# 1979 Women's College World Series

The 1979 AIAW Women's College World Series (WCWS) was held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 24–27. Sixteen fastpitch softball teams emerged from regional tournaments to meet in the national collegiate softball championship.

## Teams

The double-elimination tournament included these teams:
* Arizona
* Arizona State
* Cal Poly–Pomona
* Chapman College (California)
* Emporia State (Kansas)
* Indiana
* Kansas
* Nebraska–Omaha
* Northern Colorado
* Oregon State
* Rutgers (New Jersey)
* South Carolina
* Texas A&M
* Texas Woman's
* UCLA
* Western Illinois
Texas Woman's University, newly named the Pioneers in February after years as the Tessies, won its first national championship behind the pitching of Kathy Arendsen, emerging from the losers' bracket to defeat defending champion UCLA with a pair of 1–0 wins in the final. On the final day, Arendsen pitched all 21 innings in three games. UCLA pitchers had posted shutouts in all of its games until the finals, a streak of nine games over two WCWS.

## Bracket

| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 3 | Upper round 3 | Upper final | Upper final | | | | | Final | Final | Final |
| Cal Poly–Pomona | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska–Omaha | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska–Omaha | 0 | Cal Poly–Pomona | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Western Illinois | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Western Illinois | 4 | Western Illinois | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Emporia State | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Emporia State | 0 | | | Cal Poly–Pomona | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Texas Woman's | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Arizona State | 2 | | | Texas Woman's | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Oregon State | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oregon State | 0 | Arizona State | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Texas Woman's | 1$^{(18)}$ | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas Woman's | 4 | Texas Woman's | 1$^{(18)}$ | | | | | | | | | |
| South Carolina | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Carolina | 2 | | | | | Cal Poly–Pomona | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | UCLA | 1 | | | | | |
| Kansas | 2 | | | | | UCLA | 1 | | | | | |
| Arizona | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona | 0 | Kansas | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | UCLA | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| UCLA | 5 | UCLA | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas A&M | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas A&M | 0 | | | UCLA | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Northern Colorado | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Indiana | 8 | | | Northern Colorado | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Chapman College | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Chapman College | 1 | Indiana | 1 | | | | | | | | | UCLA | 0 | 0 |
| | | Northern Colorado | 4 | | | | | | | | | Texas Woman's | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Colorado | 3$^{(11)}$ | Northern Colorado | 4 | | | | | | | | | Texas Woman's | 1 | 1 |
| Rutgers | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 4 | Lower round 4 | Lower round 5 | Lower round 5 | Lower final | Lower final | | | |
| | | Indiana | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Indiana | 4 | | Texas Woman's | 2$^{(11)}$ | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska–Omaha | 4 | Nebraska–Omaha | 2 | | Texas Woman's | 2$^{(11)}$ | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska–Omaha | 4 | Nebraska–Omaha | 2 | Indiana | 2 | Indiana | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Emporia State | 3 | | | Indiana | 2 | Indiana | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Emporia State | 3 | | | Oregon State | 1 | | | | | Cal Poly–Pomona | 0 | | | |
| | | Kansas | 0 | Oregon State | 1 | | | | | Cal Poly–Pomona | 0 | | | |
| | | Kansas | 0 | | | | | Texas Woman's | 1 | Texas Woman's | 2 | | | |
| Oregon State | 1$^{(8)}$ | Oregon State | 1 | | | | | Texas Woman's | 1 | Texas Woman's | 2 | | | |
| Oregon State | 1$^{(8)}$ | Oregon State | 1 | | | | | Northern Colorado | 0 | | | | | |
| South Carolina | 0 | | | | | | | Northern Colorado | 0 | | | | | |
| | | Arizona State | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Arizona State | 0 | | Northern Colorado | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona | 2 | Texas A&M | 2 | | Northern Colorado | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona | 2 | Texas A&M | 2 | Texas A&M | 4 | Texas A&M | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Texas A&M | 6 | | | Texas A&M | 4 | Texas A&M | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Texas A&M | 6 | | | Western Illinois | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Western Illinois | 3 | Western Illinois | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| Chapman College | 0 | Rutgers | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Source:
* ↑ no-hitter

## Ranking

| Place | School | WCWS Record |
| 1st | Texas Woman's | 7-1 |
| 2nd | UCLA | 4-2 |
| 3rd | Cal Poly–Pomona | 3-2 |
| 4th | Northern Colorado | 3-2 |
| 5th | Indiana | 3-2 |
| 5th | Texas A&M | 3-2 |
| 7th | Oregon State | 2-2 |
| 7th | Western Illinois | 2-2 |
| 9th | Arizona State | 1-2 |
| 9th | Rutgers | 1-2 |
| 9th | Kansas | 1-2 |
| 9th | Nebraska–Omaha | 1-2 |
| 13th | Chapman College | 0-2 |
| 13th | Emporia State | 0-2 |
| 13th | Arizona | 0-2 |
| 13th | South Carolina | 0-2 |