Jan. 24, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After finishing as the NCAA runner-up at the 2006 Women's College World Series and closing the year ranked No. 2 in the polls, Northwestern opens the 2007 season ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason coaches polls.
The Wildcats garnered 647 points in the year's first NFCA poll, just one point shy of No. 3 UCLA -- a team NU defeated twice last year, including in an elimination game at the WCWS.
2006 national champion Arizona retains the top spot in the poll in 2007, earning 737 points and 23 first-place votes. Tennessee checks in a No. 2 with 679 points and seven first-place nods.
Ranking fifth is Arizona State, which sits 53 points behind Northwestern with 594. Oregon State (579), Alabama (485), Stanford (481), LSU (471) and California (436) round out the top 10, while Big Ten rival Michigan begins the year at No. 11 with 400 points.
In the USA Softball poll, Northwestern picked up 448 points to rank fourth, 12 points behind UCLA, which also received two first-place votes. Arizona is on top with 483 points (13 first-place votes) and Tennessee is second with 476 points (five first-place votes).
The Wildcats are 34 points ahead of fifth-ranked Arizona State, while Oregon State (390), LSU (356), Alabama (343), Stanford (320) and California (309) also are in the top 10. Michigan is 13th in the USA Softball rankings.
Northwestern earned wins over Tennessee and Alabama at last year's WCWS, while defeating Oregon State, California and Michigan during the 2006 regular season.
The Wildcats have 21 games scheduled this season against teams ranked or receiving votes in the preseason NFCA poll, including 12 against the top-11 teams.
Northwestern opens the season February 9-11 with four-consecutive games against ranked teams, facing No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 21 Fresno State, No. 8 Stanford and No. 1 Arizona at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
The Wildcats' first home games of 2007 are slated for March 30-31 against No. 11 Michigan at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
Last season, Northwestern began the year at No. 16 in the NFCA poll and No. 15 in the USA Softball version, which at the time was the first time the program had been ranked in a preseason poll.
The Wildcats return six starters -- including four All-Big Ten selections, three All-Americans and a Big Ten All-Tournament team honoree -- and 12 letterwinners from the 2006 Big Ten champion and WCWS squad.
For the complete USA Today/NFCA preseason coaches poll, link to NFCA.org.
For the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason coaches poll, link to USAsoftball.com.