Softball heads south to compete in tournaments in sunny Atlanta

Leaving the cold and wet weather of New Jersey for the week, the softball team is traveling to warm Atlanta for Spring Break, where it will compete in two tournaments and play in nine games.

The Tigers (4-2) began the season strong with three straight wins, but they lost their undefeated record a week ago when Kansas defeated them at the Kansas Invitational.

Pitching and defense are both strong suits for the team. Senior Brie Galiciano, last year's Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Year, has started the season strong. At the Kansas invitational, Galicinao and sophomore Kristen Del Cavo were both named to the Kansas Invitational All-Tournament Team.

While the Tigers began their season with decent competition, the Atlanta trip will be a challenge for the Tigers, as Princeton will compete against many of the best southern teams, including Georgia Tech, Georgia State and Florida State.

The Tigers will begin competition Sunday with a doubleheader against Georgia Tech (18-7). Already playing in mid-season form, the Yellow Jackets will be a challenge for the Tigers. Tech has taken advantage of the warm and dry weather of Atlanta and has practiced outside since January.

Princeton will not have much time to recover from Sunday's doubleheader. The next day, Princeton will take on Georgia State.

Georgia State has played well this season. The team played Georgia Tech close, though the team eventually lost both games of a double header, 5-3, Feb. 20.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be devoted to the University of Georgia Invitational, where the Tigers will face several strong teams from the area.

Princeton will play a game every day of the break.

The Atlanta trip will end on Sunday, when the Tigers finish at the Georgia Tech Buzz classic. The Buzz Classic is a 24-team tournament. The tournament is split into four brackets, with each bracket holding a round-robin tournament. The champions of each division will then play on Sunday.

While the Tigers are not expecting to take home a championship from the Buzz Classic, they will have a chance to see a lot of teams play and to get additional game experience.

But more importantly, Harvard is also competing in the Buzz Classic, and while the Tigers are not paired against the Crimson at any point, the team will have a chance to scout Harvard before facing off against the Crimson in Ivy League competition.

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The team will use these tournaments to tune up for their regular season schedule. The trip will also force the Tigers to build up their endurance, as their schedule will continue on this frantic pace once Princeton comes back to the North after Spring Break.

So far the Tigers have fared well. In the six games so far this season, the Tiger defense has been the team's strength, clinching wins in four of the games. Princeton has held its opponents to low scoring, not yet having allowed more than three runs in a game. The Tigers begin their trip on Saturday.