FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2013
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Oklahoma, Alabama hold steady at top of ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Through three weeks of NCAA Division I Collegiate softball action, the No. 1 team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll remains undefeated Oklahoma, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today. Following an action-packed weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., this week’s poll features the most movement amongst the Top 25 teams to-date, including the first Top 10 appearance of the regular season for No. 10 UCLA (13-1) and the first appearance in the Top 25 poll for Virginia Tech (11-1) and Nebraska (11-4).Â
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The Sooners received 18 of the 20 first place votes following a 5-0 performance at the Mary Nutter Classic. Oklahoma defeated then-No. 16 Georgia (7-6) 5-0, then-No. 19 Arizona (10-5) 5-0, UC Santa Barbara 5-2, Nebraska 2-0 and then-No. 23 Florida State (9-6) 6-0. The Sooners are now 7-0 against ranked teams and have outscored Top 25 teams 47-0 this year.
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Behind an undefeated campaign at the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala., No. 2 Alabama snagged two No. 1 votes. The team topped Western Illinois 21-0 (five innings) and 6-0, defeated Iowa 5-0 and 4-1 and finished the weekend with a 6-1 win over Winthrop. The Crimson Tide also defeated UAB 8-4 in a standalone game before the tournament.  Arizona State (16-0) held steady at No. 3 this week following their four-game sweep against Portland State. The Sun Devils opened the series with a marathon 6-5 (12 inning) win that lasted almost four hours before nabbing 19-2 (five inning), 9-0 (five inning) and 4-3 victories over the Vikings.Â
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While the Top 3 remained unchanged, the remainder of the Top 10 saw a shakeup in the rankings. Despite suffering their first loss of the season, Florida (16-1) moved up one spot to No. 4 in the poll. The Gators went 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Classic with wins over Loyola Marymount 8-2, Oklahoma State 2-0, Syracuse 5-1 and Georgia Tech 5-3 and their 3-4 (12 inning) loss coming at the hands of then-No. 7 Missouri (9-1). No. 5 Texas A&M (17-0) cracked the Top 5 for the first time this season after their flawless week in College Station, Texas. The Aggies collected a pair of wins against Stephen F. Austin, 3-0 and 8-0, and topped UTSA 8-0 (five innings) and 6-4, Purdue 5-1 and 6-1 before closing out the Texas A&M Invitational with a 8-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana. The last time the Aggies were ranked in the Top 5 was the Final Poll of the 2008 season.
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No. 6 Missouri and No. 7 California (11-2) each rose one spot in the poll while No. 8 Texas (16-1) fell two spots and No. 9 Tennessee (13-2) fell three spots in the rankings. Rounding out the Top 10 is No. 10 UCLA, who had a breakout performance at the Mary Nutter Classic. The Bruins collected two wins over Top 10 ranked squads and finished the weekend with a perfect 5-0 record.
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Another team to benefit from a powerful performance last week is Tulsa (11-4), which made the biggest climb in the poll this week, jumping from No. 24 last week to No. 19. The Golden Hurricane scored wins over Utah State and Lamar before splitting games with Texas. Georgia made the biggest drop this week, falling eight spots to No. 24 following their 1-4 performance at the Mary Nutter Classic. The Bulldogs started out the tournament with a 5-4 win over Colorado State before beginning a four-game losing streak which included losses to No. 1 Oklahoma 5-0, Cal Poly 1-0, then-No. 17 Stanford 6-0 and then-No. 22 Washington 14-2.Â
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For the first time this season, Virginia Tech and Nebraska join the Top 25, coming in at No. 23 and No. 25, respectively. South Florida (6-8) and Florida State (9-6) dropped out of the Top 25. Only four teams in the Top 25 remain undefeated: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arizona State and No. 5 Texas A&M.
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About ASA The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.  About USA Softball USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to 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 including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed five World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.
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About the NCAA Women’s College World Series
The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 23rd year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 75,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 30 to June 5 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2013 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!
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Codi Warren
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball
Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817
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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
2013 Season – Week 3 – February 26, 2013
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|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous Ranking |
|
1. |
Oklahoma (18) |
15-0 |
498 |
1 |
|
2. |
Alabama (2) |
16-0 |
480 |
2 |
|
3. |
Arizona State |
16-0 |
462 |
3 |
|
4. |
Florida |
16-1 |
405 |
5 |
|
5. |
Texas A&M |
17-0 |
385 |
9 |
|
6. |
Missouri |
9-1 |
379 |
7 |
|
7. |
California |
11-2 |
376 |
8 |
|
8. |
Texas |
16-1 |
367 |
6 |
|
9. |
Tennessee |
13-2 |
359 |
4 |
|
10. |
UCLA |
13-1 |
342 |
13 |
|
11. |
LSU |
14-2 |
317 |
10 |
|
12. |
Oregon |
14-3 |
293 |
11 |
|
13. |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
12-2 |
241 |
12 |
|
14. |
Michigan |
10-3 |
232 |
15 |
|
15. |
Stanford |
14-3 |
209 |
17 |
|
16. |
Louisville |
12-2 |
187 |
18 |
|
17. |
Kentucky |
11-3 |
174 |
20 |
|
18. |
Washington |
10-5 |
150 |
22 |
|
19. |
Tulsa |
11-4 |
118 |
24 |
|
20. |
Baylor |
15-2 |
102 |
25 |
|
21. |
Arizona |
10-5 |
101 |
19 |
|
22. |
Hawaii |
8-4 |
91 |
21 |
|
23. |
Virginia Tech |
11-1 |
58 |
RV |
|
24. |
Georgia |
7-6 |
43 |
16 |
|
25. |
Nebraska |
11-4 |
31 |
RV |
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Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: South Florida, Florida State New to Poll: Virginia Tech, Nebraska
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Others receiving votes: Florida State (27), South Alabama (16), South Florida (12), Syracuse (12), Oregon State (12), Georgia Tech (5), Northwestern (4), Notre Dame (3), Ohio State (2), SC Upstate (2), North Carolina (1), Iowa (1), Florida Gulf Coast (1), Kennesaw State (1)
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