Redbirds Collect Five Votes in Preseason Poll

Jan. 29, 2008

NORMAL, Ill. - For the second time in as many weeks, the Illinois State softball team has garnered national recognition in a preseason softball poll, as the Redbirds earned five votes - tied for 41st-most in the nation - in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 Poll released Tuesday. On Jan. 23, the Redbirds received 23 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Division I Poll.

Illinois State is one of three Missouri Valley Conference schools that received votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 Poll. Creighton, the 2007 Valley regular-season and conference tournament champion, earned 13 votes, which tied with three other teams (Fresno State, Georgia and Nebraska) for 31st-most in the nation, while Southern Illinois was tied with Long Beach State with six votes.

NFCA Poll | USA Softball Poll | 2008 Schedule

The Redbirds' 2008 schedule features 10 teams recognized in the poll, with four of ISU's opponents ranked in the top-25. Arizona State, and DePaul, 2007 Women's College World Series (WCWS) participants, came in at No. 2 and No. 8, respectively, while 2007 WCWS runner-up Tennessee earned the No. 11 national ranking and Ohio State was tabbed at No. 22. Along with Creighton and Southern Illinois, ISU will face an additional four teams this season that received votes in the preseason poll, including Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

Defending WCWS champion Arizona finished first in the preseason poll with 14 first-place votes. Arizona State, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma rounded out the top-five.

Illinois State spent 11 weeks during the 2007 season as a nationally-ranked team, and reached as high as No. 17 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 Poll. The Redbirds had a 9-7 record last season against ranked opponents, including victories over then-No. 17 Florida (1-0) and then-No. 12 UCLA (2-1) March 2, the first time in school history that ISU recorded multiple wins over ranked foes on the same day. Illinois State will kick off the 2008 season at 10:30 a.m. CST Feb. 8 against Central Arkansas at the Central Florida Tournament in Orlando.