Tide Ranked No. 1 in National Polls
2/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? Following a 10-0 start and a perfect week at home, the University of Alabama has moved atop the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the ESPN.com/USA Softball polls for the second time in program history. The Tide moved past previous No. 1 Arizona, who lost three games over the weekend.
“We are certainly proud of earning the No. 1 national ranking, but we know that it’s still early in the season,” said UA head coach Patrick Murphy. “Our goal is to be ranked No. 1 when the final poll comes out, so while it’s nice to earn this recognition for the accomplishments we have made so far, we need to continue to improve as a team in order for us to meet all of the goals this team has set.”
Alabama, ranked fourth in the preseason polls and second after one week of play, assumes the No. 1 national ranking for the second time in program history. The Tide earned the top spot in 2007 for the week of May 2 but subsequently lost a doubleheader at Tennessee the following weekend.
In the USA Today/NFCA poll, Northwestern moved up from No. 6 to the second slot, with Texas A&M, Arizona State and Tennessee rounding out the top five in that order. Louisiana State, Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona and Baylor make up the remainder of the top 10.
Arizona State is ranked No. 2 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, followed by Northwestern, Texas A&M and UCLA. Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona round out the top 10.
Alabama travels to Miami to compete in the Florida International Fun in the Sun tournament beginning on Friday, Feb. 22. The Tide faces teams from Illinois, who also received votes in the coaches poll, in addition to Florida International and UConn.
