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June 9, 2015
Back-to-back Champs Florida finish season at No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA
Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
OKLAHOMA CITY - After claiming their second-consecutive national
championship at the 2015 NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS) in
Oklahoma City, Florida was voted No. 1 in the final ESPN.com/USA
Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll of the 2015 season, the Amateur Softball
Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today. The
Gators (60-7, 18-5 SEC) end the season right where they started, in the
No. 1 spot, sweeping all 20 first-place votes after a 10-1 performance
in the post season, including a 5-1 campaign in Oklahoma City during the
NCAA WCWS.
Click here to see the complete poll
<http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2015-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls > .
To advance to Oklahoma City, Florida first outscored its regional
opponents 14-0 to advance to the Super Regional round. The Gators then
shut out Kentucky twice in the Supers, to earn a coveted spot in the
WCWS and defend their 2014 title.
The Gators started their week in Oklahoma City with a 7-2 win over
then-No. 9 Tennessee (47-17, 15-9 SEC) before posting a 4-0, shutout
over then-No. 7 LSU (52-14, 15-9 SEC). The Gators then punched their
ticket to the Championship Series against Southeastern Conference (SEC)
rivals, then-No. 4 Auburn (56-11, 18-6 SEC) in a thrilling 3-2 (nine
inning) win. Facing off against then-No. 3 Michigan (60-8, 21-2 Big
10), the Gators kept the title in the SEC, taking two-of-three games
from the Wolverines, including a 4-1 win in the final game. The 2015 USA
Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Lauren Haeger, was the
tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
After advancing to the Championship Series for the first time since
2005, Michigan finished the season at No. 2 following an impressive
post-season campaign. En route to Oklahoma City, the Wolverines
advanced out of the Regionals by beating Oakland 9-1 (five innings),
then-No. 19 California (39-18, 10-14 Pac-12) 9-1 (five innings) and
Pittsburgh 10-3. Michigan then faced then-No. 16 Georgia (44-17, 14-9
SEC) in the Super Regionals, pushing past the Bulldogs 10-3 and 7-6, to
earn a trip back to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2013. At the
NCAA WCWS, Michigan shutout then-No. 6 Alabama (48-15, 17-7 SEC) 5-0 and
topped then-No. 8 UCLA (51-12, 19-5 Pac-12) 10-4. The Wolverines locked
their spot in the Championship Series with a 6-3 win over LSU. In the
Championship Series against Florida, Michigan dropped a 2-1 decision in
game one before coming back with a 1-0 shutout to force a third-game.
Auburn finished the season at No. 3 following their program's first
appearance at the NCAA WCWS. The Tigers dropped a 6-1 decision in their
first-ever game at the NCAA WCWS, but rallied back for a 4-2 win over
Tennessee and an extra-inning thriller against UCLA in which the Tigers
came out with the 11-10 (10 inning) victory. A 3-2 (nine inning) loss
to the soon-to-be Champions Florida eliminated Auburn from the
tournament
LSU finished the season at No. 4 after a 2-2 performance at the NCAA
WCWS in which the Tigers opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over
Auburn before falling 4-0 to Florida. The Tigers kept their time at the
NCAA WCWS going with a 5-3 win over Alabama before dropping a 6-3
decision to Michigan to end their season.
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 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 74 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 2.5 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/ <http://www.asausasoftball.com/ > .
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 25th year, the top eight college
teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a
National Championship title. Last year, nearly 70,000 fans attended the
WCWS. Experience It Live May 28 to June 3 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for
the 2015 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here
<http://www.ncaa.com/tickets/softball/d1 > to purchase your tickets and
make a date with champions!
Nick Dorety
ASA/USA Softball
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
2801 NE 50th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73111
405-425-3422 - work
405-757-5306 - cell
ndorety@softball.org
