Jan. 23, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will open the 2008 season ranked No. 6 in the nation in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll, and No. 7 in the preseason USA Today/NFCA coaches poll after reaching the semifinals of the Women's College World Series for the second-straight year in 2007.
In the USA Softball poll, the Wildcats picked up 346 points, 21 points in front of No. 7 LSU and 64 points behind No. 5 Oklahoma. Arizona is ranked No. 1 in the poll, followed by Arizona State, Texas A&M and Alabama.
In the NFCA poll, the Wildcats earned 503 points, 17 more than No. 8 Baylor and eight back of No. 6 Tennessee. Arizona is ranked No. 1 after receiving 27 of 29 possible first-place votes, followed in second by Texas A&M, Arizona State at No. 3, Alabama at No. 4 and Oklahoma at No. 5.
Northwestern's ranking marks the 18th-consecutive NFCA poll with the Wildcats in the top-10, and the 42nd in a row with NU included in the top-25 dating back to the fourth week of the 2005 season. Rankings referenced in Northwestern softball releases during the season are from the NFCA poll.
Northwestern's 2008 schedule features 16 games against 13 teams ranked in the preseason NFCA poll, including five games against teams in the top-10. The Wildcats have an additional five games against programs also receiving votes in the poll.
The Wildcats open the season Feb. 15-17 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., facing both No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 Texas A&M in the event. The next weekend at the Palm Springs Classic, NU will take on No. 9 LSU, No. 14 UCLA, No. 20 Oregon and No. 22 Texas.
Northwestern opens its 2008 home schedule at the newly renovated Sharon J. Drysdale Field at 4 p.m. CT Friday, March 28, against Wisconsin.
For the complete USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, link to NFCA.org. The ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll can be found at USAsoftball.com.