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Gators remain No. 1 in NFCA Top 25 (2/17)

Gators remain No. 1 in NFCA Top 25 (2/17)

Feb 17, 2015 by Brentt Eads
Gators remain No. 1 in NFCA Top 25 (2/17)

Undefeated Gators Remain No.1 In USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll
with No. 19 UCF ranked for the first time in program history

With a lot of movement in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll, undefeated Florida (11-0) continued its hold on the No. 1 ranking, announced on Tuesday by the NFCA.

The Gators received 26 of 29 possible first place votes and 722 points. Following a mid-week rout of Jacksonville (16-1), Florida hosted North Carolina State and Iowa with four of the five victories coming via shutout.

Lauren Haeger of Florida pitched a shutout against North Carolina State and was the SEC Pitcher of the Week. Photo by Jim Burgess.
Lauren Haeger of Florida pitched a shutout against North Carolina State and was the SEC Pitcher of the Week. Photo by Jim Burgess.

One of those teams making a significant move was UCF, which went from receiving votes to being tied at No. 19 with Arizona State. Under the direction of Renee’ Luers-Gillispie, the Knights’ (8-0) strong week started with a 4-1 road win at South Carolina (RV) followed by wins over No. 18 Missouri (1-0), then No. 13 Minnesota (4-0) and Arkansas (6-1) at the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla.

No. 2 through No. 4 remained the same. Oregon (6-0 / 699 points) was idle, while No. 3 Alabama (11-1 / 619) and No. 4 Oklahoma (9-1 / 593) suffered their first defeats of the season, but still had strong showings away from home.

The Crimson Tide topped in-state foe Samford, 7-1, before heading out to Stanford (RV) where they finished 4-1, suffering their first loss of the season to the host Cardinal (1-4). They run-ruled Pacific twice and Stanford once, while also earning a 1-0 shutout against Cal Poly.

The Sooners took part in then-No. 21 Arizona State’s Littlewood Classic, winning their first four contests, including triumphs over then-No. 15 Washington (8-7) and the Sun Devils (5-1) before falling in the finale to the hosts, 8-4.

After the top four, only three squads out of the final 21 remained in the same spot as last week. Michigan made the biggest jump amongst previous ranked programs, moving from eighth to fifth after a 5-0 weekend at the Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. It included two one-run road wins (6-5 & 2-1) over then-No. 6 Florida State and dominant victories over Western Kentucky (8-0) and Georgia Tech (10-0 & 10-2).

Kentucky’s fall out of the top 10 made way for one newcomer, Tennessee, to the list. The Lady Vols (9-0) posted a 5-0 mark with an impressive showing at the USF President Day Weekend Tournament. They outscored their opponents, 48-2, and won four of five contests by eight-plus runs to slide into 10th.

Following undefeated weekends, Louisiana Lafayette (9-0) inched up a spot to No. 6, while No. 7 Baylor (9-0) and No. 8 Georgia (10-0) moved up two spots. Rounding out the top 10 is Florida State (7-3), which fell to No. 9, and Tennessee at No. 10.

Along with UCF, California (9-0) at No. 21, and Texas (7-3) at No. 25 are this week’s newcomers to the poll. The Golden Bears made a significant move (eight spots), going from fourth in receiving votes to the 21st spot after a 5-0 weekend at the Fresno State Kick Off. Nebraska (5-6), Tulsa (7-3) and Cal State Fullerton (7-3) dropped out.

 ***

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Current 2015 records are shown and first-place votes are in parentheses.

USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll – Feb. 17, 2015

Rank Team 2015 Record Totals Prev. Rank
1 Florida (26) 11-0 722 1
2 Oregon (3) 6-0 699 2
3 Alabama 11-1 619 3
4 Oklahoma 9-1 593 4
5 Michigan 8-1 580 8
6 Louisiana Lafayette 9-0 553 7
7 Baylor 9-0 503 9
8 Georgia 10-0 480 10
9 Florida State 7-3 474 6
10 Tennessee 9-0 465 11
11 Kentucky 6-2 458 5
12 UCLA 9-2 403 12
13 Arizona 9-0 397 14
14 LSU 10-0 357 16
15 Minnesota 8-1 328 13
16 Auburn 12-0 320 17
17 Washington 8-2 304 15
18 Missouri 4-1 228 18
t19 Arizona State 8-4 190 21
t19 UCF 8-0 190 RV
21 California 9-0 131 RV
22 South Alabama 7-2 115 24
23 Texas A&M 7-3 102 23
24 Notre Dame 5-4 51 20
25 Texas 7-3 23 RV

Dropped out: No. 19 Nebraska (4-6), No. 22 Tulsa (7-3), No. 25 Cal State Fullerton (7-3).

Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina (22), Kansas (21), Virginia Tech (20), Stanford (16), Tulsa (15), Mississippi State (15), Cal State Fullerton (12), Nebraska (11), James Madison (3), Hofstra (2), Florida Atlantic (2), Western Kentucky (1).

 

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