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Florida Gators softball
The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic 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 thirteen WCWS appearances.
On June 13, 1995, the board of directors of the University Athletic Association approved the addition of a women's softball team to the University of Florida's athletic program. Larry Ray, who would coach the new team for their first four seasons, agreed to be the first head coach on September 4, 1995. After the construction of their new stadium facility, the Gators played their first two games in a doubleheader on February 8, 1997, against the Stetson Hatters, both of which they won.
In the inaugural year of the Florida Softball program, Ray's team posted an overall win–loss record of 42–25 and a Southeastern Conference record of 16–8, and was the runner-up in the SEC softball tournament, ultimately losing to the second-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in the title game. Florida built on the early success of their first season to win the program's first-ever SEC regular season championship in 1998, and advance to the NCAA tournament. After the 2000 season, Ray left Florida to return to an assistant coaching position with the Arizona Wildcats softball team at the University of Arizona, where he previously coached.
For the 2001 season, Ray was replaced by Karen Johns. Under Johns, Florida qualified for the NCAA tournament four of five seasons, and compiled a record of 192–131 during her tenure in Gainesville. After the Gators finished third in the SEC Eastern Division for the fourth straight season, and suffered four consecutive losses in the 2005 SEC Tournament and the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Johns was fired.
To replace Johns, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley hired the then-head coach of the Wichita State Shockers softball team, Tim Walton, as the Gators' new coach. Under Walton, the Florida softball team has become a consistent SEC and national title contender. In 2014, the Gators won their first national title over Alabama, and the following year they repeated as national champions, this time by defeating Michigan.
In his third season as the Gators' head coach, he led the team to an NCAA single season record seventy wins and five losses. The team also made its first-ever Women's College World Series (WCWS) appearance after beating the California Golden Bears, two games to none, in the Gainesville Super Regional of the NCAA tournament. After losing its opening game of the WCWS to Louisiana Lafayette, the Gators won three straight against games the Virginia Tech Hokies and Texas A&M Aggies. However, in the double-elimination format of the NCAA tournament, the Gators needed to beat Texas A&M twice in the WCWS semifinals to move into the championship final series. That second semifinal game went two extra innings before either team scored, and the Aggies earned the 1–0 victory in the ninth inning. Gators pitcher Stacey Nelson ended the 2008 season with single-season school records in wins (47), strikeouts (363), innings pitched (352.1), and earned run average (0.75).
Florida began its 2009 season ranked No. 1 in the country in both major college softball polls, but finished second after falling 8–0 and 3–2 to the Washington Huskies in the best-of-three-games final championship series of the 2009 Women's College World Series. The Gators compiled an overall record of 63–5 and completed its SEC regular season with a record of 26–1. They also broke the SEC single-season record for home runs (86), and several single-season team records including grand slams (12), total shutouts (39), and consecutive shutouts (11). Aja Paculba set the single-season stolen base record (27), Francesca Enea broke the career home run record (41) in her junior season, and the Florida pitching staff threw three no-hitters in the regular season (Stephanie Brombacher vs. Coastal Carolina; Stacey Nelson vs. Ole Miss and Arkansas). Nelson was named the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and the SEC Pitcher of the year for the second straight year. Nelson was named to the All-American first team (pitcher), and Brombacher (pitcher), Enea (outfielder), Kelsey Bruder (outfielder), and Paculba (second baseman) were named to the second team.
The 2010 Florida softball team again qualified for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the 2010 Women's College World Series. In the opening game of the Series, the fourth-seeded Gators were decisively defeated 16–3 by the UCLA Bruins, who ultimately won the 2010 championship. The Gators recovered to eliminate the ninth-seeded Missouri Tigers 5–2, before being edged 3–2 and eliminated in turn by the sixth-seeded Georgia Bulldogs.
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Florida Gators softball
The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic 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 thirteen WCWS appearances.
On June 13, 1995, the board of directors of the University Athletic Association approved the addition of a women's softball team to the University of Florida's athletic program. Larry Ray, who would coach the new team for their first four seasons, agreed to be the first head coach on September 4, 1995. After the construction of their new stadium facility, the Gators played their first two games in a doubleheader on February 8, 1997, against the Stetson Hatters, both of which they won.
In the inaugural year of the Florida Softball program, Ray's team posted an overall win–loss record of 42–25 and a Southeastern Conference record of 16–8, and was the runner-up in the SEC softball tournament, ultimately losing to the second-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in the title game. Florida built on the early success of their first season to win the program's first-ever SEC regular season championship in 1998, and advance to the NCAA tournament. After the 2000 season, Ray left Florida to return to an assistant coaching position with the Arizona Wildcats softball team at the University of Arizona, where he previously coached.
For the 2001 season, Ray was replaced by Karen Johns. Under Johns, Florida qualified for the NCAA tournament four of five seasons, and compiled a record of 192–131 during her tenure in Gainesville. After the Gators finished third in the SEC Eastern Division for the fourth straight season, and suffered four consecutive losses in the 2005 SEC Tournament and the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Johns was fired.
To replace Johns, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley hired the then-head coach of the Wichita State Shockers softball team, Tim Walton, as the Gators' new coach. Under Walton, the Florida softball team has become a consistent SEC and national title contender. In 2014, the Gators won their first national title over Alabama, and the following year they repeated as national champions, this time by defeating Michigan.
In his third season as the Gators' head coach, he led the team to an NCAA single season record seventy wins and five losses. The team also made its first-ever Women's College World Series (WCWS) appearance after beating the California Golden Bears, two games to none, in the Gainesville Super Regional of the NCAA tournament. After losing its opening game of the WCWS to Louisiana Lafayette, the Gators won three straight against games the Virginia Tech Hokies and Texas A&M Aggies. However, in the double-elimination format of the NCAA tournament, the Gators needed to beat Texas A&M twice in the WCWS semifinals to move into the championship final series. That second semifinal game went two extra innings before either team scored, and the Aggies earned the 1–0 victory in the ninth inning. Gators pitcher Stacey Nelson ended the 2008 season with single-season school records in wins (47), strikeouts (363), innings pitched (352.1), and earned run average (0.75).
Florida began its 2009 season ranked No. 1 in the country in both major college softball polls, but finished second after falling 8–0 and 3–2 to the Washington Huskies in the best-of-three-games final championship series of the 2009 Women's College World Series. The Gators compiled an overall record of 63–5 and completed its SEC regular season with a record of 26–1. They also broke the SEC single-season record for home runs (86), and several single-season team records including grand slams (12), total shutouts (39), and consecutive shutouts (11). Aja Paculba set the single-season stolen base record (27), Francesca Enea broke the career home run record (41) in her junior season, and the Florida pitching staff threw three no-hitters in the regular season (Stephanie Brombacher vs. Coastal Carolina; Stacey Nelson vs. Ole Miss and Arkansas). Nelson was named the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and the SEC Pitcher of the year for the second straight year. Nelson was named to the All-American first team (pitcher), and Brombacher (pitcher), Enea (outfielder), Kelsey Bruder (outfielder), and Paculba (second baseman) were named to the second team.
The 2010 Florida softball team again qualified for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the 2010 Women's College World Series. In the opening game of the Series, the fourth-seeded Gators were decisively defeated 16–3 by the UCLA Bruins, who ultimately won the 2010 championship. The Gators recovered to eliminate the ninth-seeded Missouri Tigers 5–2, before being edged 3–2 and eliminated in turn by the sixth-seeded Georgia Bulldogs.