2011 Salisbury University spring athletic schedules announced

SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University Athletics Department officially released the 2011 spring schedules for its eight varsity teams: baseball, softball, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track and field.

The Sea Gull athletic teams have filled their schedules with some of the most demanding and competitive schedules in the nation against nationally-ranked opponents, Capital Athletic Conference contests and many regional non-conference rivalry games.

The Gulls have four teams set to defend conference championships from a year ago while four others are set to return the conference championship trophies to SU.

Here are the schedule highlights for each sport:

Baseball

2010 Record: 30-13, 14-4 CAC
Postseason: NCAA Division III South Region Finalists
Can't Miss Home Game: vs. Cortland St. (Feb. 20, 1 p.m.)
Overview: The Salisbury University baseball team will start the season on the road at Virginia Wesleyan College on Feb. 16, before playing host to No. 2 Cortland State on Feb. 20. SU will then host York (Pa.) College in a weekend series, before opening the month of March at Washington (Md.) College. The Sea Gulls host the Apprentice School, then head to St. Mary’s (Md.) College before hosting the Sea Hawks in a weekend doubleheader. SU plays at Mary Washington in a midweek clash, before hosting Albertus Magnus and Mary Washington over the weekend. Salisbury will hit the road for a game at No. 6 Shenandoah University, before traveling to Frostburg State for a weekend series. SU is set to host Virginia Wesleyan, before traveling to Christopher Newport before a four-game home stand that features a pair against Gallaudet and singles games against Immaculata and Stevenson. The maroon and gold will then travel to Stevenson for a pair, play at Catholic, against the Delmarva Shorebirds and at Wesley College before returning home for a doubleheader against the Wolverines. Salisbury will then compete in the CAC tournament (April 12-17), before closing outs its schedule with games against CNU, North Carolina Wesleyan, Methodist, Johns Hopkins, Staten Island and Montclair State. The NCAA tournament begins on May 18. 

Softball

2010 Record: 36-4, 12-0 CAC
Postseason: NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, CAC champions
Can't Miss Home Game: vs. University of Mary Washington (March 26, 12:30 & 2:30 p.m.)
Overview: The Sea Gulls are set to open their season on the road at the Methodist University Early Bird Invitational (Feb. 25-26) where they will take on four opponents, including No. 3 Louisiana College. Salisbury will follow that up with a doubleheader at No. 9 Christopher Newport University, before competing in the Virginia Wesleyan College Beach Blast (March 4-5). SU will square off with Lynchburg College at Great Bridge, Va., then open up CAC play at Stevenson University. Salisbury is set to host the annual Sea Gull Invitational (March 11-12) and Sea Gull Classic (March 18-19) that feature very competitive fields. In-between those two tournaments, SU will host Frostburg State and Virginia Wesleyan. Following the Sea Gull Classic, Salisbury will square off with the University of Mary Washington in a pivotal CAC contest. SU will hit the road for doubleheaders at Catholic, Wesley and York (Pa.) before returning for a pair of games against Washington (Md.) College on April 3. Salisbury rounds out CAC against Hood, before the start of the CAC tournament (April 12-17). The maroon and gold will close out the regular season with a doubleheader at Gettysburg College, before the start of the NCAA tournament on May

Men’s Lacrosse

2010 Record: 21-2, 7-0 CAC
Postseason: NCAA Division III Finalists
Can't Miss Home Game: vs. Stevenson University (April 16, noon)
Overview: The Salisbury University men's lacrosse team will kick-off their season at home against Greensboro College on Feb. 13 before traveling to Lynchburg College on Feb. 19 for the first away contest of the season. The Sea Gulls will then take on non-conference opponent Washington & Lee (Feb. 23) at home for the first time since a 15-6 win in the 2004 NCAA Quarterfinals. The maroon and gold will then travel to McDaniel, before hosting Gettysburg and Ohio Wesleyan. SU will open up CAC play at Wesley, before traveling to Roanoke for the first meeting since a 15-9 win in the 2007 NCAA Quarterfinals. The Gulls will then get into the bulk of their CAC play with home games against Mary Washington, York (Pa.) and Marymount (Va.) and road games at Hood, St. Mary’s (Md.) and Frostburg State. The Sea Gulls will close out the CAC regular season with a highly anticipated contest against Stevenson on April 16 before the start of the CAC tournament (April 17-23). Salisbury will close out the season at Washington (Md.) College in the "War on the Shore" game, before the start of the NCAA tournament on May 11.

Women’s Lacrosse

2010 Record: 21-1, 7-0 CAC
Postseason: NCAA Division III National Champions, CAC champions
Can't Miss Home Game: vs. The College of New Jersey (April 9, 1 p.m.)
Overview: The 2010 national champions will open up on the road with a CAC contest against newcomer Frostburg State on Feb. 19 before traveling to Elizabethtown College the next week. The Sea Gulls start off their home campaign with a contest with the first meeting in program history with Adrian College on March 2. SU will travel to Catholic, before hosting Mary Washington and then hit the road for a pair of contests at Washington & Lee and Roanoke. The maroon and gold will then open up a two-game home stand with Rowan and Stevenson, before a highly-anticipated contest Franklin & Marshall on the road on March 25. SU will close out March by hosting York (Pa.) College then traveling to Hood. The Sea Gulls will start off with three games at home in April against St. Mary’s (Md.), Marymount (Va.) and the can’t miss home game of the season against TCNJ. Salisbury will close out CAC play on the road at Wesley before the start of the CAC tournament (April 16-23). The maroon and gold will close out the regular season with a home game against Christopher Newport on May 7, before the start of the NCAA tournament on …

Men’s Tennis

2010 Record: 14-7, 5-1 CAC
Postseason: NCAA Division III Singles/Doubles Representatives
Can't Miss Home Match: vs. University of Mary Washington (April 2, 1 p.m.)
Overview: The Salisbury University men's tennis team will open up the season with the annual Sea Gull open from February 11-13, before closing out the month with a pair of matches on the campus of Washington & Lee against the Bridgewater and the host Generals. SU will open up the month of March at home against Vassar, before hosting Wesley, York (Pa.) and Virginia Wesleyan all on March 12. The Sea Gulls will then make their annual trip to California (March 21-24) where they will play four matches. April is kicked off with a pair of matches against Hampden-Sydney College and University of Maryland Eastern Shore, before a pivotal CAC contest against the University of Mary Washington. SU will then travel to Frostburg State, to take on the host Bobcats and Division II Davis & Elkins College. SU will remain on the road for matches at St. Mary’s (Md.) College, Christopher Newport University, Stevenson University and Hood College. On April 10, SU will host Elizabethtown College and Haverford College prior to the start of the CAC tournament (April 16-21). On April 20 SU will play host to in-state rival Johns Hopkins University.

Women’s Tennis

2010 Record: 13-3, 5-1 CAC
Can't Miss Home Match: vs. University of Mary Washington (April 2, 1 p.m.)
Overview: The Sea Gulls will open up the season with the annual Sea Gull Open from February 11-13 before opening up match play against Catholic on February 27. Salisbury will host Wesley and York (Pa.) on March 12, before heading to California for three matches from March 21-24 squaring off with Whitman, Pacific and La Verne. SU will close out the month of March with a home match against Virginia Wesleyan, before hosting Mary Washington in a pivotal CAC contest on April 2. The next day the Gulls will hit the road to Frostburg, Md., and take on the host Bobcats and Division II Davis & Elkins later in the day. The maroon and gold will host Division I University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (April 5), before traveling to matches at St. Mary’s (April 6), Hood (April 9) and Stevenson (April 9). The Sea Gulls will close out the regular season with a pair of home matches against Elizabethtown (April 10) and Johns Hopkins (April 13). CAC Tournament play opens on April 17 as the Gulls look to compete for their third CAC championship. 

Men’s & Women’s Track & Field

Postseason: Men – NCAA Division III National Finalists, CAC Champions; Women – CAC Champions
Can't Miss Home Meet: Salisbury University Spring Classic (March 5, # a.m.)
Overview: The Salisbury University track & field teams will begin the outdoor season on March 5 with the annual Salisbury University Spring Classic. SU will then hit the road for the final two competitions in March, as the head to the Wake Forest Invitational (March 18-19) and the Goucher College Invitational (March 26). The Sea Gulls will open up the month of April at the Penn Invitational (April 2) before traveling to the West Chester Invitational the next weekend (April 8-9). The two programs will seek to sweep the CAC championships for the second year in a row, as the completion will take place at York (Pa.) College on April 16. The Gulls will close out the month of April at the 117th annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. (April 28-30). The month of May begins at New Captains Classic (May 7) before traveling to the SWAT Last Chance Meet (May 9). The Sea Gulls will close out the month at the Georgia Tech Invitational (May 13-14) and the Lions Last Chance Meet at TCNJ (May 19). SU will then hope to send individuals or teams to the national championship in Delaware, Ohio from May 26-28.