Jan. 24, 2001
The University of Notre Dame softball team is ranked 19th in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) preseason poll that was released on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The 19th ranking marks the highest the Irish have been placed in the preseason since 1994, when the team earned a 17th ranking.
Notre Dame returns all nine starters from the 2000 squad that compiled a 47-14 record and won its second consecutive BIG EAST Championship title. Last year’s team climbed to 17th in the final NFCA preseason poll last season, tying the school mark for the highest-ever national ranking. The Irish were ranked 24th in the final NFCA poll last season.
Among the returning starters for the Irish in 2001 are three-time BIG EAST Pitcher-of-the-Year Jennifer Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.) and two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.). Sharron is poised to finish her career as the most productive Irish pitcher ever after posting 246 strikeouts and a 0.88 ERA in 2000. Alkire set the school record for most RBI (64) and home runs (13) in a season in 2000 while also earning the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player award after going six for eight with five runs scored, three home runs and six RBI in three games.
Alkire and Sharron also were on the second-team NFCA All-America team last season, Notre Dame’s first All-Americans since Katie Marten earned second-team honors in 1996.
The Irish will face a number of ranked teams this season, as six opponents on the 2001 schedule appear in the top 25. Another five opponents received some kind of mention in the ‘others receiving votes’ category in the poll. Notre Dame will face fourth-ranked Washington in the opening weekend of the 2001 season at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Tampa, Fla., (Feb. 16-18). Hofstra and South Florida, who both received votes in the preseason poll, also will be Irish opponents at the Holiday Inn Invitational.
Two top 10 teams have been placed in Notre Dame’s pool at the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., (March 15-18). Defending National Champion Oklahoma is ranked second in the preseason poll while Fresno State, 54-14 in 2000, is ranked ninth.
Notre Dame has already been announced as a unanimous pick to repeat as BIG EAST champions this season by a vote of the league’s coaches. Alkire and Sharron were chosen to repeat their player-of-the-year awards and were joined on the 2001 preseason all-BIG EAST team by teammates Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kan.), Jennifer Kriech (Indianapolis, Ind.), Lizzy Lemire (Irvine, Calif.), and 2000 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.).
USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25Jan. 24, 2001
Rank Team 2000 Record Points 2000 final ranking1. UCLA 46-12-1 655 22. Oklahoma 66-8 642 13. Arizona 59-9 632 34. Washington 61-9 541 55. Alabama 66-14 535 66. Arizona State 43-20 523 10 (tie)7. California 49-25 484 78. LSU 59-13 465 99. Fresno State 54-14 455 10 (tie)10. DePaul 40-22 412 811. Michigan 45-16-1 362 1312. Nebraska 52-21 353 1413. Iowa 46-15 301 1514. Cal State Fullerton 45-15 295 1915. Stanford 45-18 295 1816. Oregon State 40-21-1 261 1217. Florida State 51-27 210 1718. South Carolina 40-28 169 22 (tie)19. Notre Dame 47-14 157 2420. Oregon 35-29 145 1621. S. Mississippi 63-13 137 422. Long Beach State 39-23 125 NR23. Mississippi State 44-27 108 2124. Texas 30-27-1 94 NR25. Utah 42-23 67 20
Others receiving votes: Florida Atlantic (56), Illinois-Chicago (35), Hofstra (32), Massachusetts (32), Oklahoma State (31), Louisiana-Lafayette (27), Florida (23), Texas A&M (23), Penn State (21), Central Michigan (20), Cal State Northridge (16), Hawaii (13), New Mexico (10), Wisconsin (8), North Carolina (7), Northwestern (6), Virginia Tech (6), South Florida (2).