Defending Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champion Illinois State earned three first-place votes and was picked to finish third in the 2001 poll of Missouri Valley Conference softball coaches and media relations coordinators.
The Birds trailed first-place Creighton and second-place Evansville in the poll. The Jays had more total points on the 10-9-8, etc., regression points poll, but Evansville had nine first-place votes to Creightons seven.
In 2000, Evansville, Creighton and Northern Iowa all finished tied for first with 11-7 marks. ISU and Southwest Missouri State were one game back at 10-8. A total of eight teams finished within three games of the tri-champions. The Redbirds swept the tournament in four games.
Redbird coach
Melinda Fischer, whose team is 3-2 against a strong non-conference schedule so far, claims the choices were hard this year because a balanced league in 2000 figures to be just as balanced this year.
The league is very deep in terms of strong teams, said Fischer. A lot of people could finish fighting for spots in the middle of the pack.
Fischer believes that Creighton and Evansville deserve respect.
Creighton has a strong pitching staff, said Fischer. Evansville has the returning Valley Player of the Year in Jessica Huff and the returning Pitcher of the Year in Maggie Ross.
Both Ross and Huff were on the 15-player preseason all-conference team, which also included Redbird center fielder Bridget Fournie and pitcher Nicole Kurth.
2001 Preseason Poll
Missouri Valley Softball
No. Team (lst place votes) Pts.
1. Creighton (7) 183
2. Evansville (9) 180
3. Illinois State (3) 157
4. Southern Illinois (1) 142
5. SW Missouri State 117
6. Northern Iowa 102
7. Indiana State 72
8. Bradley 58
9. Wichita State 55
10. Drake 34
(points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis; voting by coaches and media relations personnel)
2001 Preseason
All-Valley Softball Team
P Nicole Kurth, Sr., Illinois State
Maggie Ross, Sr., Evansville
Erin Stremsterfer, Sr., Southern Illinois
C Jessica Huff, Sr., Evansville
1B Jami Canada, Sr., SW Missouri State
2B Haven Shank, Jr., Evansville
3B Lindsay Wood, Jr., Northern Iowa
SS Annie Medico, Jr., SW Missouri State
OF Bridget Fournie, Sr., Illinois State
Sarah Lemond, So., Indiana State
Francesca Nix, Sr., Creighton
Patti Oleson, Sr., Wichita State
Marta Viefhaus, Sr., Southern Illinois
DP Staci Wattie, So., SW Missouri State
UT Marie Gieron, Sr., Creighton
