Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Fastpitch Picked Seventh
January 28, 2000 | Softball
Jan. 28, 2000
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech fastpitch softball program, fresh off a No. 25 national ranking in 1999, was voted as a pre-season seventh place finisher in the Big 12 Coaches Poll. Oklahoma was chosen as the pre-season favorite.
"It goes to show you what a tough conference we play in", coach Renee Luers-Gillespie said. "Our goal is to win a conference championship. It doesn't matter where we are in the pre-season."
Last season the Red Raiders finished with a record of 36-31-0(8-9 Big 12). Texas Tech advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Regional Tournament before falling to Fresno State 5-0.
Oklahoma received every possible first-place vote as coaches were not allowed to vote for his or her team in the ballot. Nebraska was the second-place selection with 73 points, followed by Missouri(57), Kansas(52), Texas(51), Texas A&M(42), Texas Tech(38), Oklahoma State(26), Baylor(16) and Iowa State(14).
Big 12 softball earned a reputation as one of the nation's toughest conferences last season when it placed seven of its 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Only the PAC-10 conference placed more teams into the tournament with eight.
The Red Raider's softball season officially kicks-off on February 4 when the team travels to Albuquerque N.M. for the Diamond 2000 Tournament where they will play Colorado State, New Mexico, Tulsa and Cal-State Fullerton.
