Gulla Fields NFCA National Player of the Week Honors

March 5, 2003

Norman, Okla. - OU softball senior infielder Leah Gulla was selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 24- March 1 the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced Wednesday.

This marks the first time a Sooner has been named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week.

The recognition for Gulla comes after her outstanding performances against No. 10 Arizona State, UC-Riverside and UMKC. OU won seven consecutive games last week and jumped to No. 6 in the national polls.

"I'm excited to be honored by the NFCA," said Gulla. "It is special for me to receive this recognition my senior season. Our team is really starting to show its potential."

Gulla (Huntington Beach, Calif.) batted .579 with a team-high 11 hits in five games over the weekend in Oklahoma's sweep of No. 10 Arizona State and UC-Riverside in Tempe, Ariz. Gulla had three doubles, two home runs, five runs scored and a team-high 11 RBI for the Sooners. Defensively at third base, Gulla contributed seven putouts and 10 assists with no errors.

Gulla also had two hits, including one double and one RBI in the doubleheader against UMKC Monday night.

"This is our first ever national player of the week and I can't think of anyone better to receive this honor than Leah Gulla," said head coach Patty Gasso. "The recognition has been a long time coming for Leah because she's been a very steady performer for us throughout her career."

"She just looks so confident and every time she comes up to the plate you just know she's going to hit hard. She conveys confidence in every part of her game and it spills over to the rest of our team."

Starting all 17 games for Oklahoma, Gulla is batting .418 this season and leads the Sooners in hits (23), RBI (20), doubles (6), and assists (33). In five innings, Gulla hit her second double-home run game of the season on Sunday in the Sooners' 13-1 run-rule game against UC-Riverside (the first was against No. 8 LSU at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.).

Oklahoma, 14-3 on the season, jumped to No. 6 in the latest USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls released this week. The Sooners host Wisconsin and Northwestern State in the OU/Worth Invitational at the OU Softball Complex beginning Friday at Noon.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Gulla Fields NFCA National Player of the Week Honors

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