Oklahoma City, OK - Top 3 holds true for third-straight week in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll
Maintaining the No. 1 spot in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 is Florida (30-1, 5-1 SEC), who went 4-1 in play this past week while giving up its first loss of the season, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. After holding an undefeated record for the first five weeks of competition, the Gators received 18-of-20 first-place votes, while Michigan (21-2) and Louisiana-Lafayette (22-2, 4-1 Sun Belt) garnered one first-place vote apiece.
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Click here to see the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2016
Top 3 holds true for third-straight week in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll
OKLAHOMA CITY — Maintaining the No. 1 spot in this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 is Florida (30-1, 5-1 SEC), who went 4-1 in play this past week while giving up its first loss of the season, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. After holding an undefeated record for the first five weeks of competition, the Gators received 18-of-20 first-place votes, while Michigan (21-2) and Louisiana-Lafayette (22-2, 4-1 Sun Belt) garnered one first-place vote apiece.
Click here to see the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
Following an early-week loss to No. 3 Auburn (26-4, 3-3 SEC) on Monday, the Gators regained their dominance by defeating Winthrop, 7-0, on Wednesday, and clinching their three-game series against then-No. 16 Tennessee (21-8, 3-3 SEC). Allowing the Vols to score just two runs over the weekend, Florida recorded its first Southeastern Conference (SEC) sweep of the season. The Gators will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Baton Rouge, La. to face the No. 6 LSU (25-5, 3-3 SEC)Tigers.
In its home opener at Alumni Field, No. 2 Michigan crushed Eastern Michigan, 14-1, in a five-inning victory to improve to 21-2 on the season. The Wolverines, who extended their win streak to 10-straight games, are set to face Western Michigan this evening before playing their first Big 10 Conference series of the season against Northwestern.
For the third-straight week, Auburn holds onto their No. 3 spot following a 4-1 record over the weekend. After two tough losses in their home series against No. 1 Florida, the Tigers came back in full force to defeat the previously-undefeated team, 5-4, and earn their first SEC victory of the season. Auburn will visit the home of the Georgia State Panthers Wednesday, before returning home to play South Carolina.
No. 4 Texas A&M (27-3, 2-1 SEC) made the biggest jump in the polls from their previous No. 10 standing in Week 5. Beginning the week with two wins over Georgia Southern, the Aggies played host to then-No.4 LSU, taking home the series win on Sunday. Texas A&M will play their second SEC conference series of the season when they travel to No. T12 Georgia (25-4, 1-1 SEC) this weekend.
Also holding onto their spot this week is No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette, who posted a 5-4 win over McNeese State and collected two-of-three wins in their weekend Sun Belt Conference series at UT-Arlington. The Ragin' Cajuns outscored UT-Arlington 29-0 in their doubleheader Saturday before falling in Sunday's finale.
Rounding out the Top 10: No. 6 LSU dropped two spots after falling to then-No.10 Texas A&M twice in its three-game series; No. 7 Alabama (26-5, 1-2 SEC) went 4-1 at the Easton Tournament after losing to then-No.14 Oklahoma (21-6); No. 8 Oregon (22-4, 2-0 Pac-12) posted 7-2 and 11-6 wins over then-No. 7 Washington (19-5, 0-2 Pac-12) to move up one spot in the polls; No. 9 James Madison (22-2) enjoyed a break after its series against East Carolina was cancelled due to anticipated weather; No. 10 Washington falls three spots after losing to then-No. 9 Oregon twice.
No. 25 Mississippi State (26-4, 3-3 SEC) is the only new team to join the Top 25 this week, after defeating No. 3 Auburn, 6-3, in its second game of the series.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball Regions as well as members of the National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.
About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation's largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.2 million. ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of only two women's sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com.
About the NCAA Women's College World Series
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS). For the 26th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country June 2-8 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2016 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!
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