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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Softball Heads To Sunny Florida
3/15/2001 12:00 AM | Softball
March 15, 2001
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: The University of Utah softball team (14-13-0) continues its' 2001 campaign at the Florida State Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. on Mar. 16-18. The Utes will face the Florida A&M Rattlers at 2:00 p.m. and the Georgia State Lady Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 16. On Sat., Mar. 17, Utah will play UCONN at 10:00 a.m. Bracket play will begin following the Utah-UCONN game and continue through Sun., Mar. 18.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: Utah enters this weekend's tournament 14-13 overall. The Utes dropped two games to Syracuse, 1-0 and 4-3, on Tues., Mar. 13, in Tallahassee, Fla. Utah took third place in the Southern Florida Speedline Tournament, Mar. 8-11, in Tampa, Fla. The Utes went 6-2 in the tournament and defeated Mississippi State 3-2, Georgia Southern 7-5, Temple 11-0, Michigan State 2-1, UMass 10-0, Oklahoma State 5-3 and lost, 3-0 and 6-2 to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Utah entered the 2001 season ranked No. 25 and has received votes for the past six consecutive weeks. Most recently, Utah dropped out of the 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: 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 Florida State Tournament is an annual event hosted by the Florida State University. Three of the 14 teams are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 with two other team receiving votes. The teams come from all over the country and represent several different conferences.
Elliott Finebloom of the FSU sports information office is the softball contact for the tournament. He can be reached at (850) 644-5656.
UTAH'S TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
The Utes will get a tough test this weekend, playing some top-notch competition from all over the country. Friday Florida A&M 2:00 p.m. Georgia State 4:00 p.m. Saturday UCONN 10:00 a.m. Bracket Play (following Utah-UCONN Game) Sunday Bracket Play all-day
SCOUTING UTAH'S TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS: The Florida A&M Rattlers are currently 7-19 overall. The Georgia State softball team is 17-7 overall and the Connecticut Huskies have a 5-5 record overall.
TOURNAMENT RECAPS: The University of Utah softball team (14-13 overall) lost to Syracuse University 1-0 and 4-3 on the road in Tallahassee, Fla., on Tues., Mar. 13. In the first game, Utah managed only four hits in 23 at bats. Molly McLean, Niki Hayhurst, Michele Larsen and Angie Kenney had one hit each for the Utes. Senior Kristin Arbogast (11-8) took the loss, pitching six innings, giving up only two hits, one earned run and one walk in 23 batters faced. Syracuse brought out the bats, scoring all four runs in the sixth inning of game two, to put the game on ice. Junior Lyndsey Trevis collected two of Utah's three hits. She batted 2-for-4 with one run. Hayhurst scored a solo home run in the third inning. Freshman Heather Bowlin recorded the loss for Utah. She is now 3-5 overall.
Utah took third place in the Southern Florida Speedline Tournament, Mar. 8-11, in Tampa, Fla. The Utes went 6-2 in the tournament and defeated Mississippi State 3-2, Georgia Southern 7-5, Temple 11-0, Michigan State 2-1, UMass 10-0, Oklahoma State 5-3 and lost, 3-0 and 6-2 to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Over the weekend, Trevis went 11-for-24 (.458) with eight runs, two doubles, three home runs, five walks and an impressive 11 RBI over the weekend. She was 3-for-4 with three runs, a school record three home runs and seven RBI vs. UMass. Freshman Melissa Stahnke hit 10-for-23 with four runs, one double, two home runs and eight RBI for a .435 batting average in the tournament. Senior Amberly Jeppson was perfect on the base paths with 10 stolen bases. In eight games, Jeppson went 9-for-25 for a .360 batting average. Arbogast owned the mound this weekend, pitching 44.1 innings and giving up only 32 hits, nine earned runs and nine walks in eight appearances. She was 5-2 on the weekend, pitching two shut-outs, striking out 41 batters, recording a save and posting an impressive 1.42 ERA.
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 PLAYER AND PITCHER OF THE WEEK (MAR. 12): Utah third baseman Lyndsey Trevis and right-handed pitcher Kristin Arbogast are the Mountain West Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. This is the first player and pitcher of the week award for both players this season.
Trevis, a junior from Glendora, Calif. (Glendora HS), went 11-for-24 (.458) with 11 RBI, three home runs, two doubles, and eight runs scored, while walking five times in eight games last week. She had at least one hit in seven of the eight contests, with her best outing coming in the Utes 10-0 victory over Massachusetts where she went 3-4 at the plate, with all three hits coming via the home run (Utah school record). Trevis also tallied seven RBI and three runs scored vs. the Minutemen. She collected two more multiple-hit games in the tournament vs. Georgia Southern and Temple. She went 2-for-4 vs. Georgia Southern with a double and a run scored, while recording three RBI and three runs scored in a 2-for-3 day at the plate vs. Temple. The Utes went 6-2 and finished third out of 24 teams at the South Florida Speedline Tournament.
Arbogast, a senior from Eugene, Ore. (North Eugene HS), went 5-2 in eight appearances for Utah at the South Florida Speedline Tournament. She pitched 44.1 innings and had five complete games, while posting a 1.43 ERA. In those eight appearances, Arbogast gave up only nine earned runs and nine walks, while striking out 35. She was also one of nine players (out of 24 teams), along with teammate Lyndsey Trevis, selected to the all-tournament team.
Arbogast's best performances came in two shutouts vs. Temple (11-0) and Massachusetts (10-0). Against the Owls, she allowed a pair of hits and walks, while striking out four in five innings of work. In six innings on the mound vs. the Minutemen, she gave up just one run and struck out six.
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: Utah entered the 2001 season ranked No. 25 and has received votes for the past six consecutive weeks. Most recently, Utah dropped out of the 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.
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 164-102 (.617) 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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