Softball Opens Season at No. 16

NORMAN, Okla. The University of Oklahoma softball team is slotted at No. 16 in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 Preseason Poll that was released on Wednesday morning.

The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 155 weeks long. OU and Arizona, the 2006 National Champions, are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top-25 every week of its existence.

The preseason poll features eight of the opponents Oklahoma will face this season, including No. 1 Arizona and four Big 12 foes.

2007 Schedule | 2007 Roster | NFCA Poll

Defending national champion Arizona earned 23 first-place votes to claim the top spot ahead of fellow Women's College World Series participant Tennessee in the inaugural poll of the 2007 campaign.

Fresh off a national runner-up finish, Northwestern begins 2007 in the No. 4 position after finishing 2006 ranked No. 2. The Wildcats fall a point behind UCLA, the team it knocked off last season in Oklahoma City.

WCWS squads Arizona State, Oregon State and Alabama follow at Nos. 5-8, respectively, while Stanford, LSU and California round out the top 10.

Michigan begins the season in the No. 11 spot, followed by Washington, Texas A&M, Georgia and Nebraska at Nos. 12-15.

Oklahoma moved up a couple of places to No. 16, while Texas moved down to 17th after finishing in the top five at the conclusion of 2006. Fellow Big 12 competitor Baylor moved up two slots to 18th.

Louisiana-Lafayette follows the trio of Big 12 squads in the No. 19 spot, while Louisville rounds out the top 20 after dropping three places from the final 2006 rankings.

Fresno State, South Florida, Massachusetts, Auburn and Florida State round out the top 25.

OU kicks off the 2007 season with its annual Meet the Team banquet next Friday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. inside the Sooner Legends Inn and Suites at 6:30 p.m. Tickets ($20) are still available for the ceremony. For tickets call Kaycee Clark at (405) 325-8377.

The Sooners will open their season in Miami, Fla. at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic (Feb. 9-11) where they will face preseason No. 20 Louisville in their opening game.

USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Softball Poll
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference. OU's 2007 opponents in italics. First-place votes are in parenthesis.

1. Arizona (23)
2. Tennessee (7)
3. UCLA
4. Northwestern
5. Arizona State
6. Oregon State
7. Alabama
8. Stanford
9. LSU
10. California
11. Michigan
12. Washington
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. Nebraska
16. OKLAHOMA
17. Texas
18. Baylor
19. Louisiana-Lafayette
20. Louisville
21. Fresno State
22. South Florida
23. Massachusetts
24. Auburn
25. Florida State

Others Receiving Votes:
NC State 74, Cal State Fullerton 54, San Diego State 49, Florida 47, Georgia Tech 40, North Carolina 21, Southern Illinois 17, Long Beach State 15, Florida Atlantic 14, DePaul 12, BYU 11, Notre Dame 10, Hofstra 8, Kansas 5, Virginia Tech 3.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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