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The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other words, a team is eliminated when it has lost two games. After six teams have been eliminated, the remaining two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS National Champion.
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run of 1889, which initially opened the Unassigned Lands in the future state of Oklahoma to non-native settlement. The university's athletic teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I in the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Joe Castiglione.
The College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The recipient of the award is announced at the completion of the College World Series Championship Game. The award is similar to Major League Baseball's World Series Most Valuable Player award.
Debra "Debbie" Ann Doom is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired professional right-handed softball pitcher originally from Tempe, Arizona. She played for the UCLA Bruins from 1982-1985 and the United States' national softball team just prior to the major boom in the sport's popularity both in America and worldwide. She was the singularly most dominant pitcher in softball during her career and was remarkable for her exceptional fastball and her height. She ranks currently in numerous softball records for the Bruins and in the NCAA Division I. Doom was named the Women's Professional Softball League's inaugural World Series MVP in 1997.
The 2008 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 15 through June 4, 2008. 64 NCAA Division I college softball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2008 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Tim Walton. In the twenty-six year history of the Florida Softball program, the team has won two Women's College World Series (WCWS) national championships, nine SEC regular season championships, five SEC tournament championships, and have made eleven WCWS appearances.
The 2009 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 15 through June 3, 2009 as part of the 2009 NCAA Division I softball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 284 teams on May 10, 2009. 30 teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2009 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Keilani Johanna Ricketts Tumanuvao is an American, former collegiate All-American, pro All-Star left-handed hitting softball pitcher. She attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, and attended the University of Oklahoma from 2010-2013, where she was the starting pitcher and helped to lead the Sooners to the 2013 NCAA Division I national softball title. As a member of the United States women's national softball team she won 2011 World Cup of Softball. Ricketts currently plays for the USSSA Pride in the National Pro Fastpitch. She is the Sooners career leader in wins and strikeouts. She also ranks for career records in both the Big 12 Conference and the NCAA Division I, where she is one three players to win 100 games with 1,000 strikeouts and hit 50 home runs.
Jenny Dalton-Hill is an American former collegiate All-American softball player and current sports commentator. She played for the Arizona Wildcats from 1993 to 1996 where she won three Women's College World Series championships. Having also played baseball, Dalton-Hill is a former member of the Colorado Silver Bullets and United States women's national baseball team, earning a bronze medal at the 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup. She holds the career Pac-12 and NCAA Division I records in RBIs. She is the first and one of nine NCAA players to hit .400 with 200 RBIs, 50 home runs and an .800 slugging percentage in her career.
The 1995 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the fourteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1995, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1995 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1995 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won their eighth NCAA championship, and ninth overall, by defeating Arizona 4–2 in the final game. UCLA pitcher Tanya Harding was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player, the first time the honor was awarded by the NCAA. The Bruins' participation and championship were later vacated by the NCAA.
The 1996 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the fifteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1996, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1996 Women's College World Series was held in Columbus, Georgia from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the 1996 NCAA Division I softball season. This marked the last time that the Women's College World Series was held in a city other than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and previewed Golden Park's hosting of softball events for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Arizona won their fourth NCAA championship by defeating Washington 6–4 in the final game. Arizona second baseman Jenny Dalton was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 1997 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the sixteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1997, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1997 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 22 through May 26 and marked the conclusion of the 1997 NCAA Division I softball season. The event returned to Oklahoma City after a one year hiatus, and it has remained there ever since. Arizona won their fifth NCAA championship by defeating UCLA 10–2 in the final game. Arizona pitcher Nancy Evans was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 1998 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the seventeenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1998, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1998 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 21 through May 25 and marked the conclusion of the 1998 NCAA Division I softball season. Fresno State won their first NCAA championship by defeating Arizona 1–0 in the final game. Fresno State pitcher Amanda Scott was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 1999 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the eighteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1999, forty-eight Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of six teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1999 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 25 through May 31 and marked the conclusion of the 1999 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won their ninth NCAA championship and tenth overall by defeating Washington 3–2 in the final game. It was the first final game since 1990 to not feature Arizona. UCLA infielder Julie Adams was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 2003 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the twenty-second annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 2003, sixty-four Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of eight teams, each in a double elimination format. The 2003 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 22 through May 25 and marked the conclusion of the 2003 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won their tenth NCAA championship and eleventh overall by defeating California 1–0 in the final game. UCLA pitcher Keira Goerl was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 2004 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the twenty-third annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 2004, sixty-four Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of eight teams, each in a double elimination format. The 2004 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 27 through May 31 and marked the conclusion of the 2004 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won their eleventh NCAA championship and twelfth overall by defeating California 3–1 in the final game. LSU pitcher Kristin Schmidt was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
Rachel Lauren Garcia is an American former softball pitcher and current pitching coach for UC San Diego. She played college softball for the UCLA Bruins and led the Bruins to the 2019 Women's College World Series championship, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Montana Fay Fouts is an American All-American softball pitcher for the Alabama Crimson Tide. She is best known for pitching a perfect game against UCLA in the 2021 Women's College World Series.
The 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 21 through June 10, 2021 as the final part of the 2021 NCAA Division I softball season. 31 teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences after the Ivy League opted out of the 2021 softball season. The remaining 33 were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee on May 16, 2021. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2021 Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
Marshaylee Knighten is an American professional softball player for the USSSA Pride and current assistant head coach for the San Diego Toreros softball team. She previously played college softball for Oklahoma, where she led the team to four consecutive Women's College World Series appearances from 2016 to 2019, and won the national championship as a Freshman in 2016 and Sophomore in 2017. She was named WCWS Most Outstanding Player in 2017.
References
- ↑ 2014 WCWS Records: All-Time Tournament Records and Results (PDF). NCAA. p. 2. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
- ↑ "Softball History Website" . Retrieved 2017-03-11.
- ↑ Graham Hays (3 June 2015). "Most Outstanding Player Lauren Haeger Leaves Lasting Legacy In WCWS Finale". espnW.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.