While most Northwestern students are trudging through the snow, the Wildcats softball team has the tough task of playing in the Louisville Slugger tournament in Tampa, Fla., this weekend.

NU opens up the four-team round-robin tournament Friday against Florida Atlantic. The Owls lead the all time series 5-1.

Later in the day the Cats will take on Southern Florida, and they finish up Saturday against Tennessee. NU holds a 3-2 all-time advantage over Southern Florida and has split its only two games against Tennessee.

Kate Drohan will make her debut as head coach of the Cats after taking over the reins from Sharon Drysdale, who coached NU for 23 years before stepping down in May.

Leading the way for the Cats will be pitcher Brie Brown, who went 13-16 last year with an ERA of 2.19 while striking out 106 batters.

The Cats enter the tournament with some solid experience on their side – NU has 15 starters returning from last year’s squad.

“We’re focused on starting the weekend down here in Florida,” Drohan said. “I’ve implemented my system and my philosophy. A lot of it I learned from Sharon, but a lot of it is new. We’ve come together nicely as a team.”