| Big Ten/ACC Challenge |
|---|
Game 1:
Boston College | Friday, Feb. 19, 2016 | 1:30 p.m. CT | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Anderson Stadium | Live Stats |
Game 2:
Boston College | Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 | 12 p.m. CT | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Anderson Stadium | Live Stats |
Game 3:
North Carolina | Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 | 5 p.m. CT | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Anderson Stadium | Live Stats |
Game 4:
North Carolina | Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 | 11:30 a.m. CT | Miami, Fla. | FIU Softball Stadium | Live Stats |
| Tournament Central | http://bit.ly/UNC-B1G-ACC |
| Full Tournament Notes | Illinois | Boston College | North Carolina |
| Statistics | Illinois | Boston College | North Carolina |
| Series History | Boston College: First Meeting
North Carolina: North Carolina leads, 2-0 // Last: L, 2-5; 2/17/2002 // Streak: Lost 2 |
| Social Media | @IlliniSB  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube  |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After opening the 2016 season last weekend in Miami, Fla., Illinois softball team continues its travels this weekend as the Illini head to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the 2016 Big Ten/ACC Softball Challenge at Anderson Stadium on the campus of North Carolina on Feb. 19-21. The Illini will face off against host North Carolina and Boston College twice throughout the weekend.
The inaugural Challenge will have eight Big Ten teams traveling to four Atlantic Coast Conference campus sites, with each team playing four games against the opposing conference schools. Illinois, along with Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin will represent the Big Ten, while Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State and North Carolina will serve as host sites. In addition to the host institutions, Boston College, Louisville, Syracuse and Virginia Tech will compete in the Challenge for the ACC.
ILLINI NOTES
- The Illini opened the 2016 season down in Miami, Fla., at the JuiceBlendz FIU Invitational on Feb. 12-14, where they went 2-3, including wins over Valparaiso and then-No. 10 Florida State.
- The Illini's win over the Seminoles was the first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 4 Michigan on April 25, 2014 at Eichelberger Field.
- First-year head coach Tyra Perry earned her first win at the helm of the Illinois softball program last Friday afternoon (Feb. 12) with a 6-1 win over the Crusaders as junior Breanna Wonderly (1-1) threw a one-run, five-hit complete game gem as she struck out three for her first win of the season.
- Wonderly leads the Illini in the circle with a 3.09 ERA in two starts and 11.1 innings, while classmate Jade Vecvanags (1-2) sits right behind her with a 3.68 ERA in 19 innings and three starts. Vecvanags, who owns a team-high 12 strikeouts on the season, went the distance for the Illini in their 5-1 upset win over FSU, allowing just one earned run on five hits and striking out four in a complete game effort for her first win of the season.
- Junior Nicole Evans paced the Illinois softball offense in the opening weekend and posted the second-highest batting average at .333 with five hits, including four doubles, to go along with a team high four RBI and three runs scored. Her weekend was highlighted by a 3-of-3 performance with two RBI, two runs and two doubles against tournament host FIU, while also registering two RBI and a hit against Valpo.
- Senior Nicole Tobon registered her first career home run, a three-run bomb to left center field, to lead the Illini over No. 10 Florida State on Saturday. For the weekend, Tobon posted a .333 batting average with two hits, three RBI and a run.
- Sophomore Carly Thomas totaled a team-high six hits on the weekend, as she notched hits in every game except one, including two two-hit performances.
- As a team, the Illini totaled 37 hits in Miami, including posting at least eight hits in all but one game and notching a season-high 11 hits.
- The Illini are off to their best start since the 2014 season, when UI opened the season with eight-straight victories.
- Illinois boast a challenge slate in 2016 as the Illini face off against 11 schools that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including this weekend's opponent North Carolina, last weekend's foes Florida State and St. John's, as well as Weber State, Cal State Northridge, Missouri, Texas and Big Ten foes Michigan (2015 College World Series participant), Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern.
- The Illini return 18 players from last year's squad, including All-Big Ten First-Team honorees Allie Bauch and sophomore Carly Thomas and All-Big Ten Second-Team selection Alyssa Gunther. UI also added four freshmen, including Stephanie Abello, Alexis Carrillo, Taylor Edwards and Veronica Ruelius.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College comes to Chapel Hill with a 3-3 record after opening the season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Eagles started off 2016 with three-straight wins over Maryland, San Jose State and Nevada, which was its best start since beginning 4-0 in 1998. BC is led by Chloe Sharabba with a .500 batting average and ranks second in the ACC with a team-leading nine hits. In the circle, Jessica Dreswick owns a 0.90 ERA to rank third in the ACC and is 1-1 on the season.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels opened the 2016 season down in Austin, Texas at the Texas Classic, where UNC posted a 2-3 record with wins over North Dakota State and Arkansas to bookend the weekened. UNC then dropped a 9-1 five-inning decision to South Carolina on Wednesday in Columbia, S.C. Senior Kristen Brown leads the Tar Heel offense with eight RBI on the season and is UNC's all-time career home run leader with 49. In the circle, Kendra Lynch boasts a 2.52 ERA and owns UNC's two wins this season.
NEXT UP
The Illini will next head to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas on Feb. 26-28 and wil face the host Longhorns as well as Abilene Christian, Weber State and Tulsa.
