Minnesota softball ascends to program’s first No. 1 ranking in USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll

by | May 16, 2017 | Headlines, RRSN News | 0 comments

Minnesota ascends to program’s first No. 1 ranking in USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll

 LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Minnesota’s record-breaking season added another milestone as it achieved the program’s first No. 1 national ranking in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Gophers (54-3), riding a NCAA DI-best 25-game winning streak, head into the postseason unseeded and will be the No. 2 seed in the Tuscaloosa Regional, hosted by 16th-seed Alabama.

Minnesota received 18-first place votes and a total of 767 points nudging out previous No. 1 Florida by nine points. The Gophers, who are tops in DI with 54 wins and a .947 winning percentage, ran undefeated through the Big Ten Tournament. Highlighted by a Sara Groenewegen no-hitter in the quarterfinals against Northwestern, Minnesota defeated the Wildcats (5-1), RV Illinois (6-5) and RV Ohio State (6-0) to claim its second consecutive tourney title.

 

The 2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.  Records reflect games played through May 14.

 

2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll
Week 14 – May 16, 2017

 

Rank Team Totals 2017 Record Last Poll  
  1 Minnesota (18) 767 54-3 2
  2 Florida (12) 758 50-6 1
  3 Oregon (2) 739 47-6 3
  4 Florida State 700 51-6-1 4
  5 Arizona 689 48-7 5
  6 Oklahoma 638 50-8 6
  7 Washington 593 43-11 8
  8 Auburn 566 46-10 7
  9 UCLA 560 42-13 10
  10 Tennessee 504 44-10 9
  11 James Madison 453 50-6 12
  12 Texas A&M 424 42-10 11
  13 Ole Miss 407 40-18 19
  14 Louisiana 382 45-6 14
  15 Alabama 344 42-16 15
  16 Utah 329 33-14 13
  17 Baylor 295 43-12 16
  18 LSU 270 41-18 21
  19 Kentucky 238 36-17 18
  20 Michigan 206 41-11-1 17
  21 BYU 183 43-11 20
  22 Arizona State 97 30-20 22
  23 Tulsa 69 39-15 RV
  24 South Carolina 44 32-23 24
  25 Georgia 29 33-21 25

 

Dropped Out: No. 23 Marshall

 

New to Poll: No. 23 Tulsa

 

Receiving Votes: Florida International (21), Mississippi State (21), Marshall (20), Arkansas (12), Ohio State (11), USC Upstate (10), Saint Francis (Pa.) (10), Illinois (6), California (4), Missouri (1).

 

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.  Records reflect games played through May 14.

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