In every sport, there are always dominating programs. They are the teams that are constantly expected to play for a championship, hang with the best of the best and never fall short of perfection. In the world of college softball, two programs – UCLA and California – typify this concept.

This weekend, at the Campbell/Carrier Tournament in San Diego, the Massachusetts softball team will play its first five contests of the 2006 season – two of those games will be against UCLA and Cal.

Since UMass coach Elaine Sortino has built one of the most powerful softball programs in the East Coast, every season it is her obligation to take her team to the West Coast, and take on the elite.

“This is our opportunity to see the teams that are going to make the tournament,” Sortino said. “We have choices to make trips to other places, but it would make no sense in terms of what kind of program we are and what kind of caliber team we need to play.”

The Minutewomen will jump-start their season today in San Diego, and will continue play all weekend – they will face UC Santa Barbara at 12 p.m. today then Sacramento State at 2 p.m., No. 2 UCLA at 10 a.m. tomorrow, San Diego State at 2 p.m. tomorrow and No. 8/7 Cal Sunday at 12 p.m.

UMass fell short in last season’s NCAA tournament, losing to No. 4 Texas 1-0 on May 20 and then getting knocked out by Texas A’M-Corpus Christi 6-2 the following day.

This season, the team is anchored by two seniors – pitcher Jenna Busa, who had an unprecedented late-season surge in 2005, and UMass homerun queen K.J. Kelley, who catches Busa’s strikeouts on the defensive end.

Busa finished her 2005 campaign with a 1.96 ERA, a 17-6 record, 137 strikeouts and she tacked on some offensive stats as well with three homeruns and seven RBIs in 25 at-bats.

Kelley had her best season yet as a junior, knocking 14 pitches out of the park, tallying 43 RBIs and recording an Atlantic 10-high .382 batting average. She was also named as an Easton Sports All-American, first-team and was honored as an A-10 All-Conference and All-Tournament player.

The Minutewomen are balanced when it comes to age, with four seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and six freshmen on the roster. One of those freshmen, Brandice Balschmiter, will be the No. 2 pitcher and will most-likely be the successor to Busa.

With the core of Sortino’s squad remaining, and an above-average freshman class, another Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA berth is almost a lock for the Minutewomen.

Although the Minutewomen’s practices have been limited due to the snow and cold weather, Sortino is confident that they are prepared, regardless of where they have been forced to practice.

“They’re ready to play,” Sortino said. “Obviously they haven’t taken a ground ball in the dirt, but it doesn’t matter.”

The Minutewomen’s first home game will not occur until March 29 against Dartmouth, which means the team will be traveling around the country, playing top-tier programs until then. This weekend is just the start of that type of competition.

“We’ve got really tough competition,” Sortino said. “All of those teams are ranked regionally in their regions, so it’s going to be a tough trip.”

UCLA

The Bruins truly are the mother ship of college softball. With 11 national championships under its belt, this program has won more games than any in the country.

“They’re a really balanced offense, they have some small kids that can run, but they also have some great power,” Sortino said.

After falling to Michigan in extra innings in the third game of the NCAA Championship Series last season, the Bruins are making their case as a returnee to this season’s championship games.

“They have all of their kids back, they have a great sophomore on the mound in Angelica Seldon,” Sortino said. “She’s more than a polished pitcher; she’s probably going to be on the National Team and then the Olympics in 2008, and if not, then in 2012.”

Cal

Ranked No. 2 in last season’s World Series, the Golden Bears will be the second-toughest challenge that the Minutewomen will be faced with this weekend. Senior slugger Lindsay James held her own last season with an overall batting average of .439, and leads a primarily young squad. Defensively for the Golden Bears, senior Kristina Thorson owns the circle. Thorson was a second-team All-American last season with a 1.09 ERA and a 23-5 record, and led her team to the World Series.

UC Santa Barbara

In 2004, the Gauchos received their first NCAA tournament bid ever. After ending their 2005 season without a place in the Big Dance, the Gauchos will lean on their veteran core to make it back this season. The Minutewomen will have to, first and foremost, get something going against the Gaucho’s starting junior pitcher Jennifer Davis, whose 2.09 ERA last season earned her All-Big West Second Team honors.

Sacramento State

It was 1995 when the Hornets last made an appearance at the NCAA tournament, but they have been on the brink of an at-large berth the past two seasons and have the tools to get the job done in 2006. Spearheaded by Lindy Winkler, who held a .369 batting average last season, the Hornets are returning 14 players, including 11 upperclassmen. Senior pitcher Nikki Cinque will look to build on her 1.52 ERA and 90 strikeouts from the 2005 season.

San Diego State

Senior Celena Velasquez is possibly the best pitcher in the history of the Aztec program. An all-time leader in 16 school records, Velasquez finished last season with 1.19 ERA and was named to the all-Mountain West Conference team for the third straight time. The team is filled with underclassmen, however, and sports eight freshmen and seven sophomores.

“Every team is going to be well rehearsed physically, and all of these teams are well-coached,” Sortino said. “It’s going to come down to our ability to really master the game, to always have a plan and to always know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”