Duck Softball Remain Top No. 20 in Both National Polls
*Updated season and career stats are available via the link above.
EUGENE – Ranked top 20 for the seventh straight week, the University of Oregon softball team (31-10, 7-4) was tabbed No. 17 and No. 20 in the USA Softball and NFCA national polls this week in anticipation of a trip to Los Angeles to take on No. 5 UCLA (33-9, 7-5).
In the USA Softball poll, UO’s 175 votes dropped it one position in this week’s 11th edition. UO’s prior 16th-place ranking was its highest since the 2007 campaign when it stood 16th in late April and the same season it climbed as high as 10th nationally.
Looking back over the season, Oregon stood 17th the ninth and 10th polls, 21st in the seventh and eighth editions, 25th in the fifth and sixth versions, and received votes in three other USA Softball polls – the preseason, third (3/1) and fourth (3/8) week editions.
In the USA Today / NFCA poll, UO made its third appearance and ranked 20th for the second straight week after its 189 votes were 32 more than the previous week. Two weeks ago, UO ranked 23rd after it stood just outside the top 25 and received votes the previous four weeks.
Seven Pac-10 teams were tabbed top 20 this week in the USA Softball / NFCA editions - Washington (1/1), Arizona (3/3), UCLA (6/5), Arizona State (9/7), Stanford (14/14) and California (16/13).
Seven other teams on UO’s schedule in ’10 received votes this week – No. 20/22 Texas A&M, No. 20/23 Hawai’i, No. 25/25 Notre Dame, BYU, Fresno State, San Diego State and Texas Tech.
Complete NFCA and USA Softball preseason polls are available at the http://nfca.org/top25/index.php?cat_id=1 and http://www.usasoftball.com/news.asp?uid=5398 URL addresses.
Last weekend in Tempe, the Ducks ended a seven-game series losing streak to the Sun Devils with a 7-4 win Saturday, while ASU won Sunday, 3-0, and Friday, 10-3.
This week, No. 17 UO ranks second in the Pac-10 for the third straight week and travels to Easton Stadium in Los Angeles to face No. 5 UCLA for single games Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at noon. Live stats will be available at the www.UCLAbruins.com website.
Looking ahead to next week, the Ducks welcome Pacific Coast Softball Conference champion Portland State (20-24, 10-2) to Eugene for a 4 p.m. doubleheader Wednesday, May 5. Fans can pick up a ‘Bi-Mart 2 For 1’ coupon at any Eugene-Springfield Bi-Mart location and get two general admission tickets for the price of one. To check on the status of home softball games that day and potential weather conflicts, fans can call (541) 346-6148.
Afterwards, UO then welcomes eight-time national champion and No. 3 Arizona for single games Friday, May 7 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, May 8 at 1 p.m.; and Sunday, May 9 at noon. The Friday game is a Go ‘O’ Day, and fans that wear their 2009-10 ‘Go O or Go Home’ spirit t-shirt will receive a general admission ticket for $1. On Saturday's Kidsports Day, youth that wear their Kidsports shirt to the game get in for free. Sunday's home season finale is Happy Mother’s Day, and all mothers get into the ballpark for free.
NATIONAL POLLS (4/27) – Week #11
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
http://nfca.org/top25/index.php?cat_id=1
Rk Team Record Totals Prev
*1. Washington (12) 37-5 492 1
2. Michigan (8) 37-5 485 2
*3. Arizona 38-7 462 3
4. Alabama 39-9 435 5
5. Florida 35-7 414 4
*6. UCLA 33-9 399 7
7. Georgia Tech 43-8 369 6
8. Georgia 40-8 366 10
*9. Arizona State 37-10 324 9
10. Oklahoma 36-10 293 13
11. Oklahoma State 40-11 290 8
T12. Texas 37-10 265 14
T12. LSU 38-10 265 12
*14. Stanford 30-12 252 11
15. Missouri 36-9 216 15
*16. Cal 34-13 215 17
17. Tennessee 39-9 184 18
**18. Oregon 31-10 175 16
19. Illinois 33-5 149 19
*T20. Hawaii 39-11 97 T23
*T20. Texas A&M 36-13 97 21
22. Florida State 39-14 72 20
23. UMass 29-7-1 65 22
24. Ohio State 30-11 57 T23
*25. Notre Dame 38-9 19 25
Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina (13); Fordham (9); *BYU (4); DePaul (4); *San Diego State (4); *Texas Tech (4); Louisville (2); Hofstra (2); Virginia (2)
Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.
* Denotes Duck opponents in 2010
USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll
http://www.usasoftball.com/folders.asp?uid=3208
Rk Team (1st Pl. Vts) Record Points Prev
*1 Washington (19) 37-5 736 1
2 Michigan (11) 37-5 728 2
*3 Arizona 38-7 694 3
4 Alabama 39-9 643 4
*5 UCLA 33-9 625 6
6 Florida 35-7 584 4
*7 Arizona State 37-10 530 9
8 Georgia 40-8 514 12
9 Georgia Tech 43-8 507 8
10 Missouri 36-9 453 11
11 Oklahoma State 41-10 449 7
12 Oklahoma 36-10 410 14
*13 California 34-13 396 13
*14 Stanford 30-12 384 10
15 Texas 37-10 351 15
16 Tennessee 39-9 284 17
17 LSU 39-10 280 16
18 Illinois 33-5 250 18
19 Ohio State 30-11 216 19
**20 Oregon 31-10 189 20
21 Massachusetts 29-7 138 21
*22 Texas A&M 36-13 103 22
*23 Hawaii 39-11 88 25
24 Florida State 39-14 69 24
*25 Notre Dame 38-9 61 23
Others Receiving Votes: DePaul 22, Louisville 13, *Fresno State 7, Lipscomb 7, *Texas Tech 6, Hofstra 5, Fordham 4, *BYU 3, *San Diego State 1
* Denotes Duck opponents in 2010
Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.
-The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference. First-place votes are in parentheses.
- www.GoDucks.com –
