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UCLA’s Langenfeld Named Player of the Week
May 15, 2007
UCLA’s Langenfeld Named Player of the WeekOklahoma City, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association announced today the selection of UCLA’s Megan Langenfeld (Bakersfield, Calif.) as this week’s USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week. Langenfeld was the offensive and defensive catalyst for the Bruins this weekend earning her the final Player of the Week honor of the 2007 softball season.The freshman hurler became the only pitcher in the Pac-10 this season to win games in the same weekend against Pac-10 Champion Arizona and Pac-10 Runner-Up Arizona State, accomplishing the feat on back-to-back nights on the road against two of the Pac-10's best pitchers. Both of UCLA's opponents were in the top ten of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll at the time with Arizona holding the No. 3 spot while Arizona State was ranked No. 9. UCLA's win at Arizona snapped a 17-game home winning streak for the Wildcats and gave UCLA a win in the season series vs. U of A for the third straight year and a fourth consecutive win at Hillenbrand Stadium in Tucson.
“A great part of the success of UCLA Softball is our ability to bring in great talent. We have had a history and tradition of freshmen contributing right away and Megan Langenfeld has been able to contribute both in the circle and at the plate this year,” said UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “She is a big part of UCLA’s momentum going into postseason play and this is a wonderful honor for Megan and for UCLA.”
In Thursday's win at Arizona, Langenfeld allowed just two earned runs in seven innings in the circle, striking out three and throwing 116 pitches. She also connected on a three-run home run in the fifth inning, breaking a 4-4 tie that gave UCLA a 7-4 win over Arizona.
On Friday at Arizona State, she returned to the circle, throwing 161 pitches allowing just two earned runs with six strikeouts as the Bruins posted a 4-3 win over the Sun Devils. Langenfeld once again contributed offensively, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a two-RBI double in the first inning.
“I am very honored to be named the ESPN.com/USA Softball National Player of the Week,” said Langenfeld of her first-time honor. “Our team did well this weekend and I hope that we can take that same intensity into this weekend’s postseason games.
She entered the game in relief on Saturday, coming in during the fifth inning, facing eight batters and allowing only one hit while striking out one.
For the week, Langenfeld posted a 2-0 record with a 1.75 ERA and 10 strikeouts. She pitched 16 of UCLA's 20 innings on the weekend while hitting .333 at the plate (3-for-9) with two runs scored, a double, a home run and five RBI for a .778 slugging percentage.
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Oklahoma Tops Final
May 15, 2007
Oklahoma Tops Final Regular Season PollOklahoma City---Oklahoma (52-6) is the No. 1 team in the country according to the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll released today by the Amateur Softball Association. The Sooners won the Big 12 Tournament this past weekend to secure an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament scheduled to begin on Thursday. Although crowned National Champions in 2000, this is the first-time in the five-year history of the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll that the Sooners have had a No.1 ranking.Tennessee (54-5), who had regained the top spot last week, dropped to No. 2 after being ousted from the SEC Tournament by eventual runner-up Florida (46-20). The LSU Tigers (53-10) jumped three spots this week to No. 3 after wrapping up the SEC Tournament with a 1-0 extra inning win over Florida in the championship game. Alabama (51-7) dropped to No. 5 in the latest poll after suffering a 4-1 loss to LSU in the SEC Tournament.
Virginia Tech (48-14), who won the ACC regular season and tournament title, continues to improve on their ranking moving from No. 15 to No. 13 this week. The Hokies ended Georgia Tech’s 19-game winning streak after posting a 2-0 victory in the championship game. Despite the loss to Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech advanced two spots to No. 15 this week.
Ohio State (38-16) finally cracked the Top 25 Poll this week at No. 21 after proving its regular season Big 10 title was no fluke. The Buckeyes cruised through the Big 10 Tournament by posting impressive wins over Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern to secure their first Big 10 Tournament title.
Louisiana Lafayette and Texas were both bounced out of the Top 25 after disappointing results in their respective conference tournaments. The Ragin Cajuns went 0-2 in the Sunbelt Conference Tournament with losses to North Texas and Western Kentucky while the Longhorns were sent home by Missouri after a 3-0 loss.
Each of the teams in this week’s Top 25 received a spot in the upcoming NCAA Regional Championships set to begin on Thursday and Friday. Teams from each of the 16 Regional sites will advance to the Super Regionals, May 25-26, where they will compete in a best two out of three series to decide who will advance to Oklahoma City for the 2007 NCAA Women’s College World Series, May 31-June 6.
This will be the last ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll until June 12, when the battle for the 2007 National Championship title will have been settled.
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 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit 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 the 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 eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. -
Pitcher Development Program
May 15, 2007
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Schedule for World Cup and ACS
May 11, 2007
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Top Ten POY Finalists
May 09, 2007
Top Ten Finalists for Collegiate Player of the YearOklahoma City, Okla. ---The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the top ten finalists for the 6th Annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. For the first time in six years, the top ten finalists actually consist of 11 players after there was a tie for the 10th position.An initial “Watch List” was released on January 30 and the list of 25 finalists was announced on April 4. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, in its sixth year, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by NCAA Division I collegiate softball players across the country.
The eleven finalists for the 6th Annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, consists of three players who were selected as top 10 finalists in 2006. There are also five seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and one freshman among the list.
Top 11 Finalists listed in alphabetical order, are:
Monica Abbott (Tennessee) – Senior – Pitcher - Salinas, Calif.
Katie Burkhart (Arizona State) – Junior – Pitcher - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State) - Sophomore - Outfielder - Yorba Linda, Calif.
Norrelle Dickson (Oklahoma) – Senior - Third Base - Orange, Calif.
Caitlin Lever (Georgia Tech) - Senior - Outfielder - Amherst, NY
Caitlin Lowe (Arizona) – Senior – Outfielder - Tustin, Calif.
Samantha Ricketts (Oklahoma) - Sophomore - First Base - San Jose, Calif.
Jenn Salling (Oregon) – Freshman – Shortstop - Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Amanda Scarborough (Texas A&M) - Junior - Pitcher/First Base - Magnolia, Texas
Lindsay Schutzler (Tennessee) – Senior – Outfielder - Monterey, Calif.
Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech) - Junior - Pitcher - Eagle Rock, Va.
On May 29 the list will be cut to three and those final three players will travel to Oklahoma City for the announcement of the winner of the 6th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award during opening ceremonies of the 2007 NCAA Women's College World Series.
A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player’s academic institution during an athletic event in the fall.
Cat Osterman of the University of Texas became the first three-time winner of the National Player of the Year Award in 2006 after leading her Longhorns to the Big 12 regular season title and a berth into the NCAA Women’s College World Series. Past winners of the award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA-2002), Osterman (Texas-2003, 2005, 2006) and Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State-2004).
About ASAThe 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 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 230,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit 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 the 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 eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. -
Tennessee’s Callahan Selected Player of the Week
May 08, 2007
Tennessee’s Callahan Selected Player of the WeekOKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Tennessee Lady Vol junior Tonya Callahan hit .833 (5-of-6) and blasted her team-high 10th home run of the campaign with six RBI to garner her first ever selection as the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week selected today by the Amateur Softball Association. The Holden, Mo., native also reaped Lady Vol Athlete of the Week honors for her contributions during UT's doubleheader sweep of the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the school’s first SEC regular season title.Callahan really set the tone for the Big Orange offense with her powerful performance in the opener against Alabama by going 3-for-4 at the plate with a season-high five RBIs as UT rolled to a 9-2 victory. The first baseman delivered an RBI single in the second, a two-RBI double in the fourth and a two-RBI base hit in the fifth to help overwhelm the Tide.
"It's a great honor to be named the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week for the first time," Lady Vol junior first baseman Tonya Callahan said. "I've been working really hard with our coaches (Ralph and Karen Weekly) on keeping my weight back, and this is proof to me that all the hard work is paying off. I'm so happyto be at Tennessee andto have the tremendous support of my teammates. Receiving this award wouldn't be possible without their help."
Callahan was 2-for-2 in Sunday's 4-0 game with a solo home run and an intentional walk to complete a stretch during which she reached base eight consecutive times over the two contests by either hit, walk or hit by pitch.
"This is very exciting for both Tonya and our program," Lady Vol co-head coach Karen Weekly said. "She is truly most deserving after the great performance she had for our team this past weekend. It is especially gratifying when someone with Tonya's work ethic receives an award like this."
After the No.1/No.2 match-up, she raised her season average to .399 to go along with 12 doubles, a team-high 10 homers and a team co-best 49 RBI. Counting just SEC match-ups only, Callahan is hitting .373 over 27 tilts with six two-baggers, three homeruns and 19 RBI. She boasts 17 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI contests this season.
This is the first-time honor for Callahan and the second time this year for the Vol program as pitching ace Monica Abbott claimed the first honor of the season
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Tennessee Regains Top Spot
May 08, 2007
Tennessee Regains Top Spot in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25Oklahoma City---It only took one week for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (53-4) to regain the top spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll after sweeping a double-header from last week’s top team, Alabama (50-6), as announced today by the Amateur Softball Association. The Vols have dominated the poll this season only giving up the top spot once in 13 regular season polls.Oklahoma (49-6) moved up to the No. 2 spot this week while Alabama moved into a tie for third with Arizona (38-10-1). Baylor (45-12) climbed up to No. 5 after securing their first ever Big 12 regular season title with wins over Texas (33-17) and Texas A&M (39-9).
LSU (49-10), who knocked off top ranked Tennessee a week ago, dropped to No. 6 this week after losing two of three at rival Georgia (43-25) to finish second overall in the SEC. Despite the losses, LSU still claimed its eighth western division title in 11 years.
Virginia Tech (44-14) continues to better their ranking moving up two spots to No. 15 this week after a mid-week sweep of Big South champs, Liberty (36-24). The Hokies won the regular season ACC title for the first time in school history and will face eighth seeded Virginia (17-37) in the opening round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.
No. 17 Georgia Tech (49-13), who advanced two spots in this week’s poll, is currently on a sixteen-game winning streak and enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
For the first time this season there are actually 26 teams in the Top 25 Poll after teams tied in two positions in the poll. Alabama and Arizona tied at No. 3 while Florida (44-19) and Fresno State (42-16) regained a spot in the Top 25 rankings this week sharing the 25th position. NC State (42-17) dropped out of the Top 25 despite being idle this past week.
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 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit 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 the 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 eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. -
KFC Named Title Sponsor
May 08, 2007
KFC Named Title Sponsor of 3rd World Cup of SoftballOklahoma City, OK (May 8, 2007) -- The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) announced today that KFC has reached an agreement to become the title sponsor of the 3rd World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City, July 12-16 at ASA’s Hall of Fame Complex and an official sponsor of the ASA’s grassroots softball programs.The integrated sponsorship between KFC and ASA names KFC the title sponsor of the international event along with other media and grassroots benefits including:- Integrated broadcast graphics and commercial exposure in each telecast
- "KFC" branded vignettes each telecast
- Camera-visible event signage
- Title sponsorship and media rights to the inaugural men’s fast pitch American Challenge Series to be played in conjunction with the KFC World Cup of Softball and aired on ESPN2, July 22 at 1PM.
- Cross marketing opportunities between KFC and the three million plus ASA registered softball players in the United States via ASA’s print, online and video based media platforms
- Umbrella sponsorship of ASA’s youth national championship program directly impacting over 2,000 girls’ fast pitch teams competing at various National Championships across the United States
“We proved last year that women’s fast pitch softball continues to grow as a televised property and that the World Cup has established itself as a premier event on the summer sports calendar,” said ASA’s Director of Marketing Kelly McKeown. “While our ability to attract a critical mass on television remains a key ingredient to our success, KFC recognizes and intends to activate our partnership at the grassroots level with several exciting promotions geared towards the millions of young ladies and their families that participate in ASA sanctioned leagues and championship tournaments each year.”
"The partnership between KFC and the 3rd World Cup of Softball is going to be a home run for our brand," said James O'Reilly, Chief Marketing Officer for KFC. "It's a thrill to be associated with some of the world's best athletes and a dream come true to sponsor 'America's Real Dream Team' -- USA Softball."
The KFC World Cup of Softball features the top women’s fast pitch teams in the world including the defending champion, USA Softball, along with 2005 World Cup Champion Japan, and women’s national teams from China, Canada, Venezuela and Dominican Republic.
The ESPN networks are the exclusive domestic home of the KFC World Cup of Softball and feature over 12 hours of live coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 highlighted by multiple prime time windows including the Championship Game on Monday, July 16 at 9 PM ET. The complete domestic ESPN air schedule is below:
Date Game Time (Eastern) Network
Thursday, July 12 USA vs. Venezuela 7:00 PM ESPN
Friday, July 13 USA vs. China 8:00 PM ESPN
Saturday, July 14 USA vs. Dominican Republic 1:00 PM ESPN2
Saturday, July 14 USA vs. Japan 8:00 PM ESPN2
Sunday, July 15 USA vs. Canada 1:00 PM ESPN
Monday, July 16 Championship Game 9:00 PM ESPN2Sunday, July 22 USA vs. Japan 1:00 PM ESPN2
The worldwide telecast syndication schedule will be released in the coming weeks and currently includes coverage in over 150 countries and several non-US games highlighted by the battle between China and Japan scheduled for Sunday night, July 15th.
KFC World Cup of Softball
The KFC World Cup of Softball, a six-team tournament sanctioned by the International Softball Federation (ISF), will feature the best fast pitch softball players in the world competing for their respective national teams. The six teams invited to participate in the event will compete in pool play from July 12-15. The top two teams from pool play will be seeded into the Championship Game on July 16 while the remaining teams battle for third through fifth place respectively. Japan defeated the United States to claim the inaugural Championship in 2005 while the United States claimed the 2006 Championship.About KFC
KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™ and Colonel's Crispy Strips® with home-style sides, Honey BBQ Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches. There are more than 14,000 KFC outlets in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, serving some 12 million customers each day. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM.)
ABOUT THE 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 87 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 230,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
ABOUT WINNERCOMM
Winnercomm, Inc. is America’s largest independent sports production, program development, marketing services and sales representation company with offices in Tulsa, Dallas, New York, Chicago and Nashville. Winnercomm-produced telecasts have won 14 Emmy Awards. The company produces over 1,000 hours of programming annually for ESPN and 13 other networks and owns the high-flyingSkycam that has produced the unique overhead shots on ABC's Monday Night Football and ESPN's Sunday Night Football. Winnercomm programming includes horse racing (NTRA), professional rodeo (PRCA Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Wrangler ProRodeo Winter and Summer Tours, Pace Picante Finales, Dodge Xtreme Bulls), soccer (MLS, U.S. Soccer), softball (ASA, USA Softball, World Cup of Softball) bowling (Denny’s PBA Tour), lacrosse (MLL), cheerleading and dance (Varsity Brands), golf (LPGA, Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational), snowmobile and ATV racing (PowerSports Entertainment), hunting, sporting dogs, adventure and original entertainment.
For more information contact:Kelly McKeown, ASA’s Director of Marketing405-425-3422 or kmckeown@softball.orgJeff Rhoton, Winnercomm Sports; Softball GM918-281-4453 or jrhoton@winnercomm.comRick Maynard, KFC Public Relations
502-874-8100 or Rick.Maynard@yum.com -
2007 Womens National Coaching Staff
May 02, 2007
USA Softball Names 2007 Women’s National Team Coaching Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK-USA Softball has announced the selection of Mike Candrea (Casa Grande, Ariz.), as the head coach for the 2007 USA Softball Women’s National Team that will attempt to win its second consecutive World Cup of Softball and its sixth consecutive Pan American Games gold medal this summer.
Candrea, currently the head coach at the University of Arizona, led the USA to a third consecutive gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and most recently to its sixth consecutive ISF World Championship title in 2006 and its first World Cup title.Since arriving on the campus of the University of Arizona, Candrea has developed the Wildcat softball program into a perennial powerhouse. Entering his 21st year of coaching this season at Arizona, Candrea has won a whopping 1081 games for an overall mark of 1081-214 and a winning percentage of .835.
”Mike Candrea has proven that he has the ability to take the USA program to the highest level and maintain that success,” said ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda. “USA Softball has thrived under Mike’s leadership and we have no doubt he will have the team ready to defend its gold medal in Oklahoma City at the World Cup and Rio de Janeiro at the Pan Am Games.”
Assistant Coaches for the 2007 USA Softball Women's National Team will be Chuck D’Arcy (Sacramento, Calif.), John Rittman, (San Jose, CA) from Stanford University and Karen Johns (Charlottesville, Va.) from the University of Virginia.
D'Arcy brings a wealth of knowledge to the USA coaching staff as a former national team player and as a coach. He served as an assistant coach for the 2006 USA Softball Women’s National Team that won their first World Cup of Softball and their sixth consecutive World Championship. D’Arcy has also served as an assistant coach with the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team that captured the silver medal at the 2003 ISF Junior Women’s World Championship in Nanjing, China.
As a pitcher, D'Arcy competed in the ASA Men's Major Fast Pitch division for almost 30 years spanning four different decades. He participated in 17 ASA National Championships and eight USOC Olympic Festivals. He was selected to play for the USA Men's National Team in the 1983 Pan-Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela and was voted team captain by his teammates.
His Hall of Fame numbers include more than 1,000 victories, more than 10,000 strikeouts, more than 60 no-hitters and more than 15 perfect games. He held an earned run average of 0.85 over his 30 year career. For his accomplishments he was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Johns also brings knowledge to the staff as a former national team player and as a coach. In 2006 she served as an assistant coach for the USA Softball Women’s National Team that won their first World Cup of Softball and their sixth consecutive World Championship. She also served as an assistant coach with the USA Softball Women’s National Team in 2005 at the World Cup of Softball and with the USA Elite Team at the Canada Cup.As a member of the U.S. National team, she won medals at the 1990 and 1994 ISF World Championships, the 1994 South Pacific Classic and the 1995 Pan American Games. Johns led her team to gold medals at the U.S. Olympic Festival in both 1989 and 1990. She returned to the festival in 1994 and 1995, and both times her team claimed the bronze medal.
In June of 2005, Johns became the head coach at the University of Virginia after serving as the head coach at the University of Florida for five seasons where she compiled a 192-131 record for a .594 winning percentage.
Rittman has been involved as a coach with the USA Softball National Team program since 2001. Most recently he served as an assistant coach for the USA Softball Women’s National Team that won their first World Cup of Softball and their sixth consecutive World Championship. He was an assistant coach with the USA Elite Team that won the 2005 Intercontinental Cup in Madrid, Spain. He was an assistant coach for the 2004 USA Olympic Team that won a gold medal in Athens, Greece. He was also a part of the '03 team that won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as well as a gold medal at the U.S. Cup. Rittman was also the assistant coach for the 2002 USA National Softball Team that won the 2002 US Cup, Canada Cup, Japan Cup and the World Championships. In 2001 Rittman coached the USA Red Team that won the gold medal at the US Cup and also competed in the Canada Cup and USA Softball Shootout.
He is currently in his 11th season at the helm of the Stanford women's softball program after being named head coach on July 12, 1996. During that time, Rittman has brought the Stanford softball program from a non-scholarship club-level program to a fully-funded championship contender including 10 consecutive winnings season, nine post-season appearances and two appearances in the NCAA Women’s College World Series.
USA Softball Women’s National Teams have been among the most dominating of any sports team in history. The USA’s ability to bring home the gold in World Championships, the Pan American Games and the Olympics is unchallenged, with a total of seventeen.
The USA Softball Women’s National Team won the first Olympic gold medal in the sport’s history during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and defended its gold medal both at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The USA Softball Women’s National Team, which is the defending World Cup Champions, has won the past six consecutive World Championships, the past five consecutive Pan Am Games and the past three Olympic gold medals.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 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit 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 the 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 eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. -
Alabama is No 1
May 01, 2007
Alabama is No. 1 for the first time in school historyOklahoma City---For the first time this season the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (51-4) are not the top team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll instead its the Alabama Crimson Tide (50-4), who hold the top spot for the first time in school history, as announced today by the Amateur Softball Association. Tennessee dropped to No. 2 after losing two of three this past weekend in Baton Rouge to rival LSU (48-8), who received one first place vote.The battle for No. 1 in the regular season top 25 poll and the champion of the Southeastern Conference will be decided this weekend as Alabama travels to Knoxville for a three game series against the Lady Volunteers. Alabama, Tennessee and LSU are all currently tied for lead in the SEC. In conjunction with leading the SEC, they also represent three of the top five teams in the nation in this week’s poll.
It was a tough week for those at the top with nine of last week’s top ten being upset at least once. Oklahoma (49-6), with a first place vote, remains at No. 3 this week despite a loss at Kansas (32-19-1) while LSU moved up one spot to No. 4 after its series win over Tennessee. Arizona (35-10-1) dropped back to No. 5 after losing on the road to Stanford (31-14-1). The second game of the Arizona-Stanford series was called after 12 innings at a 0-0 tie, the first tie for Arizona since 1986.
The SEC and Big 12 Conference continue to dominate in the top 10 this week with each Conference being represented by three teams. The SEC has three teams ranked in the top four while the Big 12 has No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Texas A&M (39-8) and No. 7 Baylor (43-12). Rounding out the top 10 is the Pac 10, represented by No. 5 Arizona and No. 9 Arizona State (45-13), and the Big Ten, represented by No. 8 Northwestern (41-10) and No. 10 Michigan (40-9).
Hawaii (45-9), who cracked the Top 25 for the first time in school history back on February 27 of this year, continues its climb this week to No. 14 in the country. Missouri (36-20), currently tied with Baylor atop the Big 12 Conference standings, achieves its highest ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll this week at No. 18.
Oregon (39-14) had the most significant drop of the week falling three spots to No. 20 after losing to UCLA (33-13) and being swept by Washington (32-13).
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 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit 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 the 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 eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive.