Jan. 24, 2001

Chicago, Ill. - The 2001 UIC softball team has been tabbed to defend its title as league champions as they topped the Midwestern Collegiate Conference preseason softball poll released earlier this morning.

"We have been in this position for a while now," remarked head coach Mike McGovern. "I think people, though, are looking more at what we've done in the past. This year (with a young team) we are going to have to do things the old fashioned way, by just rolling up our sleeves and getting it done."

The Flames, who have won the last five MCC regular-season crowns and own an all-time 72-6 league record, received five of the seven first-place votes and totaled 34 total points in the poll. Wright State placed second with two first-place votes and 29 overall points. Loyola was tabbed to finish third, followed by UW-Green Bay, Butler, Cleveland State and Detroit respectively.

McGovern welcomes back reigning MCC Player of the Year catcher/third baseman Stefanie Christoferson, along with fellow All-MCC First Team outfield/third baseman Edel Leyden, to his team which finished last season 9-1 in the conference and 52-25 overall. The Flames' season ended last year with a 3-1 loss to Michigan in the NCAA Region 8 Championships.

Besides being the preseason MCC favorites, UIC also earned a little national respect on Wednesday as it will start the season as the 27th-ranked team in the country according to the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll.

"Nationally, for a team that hasn't played a game and is as young as we are its encouraging to see where we were selected," stated McGovern. "Anytime you can be among the top 30 in the country to start the season is pretty good."

The Flames, who have nine freshmen on their roster, will have an early opportunity to test their preseason ranking as they open the season on Feb. 2, at #22 Long Beach State.

All in all, UIC has seven scheduled contests against top 25 teams, including meetings with #8 LSU, #10 DePaul, #15 Stanford and #19 Notre Dame. That number could double depending on how the Flames' advance in non-conference tournament action.

2001 MCC Preseason Softball Rankings

Team (2000 Record)				Points (First-Place Votes)
1. UIC (9-1 MCC / 52-25 overall)                        34 (5)

2. Wright State (9-3 MCC / 36-20 overall)               29 (2)

3. Loyola (8-4 MCC / 25-21 overall)                     26

4. UW-Green Bay (6-6 MCC / 27-15 overall)               23

5. Butler (3-9 MCC / 13-36 overall)                     14

6. Cleveland State (4-6 MCC / 19-37 overall)            13

7. Detroit (1-11 MCC / 16-29 overall)                   8


USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll

School                     Record         Points       LY
1.   UCLA (13)             46-12-1        655          2
2.   Oklahoma (10)         66-8           642          1
3.   Arizona (4)           59-9           632          3
4.   Washington            61-9           541          5
5.   Alabama               66-14          535          6
6.   Arizona State         43-20          523          10 (tie)
7.   California            49-25          484          7
8.   LSU                   59-13          465          9
9.   Fresno State          54-14          455          10 (tie)
10.  DePaul                40-22          412          8
11.  Michigan              45-16-1        362          13
12.  Nebraska              52-21          353          14
13.  Iowa                  46-15          301          15
14.  Cal State Fullerton   45-15          295          19
15.  Stanford              45-18          270          18
16.  Oregon State          40-21-1        261          12
17.  Florida State         51-27          210          17
18.  South Carolina        40-28          169          22 (tie)
19.  Notre Dame            47-14          157          24
20.  Oregon                35-29          145          16
21.  Southern Mississippi  63-13          137          4
22.  Long Beach State      39-23          125          NR
23.  Mississippi State     44-27          108          21
24.  Texas                 30-27-1         94          NR
25.  Utah                  42-23           67          20

Others Receiving Votes: Florida Atlantic (56), Illinois-Chicago (35),

Hofstra (32), Massachusetts (32), Oklahoma State (31), Louisiana Lafayette (27),

Florida (23), Texas A&M (23), Penn State (21), Central Michigan (20),

Cal State Northridge (16), Hawaii (13), New Mexico (10), Wisconsin (8),

North Carolina (7), Northwestern (6), Virginia Tech (6), South Florida (2).

Three other schools (totaling 9 points) were mentioned on only one ballot

and are not included among others receiving votes.