HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team opens the 2020 season hosting the Paradise Classic this week. The three-day tournament at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium will feature Hawai'i, Iowa State, Memphis, and Northern Colorado. Hawai'i will open the tourney against Northern Colorado on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6:00 p.m.

HAWAII PARADISE CLASSIC INFORMATION
Teams: Hawai'i, Northern Colorado, Iowa State, Memphis
Dates: Thursday, February 6 - Saturday, February 8, 2020
Site: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium - Honolulu, O'ahu (1,200)
Promotions: Fans will have the opportunity to win great prizes from the popular "Ballpark Bingo." Also, t-shirts will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning of each UH game in the Hawaii Paradise Classic 
Livestats: HawaiiAthletics.com
Ticket Information: Admission is FREE

HAWAI'I PARADISE CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Thursday, February 6, 2020
3:30 p.m. Iowa State vs. Memphis
6:00 p.m. Hawai'i vs. Northern Colorado

Friday, February 7, 2020
12:00 p.m. Iowa State vs. Northern Colorado
2:30 pm Memphis vs. Northern Colorado
5:00 pm Hawai'i vs. Iowa State
7:00 pm Hawai'i vs. Memphis

Saturday, February 8, 2020
10:00 am Bracket Gm1: Seed 2 vs Seed 3
12:00 am Bracket Gm2: Seed 1 vs Seed 4
2:00 pm Bracket Gm3: Loser Gm1 vs. Loser Gm2
4:00 pm Bracket Gm4: Winner Gm1 vs. Winner Gm2

NOTES: 
-Hawai'i returns 11 letterwinners plus two redshirt freshmen from last season's squad which finished second in the Big West with a 33-16 overall record and  14-7 mark in conference. The 'Bows welcome 11 new players into the fold—including eight freshmen, a sophomore, and two transfers who returned home to Hawai'i. Headlining the newcomers are Nawai Kaupe, a junior who played her first two seasons at Washington and Sammie Ofoia, a sophomore who played one year at SIU-Edwardsville. Looking to make  an immediate impact for Hawai'i amongst the eight freshmen are Rachel Sabourin and Maya Nakamura.

-Callee Heen is excited to get her senior campaign underway to continue right where she left off as a junior. Last year she led the Big West with 15 home runs and 31 walks and was second in the league with 46 RBI, a .535 on-base percentage and a .789 slugging percentage. In the UH career record books, Heen currently ranks at No. 6 (tied with Nicole Lopez) with 37 career home runs and is ranked at No. 8 with 70 walks. Once again, Heen will serve double-duty playing both first base and catcher this year. She has earned all-conference honors all three years and was a member of the NFCA all-West Region team the last two seasons.

-Senior Angelique "Cheeks" Ramos has been a mainstay in the UH infield throughout her entire career. In her first two seasons, she was the 'Bows' starting shortstop. Last season, she started 34 games at second base with 10 starts at short. This season, with the graduation of four-year starting third baseman Nicole Lopez, Ramos is finally able to play at third, which is her natural position. Last year, the Long Beach, Calif.--native earned all-Big West honorable mention honors.

-For the first time since 2014, there is no Brittany Hitchcock on the UH roster. Sophomore pitcher Isabella "Izzy" Dino looks to fill the void left by Hitchcock who was a 20-game winner last year. Dino was second on the team as a freshman with a 9-6 overall record while posting a 2.93 ERA in 107.2 innings pitched. She struck 39 with  22 walks in 22 appearances.

-Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen enters his 29th season as the head coach of the Rainbow Wahine. Last year, he became just the fourth coach in UH Athletics history to record 1,000 wins at Hawai'i, joining only M/W tennis' Jim Schwitters, women's volleyball's Dave Shoji and baseball's Les Murakami. Coolen currently is just three wins away from recording his 400th overall win while coaching as a member of the Big West. He is ranked at No. 6 in Big West history with 399 wins as a member of the Big West. Amongst active BWC coaches, Coolen is second only behind Long Beach State's Kim Sowder's 424 wins as a member of the BWC. In the NCAA, Coolen currently ranks No. 12 in career wins amongst active coaches and is No. 20 in career wins overall with 1,078 victories between UH and Bentley College.

-Hawai'i was picked to finish third place in the Big West Conference. The poll was voted on by the eight head coaches of the BWC. The Rainbow Wahine garnered 46 points. Four-time defending league champion Cal State Fullerton received six first place votes and 62 total points to repeat as the preseason favorites. Long Beach State received the final two first place votes and a total of 54 points to be chosen to finish in second place. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine finished second in the Big West with a 33-16 overall record and 14-7 mark in conference. It was UH's highest finish since it won the conference in 2013 in its first year back in the Big West.