Arizona State Heads into Final Week of Regular Season Play at No. 1
OKLAHOMA CITY – After sweeping then-No. 11 Washington in three games last week, Arizona State (48-5, 15-3 Pac-10) was voted the No. 1 team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll for the third straight week, announced today by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America. No. 2 Michigan (49-4, 16-2 Big Ten) maintained the runner up spot after a 5-0 weekend with wins over Big Ten opponents Ohio State and Minnesota.
No. 3 Florida (47-8, 21-7 SEC) made a big jump from No. 6 after sweeping then-No. 3 Tennessee (44-10, 20-8 SEC), in what was the final conference series before the SEC Tournament this weekend. Tennessee fell to No. 8 after losing three to Florida.
Arizona (39-15, 10-8 Pac-10), ranked No. 13 last week, re-entered the Top 10 after a 2-1 weekend over then-No. 14 UCLA (32-15, 8-10 Pac-10). The Bruins fell one spot to No. 15 after losing 5-1 and 7-1, while recording one win, 5-1, against the Wildcats, now ranked No. 10.
After only one Big 12 loss all season, No. 7 Texas (45-7, 14-3 Big 12) suffered two conference losses in Week 13, a 5-1 loss to then-No.22 Texas A&M (39-18, 11-5 Big 12) and a 6-3 loss to then-No. 8 Missouri (43-7, 12-3 Big 12). They also defeated Missouri 2-0. Missouri remains eighth ranked while Texas A&M improved to No. 19.
No. 24 Auburn (38-16, 15-13 SEC) earned the series win over then-No. 16 Kentucky (36-13, 14-9 SEC) with a 2-1 record, moving the Tigers back into the Top 25. Kentucky dropped to No. 20. With Auburn returning to the Top 25, last week’s No. 24 Indiana (35-16, 15-3 Big Ten) dropped out, receiving votes this week after a 1-1 weekend against Northwestern.
Next week will be the final regular season poll of the 2011 NCAA Division I softball season. One final poll will be released on June 15 following the conclusion of the NCAA Women’s College World Series at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
The Top 10 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced May 11. The 10th recipient of this honor will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies of the WCWS on May 31.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
May 10 – May 2-8, 2011 – Week 13
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous Ranking |
| 1. | Arizona State (20) | 48-5 | 500 | 1 |
| 2. | Michigan | 49-4 | 475 | 2 |
| 3. | Florida | 47-8 | 449 | 6 |
| 4. | Alabama | 45-7 | 447 | 5 |
| 5. | California | 37-9 | 418 | 7 |
| 6. | Missouri | 43-7 | 387 | 8 |
| 7. | Texas | 45-7 | 374 | 4 |
| 8. | Tennessee | 44-10 | 370 | 3 |
| 9. | Georgia | 44-10 | 325 | 9 |
| 10. | Arizona | 39-14 | 308 | 13 |
| 11. | Oregon | 37-13 | 299 | 12 |
| 12. | Stanford | 37-13 | 284 | 10 |
| 13. | Oklahoma | 37-16 | 260 | 15 |
| 14. | Washington | 32-13 | 240 | 11 |
| 15. | UCLA | 32-15 | 206 | 14 |
| 16. | Georgia Tech | 44-9 | 188 | 17 |
| 17. | Baylor | 39-12 | 179 | 19 |
| 18. | Notre Dame | 44-8 | 151 | 21 |
| 19. | Texas A&M | 39-18 | 138 | 22 |
| 20. | Kentucky | 36-13 | 117 | 16 |
| 21. | LSU | 39-18 | 101 | 23 |
| 22. | Oklahoma State | 37-14 | 83 | 18 |
| 23. | Nebraska | 35-12 | 64 | 20 |
| 24. | Auburn | 38-16 | 42 | RV |
| 25. | ULL | 45-9 | 36 | 25 |
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: Indiana
New to Poll: Auburn
Others receiving votes: Indiana (25); Houston (17); Tulsa (6); Syracuse (5); BYU (3); Texas Tech (2)
