ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team contends at the top of the Ivy League standings every season. And year-in and year-out, it starts preparing for the Ivy race by heading south to Fairfax, Va. The Big Red begins the first of three straight weekends at George Mason on Saturday, March 2.

Cornell will compete in the George Mason-Patriot Classic beginning with two games on Saturday, starting with a 10 a.m. contest against Rider and a 12:15 p.m. game vs. the host Patriots. The Big Red will face Rutgers on Sunday at 9 a.m. and closes the tournament the same way it opens it - with a showdown against Rider. Cornell will face the Broncs at 1:30 p.m. before returning to Ithaca.

The Big Red has a longstanding series with George Mason and holds a narrow 12-11 edge all-time. Cornell is 7-0 in the all-time series against Rider and will be meeting Rutgers for the first time in program history this weekend.

The Big Red has had success in Fairfax over the years, annually making multiple trips during its early spring weekends and heading down to George Mason to start every season since 2005. Cornell has posted a 34-18 record on its trips to George Mason, though that mark is 11-12 over the last two years. In 2012, the Big Red made the trip three straight weekends, going 6-6.

Cornell is coming off its fourth straight Ivy League South Division title, sharing the crown with Penn, en route to a 25-23 season. It was the 16th consecutive year the Big Red won at least 25 games, and its 15-5 conference mark was the fourth time in six years the program has finished at .750 or better in Ivy play. Head coach Dick Blood is the all-time winningest coach in Cornell athletics history for a single sport and enters the season with 567 triumphs (567-266-2) and five conference crowns.

Coming off another 25-win season, Cornell returns seven regulars and its top hurler from 2012. Included is All-Ivy catcher Kristen Towne (.304, 12 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBI) and all-conference outfielder Lauren Bucolo (.297, 6 HR, 22 RBI), both first team picks last year. All-Ivy infielder Jenny Edwards (.279, 9 HR, 27 RBI) will also provide pop, as will sophomore outfielder Linda Laeufer (.286, 11 2B, 5 HR, 19 RBI). In the circle, All-Ivy pitcher Alyson Onyon is coming off a breakout season in which she was 14-5 with a 2.74 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 151.0 innings.

Rider brings a 1-3 record into the weekend after opening the season with a win over Cleveland State and losses to Towson, East Carolina and Ohio University on Feb. 9-10 at the Hampton Inn Pirate Classic in Greenville, N.C. The Broncs have had three weeks to continue to improve after hitting .256 with just four runs in the four-game set. It was shut out three times and surrendered eight home runs. Dana Sensi led Rider with a 6-of-11 weekend at the plate (.545), while Amanda Irving hit .444 (4-of-9). In the circle, Krista Morrone was 1-1 with a pair of complete games and a 2.00 ERA. Head coach Tricia Carroll is in her 19th season directing the program and has won 376 career games. The Broncs return eight starters from last season's 20-33-1 squad that finished sixth in the MAAC with a 7-9 record in 2012.

The Patriots are 2-4 after two weekends with wins over Charleston Southern and Winthrop. George Mason is hitting just .169 as a team and has four extra-base hits in six games, but has gotten excellent pitching from Christina Gabriele (1-1, 1.00 ERA in 14.0 IP) and Casey Herring (1-2, 1.47 ERA in 14.1 IP) to stay in games. Senior Megan Blank is the lone regular hitting better than .300 thus far, batting .364 with a double and a team-high five RBI. Her .579 on-base percentage also ranks first on the squad. Sixth-year head coach Joe Verbancic returns six letter winners from last season's 13-41 squad that went 7-14 in the Colonial.

Rutgers brings a a 2-3 mark into the weekend with wins over Missouri State and Boise State. Junior outfielder Loren Williams leads the way at .467 with five runs scored, while senior Kaci Madden (.333) and freshman Melanie Slowinski (.308) are both over .300. The Scarlet Knights are fielding at a slick .969 with just four errors in five contests. Alyssa Landrith, the 2012 Big East Rookie of the Year, is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 IP, striking out 16 while allowing opponents to hit just .238. Sixth-year head coach Jay Nelson has helped lead Rutgers to three straight Big East tournament appearances. Ten letter winners return from last season's 26-28 squad.