Huskers Ranked No. 20 to Open SeasonHuskers Ranked No. 20 to Open Season
Softball

Huskers Ranked No. 20 to Open Season

The <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska softball team garnered 105 votes to rank 20th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll, released January 14. California, the 2004 NCAA Tournament runner-up, claimed the top spot with 487 points and 10 of 20 first-place votes.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

NU, which finished 45-17 in 2004 while claiming the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, returns seven starters from last year’s squad. The Huskers finished the 2004 season ranked 14th.

 

Nebraska was one of five Big 12 Conference schools to earn a spot in the poll. Oklahoma, the No. 4 team in the nation, earned the highest ranking of Big 12 schools while Texas (sixth), Baylor (18th) and Texas A&M (t-23rd) also cracked the top 25. OklahomaState and Missouri each received votes.

 

NU is set to play 12 games against eight teams in the poll, including six games against top-10 teams. The Huskers have been ranked in the final poll each of the 10 seasons, one of only six teams in the nation to accomplish that feat.

against UC Santa Barbara at the UNLVDesert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

 

Rank          Team                                     2004 Record      Points

1.                 California (10)                       53-13                  487

2.                 Arizona (8)                              55-6                    481

3.                 UCLA (2)                                47-9                     457

4.                 Oklahoma*                            45-22-1               411

5.                 Stanford                                  49-19                  357

6.                 Texas*                                    24-25                  341

7.                 Louisiana Lafayette             60-8                    328

8.                 LSU                                         57-12                   324

9.                 Washington*                         40-19                  319

10.              Georgia*                                 55-17                  317

11.              Florida State                          62-12                  310

12.              Michigan                                 54-13                  308

13.              Tennessee*                          55-15                  280

14.              Oregon                                   42-21                  260

15.              Alabama                                 45-20                  248

16.              Oregon State*                       44-28                  172

17.              Fresno State                          48-20                  170

18.              Baylor*                                    48-17                  154

19.              Long Beach State                 51-13                  126

20.              Nebraska                               45-17                  105

21.              Georgia Tech                        47-19                  96

22.              South Florida                         60-14                  84

T23.            Texas A&M*                           33-22                  43

T23.            Southern Illinois                   45-17                  43

25.              Illinois                                     45-20-1              38

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

*indicates 2005 scheduled opponent