6-15-10 Final USA Softball D1 Poll

FINAL USA SOFTBALL D1 POLL

For Immediate Release: 6/15/2010

UCLA ends Washington’s reign as the No. 1 team in college softball

OKLAHOMA CITY – With a commanding performance at the 2010 Women’s College World Series at the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, the UCLA softball team claimed not only an 11th NCAA National Championship but also the No. 1 spot in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll of the season. The Bruins (50-11) claimed all 20 first place votes, the ASA announced today.

Washington (50-9) was the top ranked team in the 16 previous polls, dating back to June 2009, but dropped to No. 5 with an early exit from the Women’s College World Series. Even with the 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie in the circle, the Huskies could not manage a victory in Oklahoma City. They were dropped by now No. 4 Georgia (50-13) 6-3 in the opening game and then fell to Arizona (52-13) 4-3, ending their reign at No. 1.

UCLA went undefeated in post-season play to claim the first title since the program won back-to-back trophies in 2003-04. After rolling through the Regional Championships with an 11-4 defeat of St. Marys, a 4-3 win against San Diego State and a 7-2 victory over Fresno State, the Bruins advanced to Super Regionals, where they run-ruled Louisiana-Lafayette 10-2 and 10-1, easily making it the Women’s College World Series.

In Oklahoma City, UCLA topped now No. 6 Florida (49-10) 16-3 in six innings, setting the record for the most runs scored in a Women’s College World Series game. The Bruins also handed a 5-2 loss to No. 7 Hawaii (50-16), which was ranked No. 19 heading into Oklahoma City, and defeated Georgia 5-2.

In Game 1 of the best of three Championship Series with Arizona, the 2010 WCWS Most Outstanding Player Megan Langenfeld hit a walk-off home run in the eighth inning to give the Bruins a 6-5 win. Andrea Harrison hit a grand slam in Game 2 while Langenfeld, Julie Burney and Samantha Camuso also homered, securing the National Championship with a 15-9 win.

Arizona finished the season at No. 2. Also joining the Bruins and the Wildcats in the Top 10: No. 3 Tennessee (49-15); No. 8 Alabama (52-11); No. 9 Missouri (51-13); and No. 10 Oklahoma (47-12). Michigan, ranked No. 2 in the previous poll, dropped to No. 11 after losing to Tennessee 5-0 and 4-3 in the Super Regional Championship.

 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 June 15 – Final 

Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: Notre Dame; Florida State; UMASS
New to Poll: BYU; ULL; North Carolina

Others receiving votes:  Fordham (44); Notre Dame (27); Louisville (27); Hofstra (26); Long Island (17); Lipscomb (13); Florida State (11); UMASS (10); DePaul (10); Fresno State (6); FIU (5); East Carolina (3); Kentucky (1)