Alabama Ranked 7th in NFCA Preseason Poll
1/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA ?? The University of Alabama softball team was listed at No. 7 in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 preseason poll released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday.
The Tide are listed in the same spot they finished the 2006 season in as they were 7th in the final poll after advancing to the fourth Women’s College World Series in school history. Alabama concluded the season with a 54-11 record and won the SEC Championship for the first time.
The top spot in the poll went to defending national champion Arizona, who earned 23 first place votes. Tennessee, the unanimous pick to win the SEC in 2007, followed the Wildcats with seven first place votes for second in the poll. Rounding out the top five were UCLA, 2006 national runner-up Northwestern and Arizona State.
Oregon State is ahead of the Tide in 6th, while Stanford, the team UA swept in the NCAA Super Regional last season is close behind the Tide in eighth place. LSU is the third SEC team in the top-10 and is listed in ninth while California is 10th. The SEC placed five teams in the top-25, second only to the Pac-10 which placed seven teams, including six in the top-10.
There are five opponents on Alabama’s schedule in the top-25 and three others that received votes. This season the Crimson Tide will face No. 2 Tennessee, No. 9 LSU, No. 14 Georgia, No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 24 Auburn, N.C. State (RV), Florida (RV) and Florida Atlantic (RV).
Alabama will begin its season Feb. 9-11 at the Century-Tel Softball Classic hosted by Texas State University. The Tide will begin its home schedule the following weekend Feb. 16-18 when they host the Hampton Inn Bama Bash!
USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Softball Poll
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference. Final 2006 records are shown.
First-place votes are in parenthesis.
Rank, School, 2006 Record, Pts., Pvs.
1. Arizona (23), 54-11, 737, 1
2. Tennessee (7), 61-12, 679, 3
3. UCLA, 50-9, 648, 4
4. Northwestern, 50-15, 647, 2
5. Arizona State, 53-15, 594, 6
6. Oregon State, 43-16, 579, 8
7. Alabama, 54-11, 485, 7
8. Stanford, 42-18, 481, 12
9. LSU, 55-14, 471, 11
10. California, 48-14, 436, 9
11. Michigan, 44-15, 400, 10
12. Washington, 35-25, 353, 15
13. Texas A&M, 34-19, 323, 22
14. Georgia, 54-15, 320, 13
15. Nebraska, 44-12, 280, 14
16. Oklahoma, 40-21-1, 274, 18
17. Texas, 55-9, 273, 5
18. Baylor, 38-22, 248, 20
19. Louisiana-Lafayette, 50-12, 235, 16
20. Louisville, 45-11, 211, 17
21. Fresno State, 37-19, 198, 23
22. South Florida, 50-25, 181, 18
23. Massachusetts, 41-16, 123, 24
24. Auburn, 36-22, 84, 21
25. Florida State, 44-30, 79, 25
Others Receiving Votes:
NC State 74, Cal State Fullerton 54, San Diego State 49, Florida 47, Georgia Tech 40, North Carolina 21, Southern Illinois 17, Long Beach State 15, Florida Atlantic 14, DePaul 12, BYU 11, Notre Dame 10, Hofstra 8, Kansas 5, Virginia Tech 3.
