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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team will begin the 2015 season at home Sunday against the Ave Maria Gyrenes in a doubleheader slated for 1 p.m.
 
The Sharks enter the year with high expectations, not only from within but from around the Sunshine State Conference. The Sharks were picked third overall behind SSC powerhouses Tampa and Rollins, and ahead of strong programs like Barry, Saint Leo and Florida Southern. Rollins and Tampa were considered the de facto favorites, taking five and four first-place votes, respectively. Those two programs have won five of the last six SSC championships. However, if their stranglehold on the conference title is broken, the league coaches have given the Sharks the best chance to do so.
 
On the flipside, the preseason poll is largely based off the performance of the previous year's team. NSU nearly made the NCAA Tournament last season, and the Sharks believed they did enough to earn a bid. The Sharks were led by Erika Garcia, who became the third Shark to be named SSC Player of the Year. 2014 has passed, and with that, head coach Lesa Boneé has put all of those accomplishments in the rearview window. This year's squad has been nicknamed "Team13," as in the program's 13th year of NCAA competition. The message: all the Sharks should worry about is what Team13 does, not what past teams have been through.
 
Team13 enters the season with a mixed bag of veterans and young talent. The Sharks will have the luxury of deploying six seniors, four of which can be used in multiple ways. But outside of noteworthy junior transfer Te Reo Powhiri Matautia (Auckland, New Zealand), the rest of the team is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Despite their youth, Boneé has displayed confidence in this group and will depend on the younger Sharks on Sunday.
 
The home opener will not count towards conference standings or the regional record. However, its importance lies in starting the season on the strongest note. The Sharks will leave Sunday's game to begin a 12-game road trip that spans three states over 11 days. The Sharks won't play at home again until Feb. 21, and will need two wins in the books before taking on some of the South Region's elite teams on the road.
 
In order to obtain those wins, the Sharks will need their best effort. The Gyrenes are coming off their first 30-win season and return 17 student-athletes, including two-time All-Sun Conference selections Cheyenne Benson and Kingsley Avery. Like the Sharks, Ave Maria received the highest ranking in the Sun Conference preseason poll among teams not receiving a first-place vote.
 
NSU has a 3-1 all-time record against Ave Maria, but those games are of no concern to Team13. The Sharks believe they can be a NCAA National Championship contender, that their combination of talent and drive will lead them through the nation's toughest region. On the flip side, the Gyrenes are stronger than they have ever been and have their own set of lofty goals. Win or lose, both teams will come to the AD Griffin Sports Complex Sunday to make a statement…Why Not Us?