Jan. 24, 2012
SEATTLE - The USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Division I Collegiate pre-season Top 25 polls have been released and Washington is ranked No. 12/14. Washington begins the 2012 season with a similar ranking to their final 2011 rankings, finishing the 2011 season at No. 12/15 with a 37-16 record. The Pac-12 leads all conferences with seven teams ranked in each poll. Arizona State begins the season where they left off last year, as the unanimous No. 1 team in both polls for the sixth-straight poll, dating back to last season. Pac-12 teams that are also ranked to begin the season include No. 4/3 California (coming off their first WCWS appearance since 2005), No. 8/8 Arizona, No. 9/10 Stanford, No. 16/11 Oregon, and No. 19/13 UCLA. Washington will face numerous opponents featured in the pre-season rankings throughout the 2012 season. To begin the season, at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on Feb. 9-12, Washington will face No. 21/20 Nebraska as well as Northwestern, who is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. The Huskies will face a tough test at the Cathedral City Classic from Feb. 23-26, as all five teams UW will face as a part of this tournament are ranked in both preseason polls. No. 2/4 Florida received the only first place vote that ASU didn't receive in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 preseason poll. There, UW will also face No. 17/15 Texas A&M, No. 10/12 Georgia, No. 6/5 Missouri, and No. 21/20 Nebraska. In mid-March, Washington will face Notre Dame, who is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA preseason poll and ranked No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Division I Collegiate pre-season poll, DePaul, who is receiving votes in both polls, and No. 5/6 Oklahoma. The following week, the Huskies start Pac-12 play against a tough conference, a conference that has the most teams ranked in the preseason polls. The Huskies look forward to beginning the season on Feb. 9-12 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., where they first face No. 21/20 Nebraska on Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. PT. |
