As students move out, softball stays behind for more

While much of the general student body at this university will spend this afternoon clearing out dorm rooms and packing up to go home for spring break, the Terrapin softball team will have a vastly different task at hand.

Instead of readying for a week-long sojourn to an exotic destination, the team will hold steady in College Park for a five-game slate at the Maryland Round Robin tournament at Robert E. Taylor Stadium.

"This is the sport that we play," coach Laura Watten said. "We don't have holidays in the spring. We don't have spring breaks. I've never had a spring break in my entire life because I played and then I went straight to coaching. That's just the way it is."

There is, however, a positive for the Terps in staying put. After spending four of the past five weekends traveling to tournaments in Georgia and Florida, the team will get all the comforts of home for this tournament, something not lost on the team.

"It makes it a little bit nicer," infielder Marisha Branson said. "Traveling always takes so much out of you. It's just we're here and we have our friends and our family and it makes it a little bit better."

"It is a lot more fun being home with our fans and our families and our support," Watten said. "Really, that's the one thing that is key to being here, the main difference between being here and on the road."

Remaining in College Park helped the Terps sweep Fordham on Wednesday night, giving the team a six-game winning streak heading into the tournament, which features a roster of opponents with a combined 24-42 record.

Princeton (3-7), Utah (10-13), Hampton (5-13) and two matchups against Villanova (6-9) highlight the weekend's schedule and offer an opportunity for the Terps to continue their hot streak at Taylor Stadium, where they have a 3-1 record so far this season.

Both Watten and pitcher Kendra Knight are confident the team won't overlook the slate of teams as a week off from school — if not practice — looms.

"When you play this sport, spring break doesn't really exist," Watten said. "They've never had it, so they never even realize it's gone."

"I never get a spring break," Knight said. "It sucks, but we know we have a job to do and that's what we're going to do."

dgallen@umdbk.com