The run as unanimous No. 1 may be over for Oregon (47-6-1) following its 3-1-1 week, but the Ducks still managed to hold on to the top spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I softball poll for the fifth straight week.

UO reaped 29 of 32 possible first-place votes, maintaining a healthy 40-point advantage over No. 2 UCLA (46-5) after sweeping a doubleheader from Utah Valley and going 1-1-1 during an important league set against No. 3 Arizona State.

The Bruins earned the remaining trio of first-place nods after winning their home series over Stanford at Easton Stadium.

Overall, there were no changes in last week’s top six as Arizona State (43-8-1), Florida State (47-6), Florida (45-10) and Alabama (44-10) held down positions No. 3 through No. 6 in the rankings. The Sun Devils were 1-1-1 at No. 1 Oregon, the Seminoles were idle, the Gators rolled past Arkansas by a combined score of 24-3 and the Crimson Tide dropped the series opener before rebounding to win the final two match-ups at then-No. 13 Missouri to secure the outright Southeastern Conference regular-season title.

A home sweep of Ole Miss helped Tennessee (42-9) improve a slot to No. 7 and attain the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SEC tournament. Washington (30-13) advanced from 11th to eighth, leaping past No. 9 Arizona (40-11) in the process by virtue of UW’s series triumph over the ‘Cats.

Two defeats in three Big Ten Conference games against Wisconsin proved the culprit as Michigan (40-11) dropped three spots to 10th. Despite the series loss, the Wolverines still managed to clinch a share of their seventh consecutive Big Ten regular-season crown.

There were no exits from the latest rankings as Wisconsin, DePaul, James Madison, Northwestern, Mississippi State, UCF, N.C. State, IPFW, Lipscomb and USF remained just outside the poll among “others receiving votes.”

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Current 2014 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.

 

USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll – Week 13 – May 6, 2014

 

Rank	Team	2014 Record	Totals	Last Poll Rank
1	Oregon (29)	47-6-1	797	1
2	UCLA (3)	46-5	757	2
3	Arizona State	43-8-1	731	3
4	Florida State	47-6	702	4
5	Florida	45-10	678	5
6	Alabama	44-10	640	6
7	Tennessee	42-9	607	8
8	Washington	30-13	548	11
9	Arizona	40-11	514	9
10	Michigan	40-11	504	7
11	Georgia	42-12	429	16
12	Louisiana Lafayette	41-7-1	422	14
13	Oklahoma	43-10	411	15
14	Missouri	41-15	403	13
15	Minnesota	38-9	385	12
16	Kentucky	41-14	370	10
17	Baylor	41-12	316	17
18	Nebraska	40-14	229	19
19	Tulsa	47-7	218	18
20	Notre Dame	37-10	187	22
21	USC Upstate	44-5	144	23
22	Auburn	38-16-1	116	20
23	South Alabama	38-11	99	21
24	Texas A&M	35-20	71	24
25	LSU	34-21	49	25

 

Dropped Out:  None

Others Receiving Votes:  Wisconsin (18), DePaul (16), James Madison (11), Northwestern (11), Mississippi State (7), UCF (5), N.C. State (2), IPFW (1), Lipscomb (1), USF (1).