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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Softball To Host Red Desert Classic
2/28/2001 12:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 28, 2001
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: The University of Utah softball team (6-6-0) continues its' 2001 campaign hosting the annual Red Desert Classic, Mar. 2-4, in St. George, Utah. The Utes will face the Washington Huskies at 12:00 p.m. and the Missouri Tigers at 2:00 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 2. On Sat., Mar. 3, Utah will play Oklahoma State at 12:00 p.m. and Stanford at 2:00 p.m. The Utes will take on in-state rival Utah State on Sun., Mar. 4, at 11:00 a.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: Utah enters this weekend's tournament 6-6 overall. At the Santa Barbara Tournament on Fri., Feb. 23, the Utes defeated the Auburn Tigers, 4-3 in the early game and shut out UC Riverside, 7-0 in the late game. Utah's other games in the tournament were rained out and will not be re-scheduled.
Utah entered the 2001 season ranked No. 25 and most recently received 25 votes in the Feb. 21st USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. The Utes return five starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad. The Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, Utah ended its 2000 campaign with a 42-23 (.646) overall record and a 15-5 (.750) conference mark. Last year, Utah made its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1997 and its ninth NCAA appearance overall. The Utes own a 16-21 NCAA record, including a 15-13 mark in NCAA regional play, and have advanced to the Women's College World Series four times (1982, `85, `91 and `94) with a 1-6 slate.
The Utes received 67 votes and a No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll, released Fri., Jan. 26. The Division I Women's Softball Committee produces a poll which is used as part of the championship tournament selection process. They rank the top ten teams in each region and last year, Utah was ranked fourth in the West Region in the Mar. 30, April 13, April 27 and May 11 poll. Utah received 156 votes to rank 20th in the 2000 final USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll.
UP NEXT: The Utes will travel to Tampa, Fla. to play in the South Florida Speedline Tournament on Mar. 8-11. On Mar. 16-18, Utah plays in the Florida State Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. On Mar. 23 and 24, the Utes will take on the nationally prominent Arizona Wildcats in a non-conference match-up in Tucson, Ariz. Both games are set for 7:00 p.m. Utah will host in-state rival Utah State on Mar. 28 at 3:00 p.m. at Ute Field. On Fri., Mar. 30, the Utes open MWC play at New Mexico at 1:00 p.m.
TOURNAMENT QUICKFACTS: The Red Desert Classic is an annual event hosted by the University of Utah . Three of the ten teams are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 with one other team receiving votes. The teams come from all over the country and represent several different conferences. The tournament is a three-day event with teams playing in a round robin fashion, There are no brackets, pools or champion crowned. Games will be played on five different fields at the city of St. George Softball Complex throughout each day.
Josh Fisher of the Utah sports information office is the softball contact for the tournament. He can be reached at (801) 581-3771, (801) 581-3511 or (801) 581-3510.
UTAH'S TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
The Utes will get a tough early season test this weekend, playing two teams ranked in the Feb. 21st USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Friday (No. 10) Washington 12:00 p.m. Missouri 2:00 p.m. Saturday Oklahoma State 12:00 p.m. (No. 9) Stanford 2:00 p.m. Sunday Utah State 11:00 a.m.
SCOUTING UTAH'S TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS: The No. 10 ranked Washington Huskies are currently 11-6 overall. The University of Missouri softball team is 5-10 overall and the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls have a 6-6 record overall. The Stanford Cardinal posts an impressive 16-1-1 overall record, while the Utah State Aggies are 3-7 on the season.
TOURNAMENT RECAPS: The University of Utah softball team opened play at the Santa Barbara Tournament with two wins on Fri., Feb. 23. The Utes defeated the Auburn Tigers, 4-3, in the early game and shut-out UC Riverside, 7-0 in the late game in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Against the Tigers, freshman Melissa Stahnke went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and one run. Junior Lyndsey Trevis went 2-for-3 with one run, while teammate Niki Hayhurst batted 1-for-2 with a home run. Senior Kristin Arbogast went the distance on the mound, giving up eight hits, three runs, four walks and struck out five. Arbogast improves to 4-4 overall.
In the win over UC Riverside, junior Michele Larsen went 2-for-3 with a home run, one run and four RBI. Stahnke hit 2-for-4 with a double and one run and a double. Freshman Masie Ota had an RBI triple for the Utes and senior Amberly Jeppson racked up three stolen bases in the game. Freshman Heather Bowlin (2-2) recorded the win and gave up five hits, zero runs and zero walks in the game.
SOFTBALL REACHES 750TH WIN: Utah, as a team, reached its 750th career win. The Utes notched their 750th win on Fri., Feb. 23, with a 7-0 shut-out win over UC Riverside.
MWC PRESEASON POLL: Utah has been selected to repeat as Mountain West Conference softball champions in a vote by the league coaches. Utah received five first place votes for a total of 25 points to capture the top spot in the poll. New Mexico was picked second after collecting 20 points and the only other first place vote. San Diego State was third with 15 points followed by Colorado State (11), BYU (10) and UNLV (9).
UTES IN THE POLLS: The Utes continue to receive votes in the polls this week. Utah received 25 votes in the Feb. 21st USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Utah broke into the national rankings (25th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, 67 votes) for the first time this season on Fri., Jan. 26. The Utes have been ranked or received votes in the Top 25 for 4 consecutive weeks.
Utah and New Mexico are the only MWC teams recognized the Top 25 polls.
Utah climbed into the Top 25 for the first time ever during the 1980 season (6th in the 1980 national final poll.
USA TODAY/NFCA PRESEASON POLL: The University of Utah softball team received 67 votes and a No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll. The Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, Utah ended its season with a 42-23 (.646) overall record and a 15-5 (.750) conference mark. Utah made its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1997 and its ninth NCAA overall. The Utes own a 16-21 NCAA record, including a 15-13 mark in NCAA regional play, and have advanced to the Women's College World Series four times (1982, `85, `91 and `94) with a 1-6 slate.
"I think it is good that we made the Top 25," said head coach Mona Stevens. "I'm glad we are No. 25 because I think it will give our kids motivation to work harder. There are a lot of teams in the Top 25 that we beat last year, but that was last year, and this year, we need to prove ourselves once again. I'm glad that we had the recognition to get in the Top 25 and we'll have our work cut out for us. We want to move up in the poll and, although we are excited to be recognized, it will motivate us towards moving higher."
Utah was the only Mountain West Conference team to enter the 2001 season in the top 25. New Mexico was the other MWC team recognized in the preseason poll with 10 votes.
HEAD COACH MONA STEVENS: Mona Stevens, who has built a reputation as one of the top coaches in the nation on both the national and international levels, embarks on her fifth season as head coach at Utah.
A former Ute player and assistant coach, the Provo, Utah, native came home in September of 1996, following a two-year stint at the University of Massachusetts. Stevens was the associate head coach for the Minutewomen during the 1995 and `96 seasons, and was named head coach at UMass in June of `96, three months prior to being hired by her alma mater.
Stevens has the best winning percentage in school history. She posts a 156-95 (.622) career overall record and a 64-39 (.621) career conference record in four seasons. Her 2000 team was the NCAA Region 1 Tournament runner-up, and placed third in the NCAA Regional Tournament in 1997. Stevens was selected as the 2000 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and posted her 150th career win at the NCAA Region 1 Tournament with a 4-1 win over Mississippi State on May 20.
NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS: As a team, Utah was sixth in the nation last year in home runs (58), ninth in slugging percentage (.450), 17th with a .301 team batting average and 18th in scoring (5.14). Many Utes ranked among the nation's statistical leaders in the individual categories.
COVERING THE UTES: The sports information office at the University of Utah welcomes your interest in the Utah softball program and will make every effort to ensure that your coverage of the Utes is an enjoyable experience. Press credentials, weekly releases and game results are available by calling Assistant Sports Information Director Julie Lapomarda at (801) 581-3771. To request permission to broadcast Utah home games, send a request on station letterhead to the attention of: Julie Lapomarda, Assistant Sports Information Director, University of Utah, 1825 E. South Campus Dr. Front, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0900.
WEEKLY INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview head coach Mona Stevens should contact her at her office (801) 581-3514 in the morning on weekdays. Interviews with the athletes should be arranged through Julie Lapomarda (801) 581-3771.
POST-GAME SERVICES: Head coach Mona Stevens and Utah players will be available for interviews outside the Utah dug out following a 10 minute cooling off period. A member of the Utah sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the game. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEDIA INFORMATION: Javan Hedlund, Assistant Director of Communications, handles all information requests related to softball at the Mountain West Conference office. The MWC address is 15455 Gleneagle Drive, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. The MWC telephone number is (719) 488-4040. The fax number is (719) 487-7241. Hedlund can be reached at (719) 487-4051.
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