-season in the future.”


After facing three Division I opponents during their fall season, the Urban Knights' 2012 campaign officially opens with a doubleheader versus Cal State East Bay of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) on Feb. 1 at Mission Blue Field. From there, ART U heads to Rohnert Park, CA for a Feb. 4 matchup against Sonoma State, the team that won the 2011 CCAA Championship and fought its way to the NCAA DII West Sub-Regional Championship game.

“Our non-conference schedule is all in-region teams, mainly CCAA,” Coach Sherman said. “The CCAA is one of the stronger conferences in the West Region and I wanted to make sure we played the best. Last season we played Sonoma and it was a great doubleheader ending in a split. In the past, the team was satisfied with one win in a doubleheader, but this year's team wants two! [SSU] is a good team and that will be a challenge, but we have a lot more depth, experience, and drive.”

The middle of February will be marked by what can now be considered a three-year tradition for Academy of Art softball: The Montana State Billings Desert Stinger. A total of 28 teams will partake in the annual event held in Las Vegas, NV. On this occasion, the Urban Knights will face five opponents, the first of which are Simon Fraser and Lewis (the Flyers won a pair of games in the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament) on Feb. 10. Then on Feb. 11, ART U enters a rematch with Sonoma State, followed by a pairing with NCAA DII West Regional qualifier Western Washington. The final day of action, Feb. 12, features the Knights against Western Oregon.


“The past two years I don't think we have given the best showing at the MSUB Desert Stinger, but this year's team is different,” said Coach Sherman. “The energy, work ethic, and vision are all completely different so I expect good things at the tournament. We will face some really strong competition and I know the Knights have prepared for that by working hard in the gym. Their conditioning will also be demonstrated by the fact that we can play five games in three days with ease. The work they have put in on the field with making adjustments at the plate, fundamentals on defense, pitchers knowing who they are facing and how to get to them out will give us an advantage when facing five different teams in three days.”

The Urban Knights' next opponent, Chico State, is one who has finished among the Top 4 CCAA teams the past two years. Academy of Art, however, has not met the Wildcat since the start of ART U's inaugural 2009 season and Coach Sherman is eager to have her team step up to the challenge. Chico State won 30 games in 2011 (the Knights won 29) and was just two runs shy of eclipsing eventual NCAA DII National Champions UC San Diego in the West Regional Championship game.

“We haven't played Chico since the first year of our program, where we split with them, but they are not the same team and neither are we,” Coach Sherman said. “They are one of the top teams in the CCAA now, but we are also here to prove we are one of the top teams in the PacWest and are more prepared than ever. Since we have not faced them in three years, it will be good to see how we adjust with a smaller scouting report against a good team that we may eventually see in the post-season. I truly believe if you want to be the best, you have to play the best. This year, our team has their eyes set on a PacWest Championship and they're not scared to go up against the best to get there.”

Prior to the start of PacWest play and to close out the month of February, Academy of Art softball goes up against two more CCAA members in Humboldt State (Feb. 19) and Cal State Stanislaus (Feb. 29), a pair of teams the Urban Knights have extended history playing. Now three years removed from ART U's victory over the Lumberjacks (the 2008 NCAA National Champions), the 2012 matchup figures to be an exciting one as both games were decided by one run last season. And a storied three-year history with Stanislaus has seen two wins for the Knights, one for the Warriors, and the only tie to ever appear on the ART U's record.

March 3rd signals the opening PacWest Conference matchup for Academy of Art University with the first of a two-day series with Grand Canyon at Mission Blue Field. After those four games with the Antelopes, the Knights continue their homestand with a quartet versus Dixie State spanning Mar. 10-11. The Red Storm were one of three PacWest teams to finish with over 20 conference victories in 2011 (they held a 23-5 PacWest record), but they fell to Hawaii Pacific in last year's NCAA West Regionals.

“When setting goals, we always break our season up into parts, so the way the conference schedule is set up only makes it easier for our team to break things down and focus on their short-term goals,” Coach Sherman said. “We play a lot of home games, which is always a good thing considering last season we were 16-9 at home versus 10-9 away. This year we open up conference play with two of the best teams in the conference; Dixie and Grand Canyon. That being said, I know we are going to come out of the gates excited for conference play and playing some of our best ball of the season. Since we'll be facing some great programs early, it will make for some real exciting series.”

The second of three segments composing the Urban Knights' 2012 conference schedule has them traveling to Hawaii for a stretch of 12 games played in just eight days. The trip begins at Hawaii-Hilo (Mar. 16), a team that won 21 PacWest contests in 2011, then pits ART U against NCAA West Regional qualifier Hawaii Pacific for two days (Mar. 18-19). Academy of Art remains in Honolulu, HI for its next matchup with Chaminade (Mar. 21) and then finds BYU-Hawaii in Laie, HI for a four-game series (Mar. 23-24).

A much needed two-week break from games follows the Hawaii trip as the Knights resume play in the Bay Area with matchups against Notre Dame de Namur (Apr. 7) and Dominican (Apr. 14) on the road. The second half of April has ART U's final homestand which includes a rematch with Dominican (Apr. 15), four contests against new PacWest member Cal Baptist (Apr. 20-21), a non-conference series with Holy Names (Apr. 25), and the season finale versus NDNU (Apr. 28).

“The schedule doesn't get any easier when we head to Hawaii,” Coach Sherman said. “We have spent all fall reiterating that this is a business trip; we are there to go to work. The number of games we play there will always be a challenge in that environment, but this year's team has been working all fall for this. We are stronger, faster, smarter and more motivated than ever. We know what the long term goal is for the season and haven't taken our eyes off if it since September 9th.”

For the complete schedule, click here.