SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art University Softball and new head coach Sonja Garnett begin the program's seventh year united around one word – "family."

A photo posted by Art U Softball (@artusoftball) on Jan 19, 2015 at 10:16pm PST

This Thursday, Feb. 5, the 2015 ART U schedule commences with a road-heavy February and March which set up a 10-game homestand to end the season in April. The Knights' non-conference schedule is highlighted by a pair of Cal State Stanislaus tournaments, Best of the West Invitational (Feb) and Tournament of Champions (March) as well as games against six of 10 teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Academy of Art's Pacific West Conference slate features mid-March matchups against Dixie State and California Baptist, two teams ranked in the country's top 20 at the end of last year.

The first step of the journey goes through Cal State East Bay with a Feb. 5 doubleheader beginning at a new start time of 11:00 AM. Live Stats will be available for these games.

At the core of the ART U team are four seniors who have been with the program since they were freshmen in 2012. Outfielder Haily MacDonald, pitcher/infielder Kamyle Glover, infielder Jasmine Dickenson, and infielder Taylor Thurman look to finish their collegiate careers in style as they all ride the momentum of strong junior campaigns.

MacDonald hit .351 and led the team in runs scored (39), Dickenson batted .287 with five home runs and the squad's best fielding percentage (.987), Glover was named All-PacWest First Team after hitting .400 with a team-best 16 walks, and Thurman earned All-PacWest Second Team honors for her ART U record-setting 52 runs batted in to go with a .374 batting average and five homers. This vital quartet collectively made 199 of 200 possible starts last year.

Also returning to the squad are two juniors, outfielder Andrea Gill and catcher Elise Oldham, along with three in the sophomore class including outfielder Hallie Curtis, pitcher Alexa Peters, and infielder Jessica West. Oldham, one of five ART U players to start all 40 games in 2014, went for extra bases a total of 12 times last season including four home runs.

The Urban Knights welcome seven new faces to their family in 2015. Nirana Singh is a graduate student and catcher from Savannah College of Art & Design who joins four freshmen, utility Ariel Ajimura, outfielder Samantha Klune, and two right-handed pitchers in Brenna Mitchell and Kirsten Durazo. Klune was a track & field thrower in high school as well as a start on the softball field while Ajimura, Mitchell, and Durazo all have high school post-season experience. Ajiumura competed for Moanalua High School during their two trips to the OIA East Championships in 2013-2014, Mitchell was the top hurler for an Angelo Rodriguez High School team that earned the 2011 CIF SJS Division III Championship, and Durazo helped her squad to three consecutive CIF Qualifiers (2010-13).

With a nice mix of talent up and down the roster, Academy of Art begins the first year of a new chapter this Thursday.