University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Receiving Votes In Both Preseason Polls
January 14, 2004 | Softball
Jan. 28, 2004
AMHERST, Mass - The University of Massachusetts softball team is ranked 30th with 15 votes in the ESPN.COM/USA Softball preseason top 25 poll and 32nd with eight votes in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason poll. The Minutewomen, who return six starters and 14 letterwinner from last year's 39-15 team, will play at least eight teams in the preseason top 25 with a chance to play others at various early-season tournaments.
2003 National Champion UCLA is the top team followed by California, Arizona, Oklahoma and Washington to round out the top five of the ESPN.COM poll. UMass, which was also picked to win the Atlantic 10 Conference by the coaches today, is the only A-10 school in the poll. UCLA also leads the way in the coaches poll. It is followed by Arizona, California, Oklahoma and Washington.
The Minutewomen finished 39-15 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2003 where they were 3-2 at the Tuscaloosa, Ala., regional, good for third-place out of eight teams. Massachusetts captured its ninth straight Atlantic 10 Championship and 16th overall this past season.
Head Coach Elaine Sortino and the Minutewomen kick off the 2004 campaign at the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 13-15. UMass will face Ohio State, Fresno State, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton and Washington while out in the desert. The Maroon & White will put the nation's longest home winning streak of 58 games on the line March 25 when it hosts Vermont for a doubleheader at the UMass Softball Complex beginning at 2:00 p.m.
2004 ESPN.com/USA SOFTBALL PRESEASON TOP 25Others receiving votes: South Carolina (47), Florida (37), Southern Illinois (35), Pacific (26), Northwestern (16), MASSACHUSETTS (15), Ohio State (14), Minnesota (9), Baylor (8), Texas State (8), Marshall (8), Notre Dame (4), South Florida (2), and Florida Atlantic (1).2003 FINAL 2003 SCHOOL (No. 1 votes) POINTS RECORD RANKING 1. UCLA (18) 474 54-7 1 2. California (1) 442 49-20 2 3. Arizona 436 56-7 3 4. Oklahoma 412 47-14 6 5. Washington 367 47-16-1 5 6. Alabama 358 49-21 7 7. Michigan 277 44-16 13 8. Nebraska 276 39-17 16 9. Louisiana-Lafayette 268 47-11 8 10. Georgia 258 57-14 14 11. Texas 254 49-9 4 12. Stanford 236 41-26 18 13. Oregon 220 37-19 11 14. DePaul 219 48-7-1 10 15. Louisiana State 199 50-18 17 16. Cal State Fullerton 180 41-15 9 17. Texas A&M 168 38-22 15 18. Iowa 166 44-15 20 19. Arizona State 145 32-25 22 20. Florida State 139 46-11 21 21. Fresno State 127 36-22 NR 22. Oklahoma State 96 39-15 12 23. Oregon State 93 36-31 25 24. Michigan State 62 40-19 19 25. Tennessee 59 45-25 NR
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different ASA regions and 12 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members. First-place votes are in parentheses.
2004 USA Today/NFCA Preseason Division I Top 25 PollOthers receiving votes: South Florida 50, Tennessee 39, Florida 29, Northwestern 29, Texas Srare-San Marcos 25, Oregon State 23, MASSACHUSETTS 8, Illinois 6, Minnesota 5, Notre Dame 4, Hawaii 4, Mississippi State 3, Florida Atlantic 3.2003 FINAL 2003 SCHOOL (No. 1 votes) POINTS RECORD RANKING 1. UCLA (26) 674 54-7 1 2. Arizona 632 56-7 3 3. California (1) 629 49-20 2 4. Oklahoma 535 47-14 5 5. Washington 515 47-16-1 6 6. Alabama 514 49-21 7 7. Georgia 455 57-14 11 8. Nebraska 439 39-17 13 9. Louisiana-Lafayette 425 47-11 8 9. Michigan 425 44-16 12 11. Texas 419 49-9 4 12. DePaul 375 48-7-1 9 13. Cal State Fullerton 329 41-15 10 14. LSU 311 50-18 15 15. Stanford 262 41-26 23 16. Oregon 258 37-19 16 17. Iowa 242 44-15 T-17 18. Texas A&M 208 38-22 T-17 19. Florida State 198 46-11 19 20. Arizona State 195 32-25 20 21. Oklahoma State 184 39-15 14 22. South Carolina 90 39-19 21 23. Fresno State 80 36-22 NR 24. Southern Illinois 77 39-14 22 25. Michigan 72 40-19 24
