Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball Ranked #24 In 2004 NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll
01/28/2004 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Jan. 28, 2004
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - After an impressive 2003 NCAA Tournament, the Southern Illinois University softball program earned its first preseason top 25 ranking on Wednesday, when the NFCA selected the Salukis #24 in the 2004 Preseason Top 25 poll with 77 points. UCLA, the 2003 champion, was ranked #1 with 26 of the 27 first place votes. SIU earned 35 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll two weeks ago.
"It's nice that this happened, but we really don't want to get too caught up in the preseason ranking, but it's nice for the kids and the program to be recognized. That's what I'm most happy about. I hope that we climb as the season goes on and we get better," said Kerri Blaylock, SIU head coach.
"We're not going to talk about it much. We'll tell them about the ranking and remind them that you work all your life to get recognized. Now we have to go out and play like veterans, show people that we belong there and take care of business."
Rounding out the Top 10 behind UCLA is Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Washington, Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Louisiana-Lafayette and Michigan and Texas in a tenth place tie. Places 12 through 25 are as follows: DePaul, Fullerton State, LSU, Stanford, Oregon, Iowa, Texas A&M, Florida State, Arizona State, Florida State, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Fresno State, Southern Illinois and Michigan State. The Salukis will host #12 DePaul at the first Saluki Round Robin Tournament in Carbondale, Ill. on March 14.
SIU finished #22 in the final regular season NFCA poll in 2003, following a record-setting season. The Salukis finished 39-14 with an appearance in the NCAA Region VIII Tournament final, ending the year as one of the final 16 teams left in the NCAA Tournament. The 2003 team won SIU's first three NCAA Tournament games and earned SIU and the MVC's first NCAA Tournament at-large bid. The Salukis finished the season with its first Top 25 national rankings, adding a #23 (ESPN.com/USA Softball) finish to the NFCA ranking.
Southern Illinois defeated three teams last year currently ranked in the 2004 NFCA Top 25 poll. The Salukis beat #15 Stanford 6-1 in the NCAA Region VIII Tournament, split two games with #8 Nebraska (losing 4-0 in a neutral site tournament and winning 2-1 at Nebraska), and went 1-3 against #6 Alabama (winning 4-0 and losing 3-1 at Alabama's regular season tournament and losing twice to the Tide at the NCAA Region VIII Tournament 7-4 and 2-0 also in Tuscaloosa).
The Salukis begin their quest for an MVC title and return trip to the NCAA Tournament at the 2004 Triple Crown Invitational Feb. 6-8 in St. Augustine, Fla., which SIU won in 2003 with a 4-0 record.
