University of Washington - Home

Feb. 5, 2012

Weekly Release

SEATTLE - The No. 12/14 UW softball team will begin the 2012 season on familiar ground, opening up at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 9-12. Pac-12 foe and defending national champion Arizona State will be the host of the tournament with games at both ASU's stadium and at the Tempe Sports Complex. UW opens the weekend by taking on No. 21/20 Nebraska on Thursday at the Tempe Sports Complex. Friday, the Huskies will play their only game at ASU's stadium against San Jose. It's a doubleheader day on Saturday as UW faces Idaho State and Northwestern. UW closes the tournament with an early game vs. Texas State on Sunday. Live stats and audio will be provided for all five games on the weekend at www.gohuskies.com for free.

Scouting Nebraska
Nebraska is ranked No. 21/20 in the pre-season polls after have back-to-back impressive seasons. In 2011, the Huskers reached the Stanford Regional Final, falling to the Cardinal. Catcher Taylor Edwards was named to the USA Softball Top 50 Player of the Year watch list. She was one of 25 finalists last year and a Third-Team All-American. Last year they got off to their best start in school history at 9-1. Coach Rhonda Revelle is in her 20th season at Nebraska. She has a 721-385 record that puts her 17th nationally among Division I coaches in wins at current school. Washington leads the overall series 6-3 and has won the last two meetings.

Scouting San Jose State
Head coach Peter Turner is in his fifth season at SJSU. His 2010 team was one of the most successful in team history, finishing with a 34-25 record and setting 11 season records. After a tough 2011 season in which the Spartans went 19-35, they were picked sixth the pre-season WAC Coaches Poll. The team returns 14 letterwinners from that team as well as pitcher Amanda Pridmore who missed the 2011 season with a knee injury. The team also welcomes nine new players including Michelle Cox who is a member of the Australian national team, and Vanessa House who helped lead Yavapai College to a national championship last year. UW leads the overall series 2-0.

Idaho State
This year Julie Wright welcomes back eight returners from last year's team that closed out the 2011 season winning nine of its last 12 games in Pacific Coast Softball Conference play. The Bengals also welcome eight newcomers to this year's team. Coach Wright will start her first season at Idaho State this year after spending the last four seasons, two as the assistant head coach, at Wisconsin. Former Husky Amanda Fitzsimmons transferred to Idaho State last season. Leading hitter Terah Blackwell returns for her junior season. Last year she hit .365 with 10 home runs. UW leads the overall series 1-0.

Northwestern
A historically good program in the past, Northwestern struggled with a 23-20 record in 2011. First baseman Adrienne Monka and shortstop Emily Allard have been named to the Top 50 Player of the Year Watch List. In August, Allard was named the Golden Shoe Award Winner as the nation's top base stealer. For the 2011 season, Allard has a stolen base percentage of .978, while ranking second in the country with 1.05 steals per game. Monka, was named a First-Team All-American during the 2011 season. Coach Kate Drohan is in her 11th season at Northwestern and has a 357-177-1 record. 2011 Washington leads the series 9-3 and has won the last two meetings.

Texas State
Washington and Texas State have never met in softball. Coach Ricci Woodard has a record of 431-234-1 in her 12 years at Texas State. In 2011Bobcats won the Southland Conference Tournament with a 35-25 overall record. In regular season SLC play, they finished second with a 21-11 record. they were recently picked to win the 2012 SLC. On the 2012 Southland Conference preseason teams they had four selections, junior pitcher, Anne Marie Taylor and junior first baseman Haley Lemons, earned firest-team honors, while pitcher/outfielder Chandler Hall and second baseman Anna Hernandez earned second-team honors

Become A Husky Fan On Social Media
Fans can follow the Husky softball team and receive updates throughout the off-season on the UW Softball Twitter page by logging on to www.twitter.com/UWSoftball. Head coach Heather Tarr has her own account, follow her at www.twitter.com/CoachTarr. The Huskies can also be found on Facebook via the Washington Softball fan page at www.facebook.com/UWHuskySoftball.

Pohlman And Williams Named To Top 50 Player Of The Year Watch List
Washington seniors Kimi Pohlman and Nikia Williams were among 50 players named to the "Watch List" for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, announced by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America.

Pohlman, a two-time First-Team All-Pac-10 and three-time All-Pacific Region, was previously named to the Watch List in her sophomore season. The Sammamish, Wash., native started in 52 of 53 games in 2011 and had the team highest overall at-bats (183), runs scored (57), hits (79) and batting average (.432), which ranks sixth in the Husky single-season record book. She owned a .536 slugging percentage and hit three home runs, two in a single game and one of which was an inside the park home run.

The left-handed outfielder continued her success in stealing bases, swiping 25 of 29 bases last season, which put her in the Husky all-time record book ranked eighth in career stolen bases (67-75), not to mention she is tied for fourth in batting average (.379) and 10th in on-base percentage (.424). She also had a 10-game hitting streak and broke a 9.0 consecutive scoreless innings for Missouri pitcher Chelsea Thomas in the NCAA Super Regional.

Williams, a First-Team All-Pac-10 and All-Pacific Region last year, was a top 25 finalist for this very award last season. In 2011, she was a Second-Team NFCA All-American, named to the Seattle Regional All-Tournament team and invited to the National Team training camp. She was also a member of the USA Softball Futures team in 2010.

The Mission Viejo, Calif., native started in all 53 games and batted .364 with 56 hits in 154 at-bats, recording 42 runs, 12 doubles, one triple. She led the team in home runs (14) and RBIs (56) with a .727 slugging percentage, which ranks her in the top 10 in the Husky career records for those categories. In game one of a doubleheader against Cal State Bakersfield (3/22), she hit a two-out solo home run and was a triple shy of the cycle. She also had 327 putouts, the most on the team.

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. The only Husky to win this prestigious individual honor was All-American pitcher Danielle Lawrie, winning it twice in 2009 and 2010.

The pre-season "Watch List" includes 23 seniors, 20 juniors and seven sophomores, with freshman ineligible for consideration. (Freshman can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level). Athletes named to the "Watch List" represent 31 NCAA Division I universities and 13 athletic conferences. The Pac-12 has six member schools represented.

The Top 25 Finalists for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 11. While an athlete does not have to be on the "Watch List" to be considered for the Top 25, the eventual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will come from the Top 25 Finalists. The Top 10 Finalists will be announced May 9 and the Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 23. On May 29 prior to the start of the 2012 NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City, the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed.