# 2001 NCAA Division I softball season

The 2001 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2001. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2001 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2001 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in held in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on May 28, 2001.

## Conference standings

2001 Big 12 Conference softball standings :
| 2001 Big 12 Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 14 Nebraska ‍†‍‍$^y$ 16–2 .88951–15 .773 No. 5 Oklahoma ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 14–2 .87550–9 .847 Texas Tech ‍‍‍$^y$ 10–8 .55637–24 .607 Kansas ‍‍‍ 10–8 .55632–27 .542 Oklahoma State ‍‍‍ 8–8 .50028–23 .549 Baylor ‍‍‍ 7–9 .43838–22 .633 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38932–19 .627 Missouri ‍‍‍ 5–11 .31331–28 .525 Texas ‍‍‍ 5–13 .27824–29 .453 Iowa State ‍‍‍ 2–12 .14314–27 .341 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from NFCA | 2001 Big Ten Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 8 Michigan ‍†‍‍$^y$ 17–3–0 .85043–17–1 .713 No. 7 Iowa ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 16–4–0 .80049–14–0 .778 Ohio State ‍‍‍ 14–6–0 .70046–18–0 .719 Illinois ‍‍‍ 12–8–0 .60049–23–0 .681 Penn State ‍‍‍$^y$ 9–11–0 .45036–26–0 .581 Wisconsin ‍‍‍$^y$ 9–11–0 .45033–27–0 .550 Purdue ‍‍‍ 9–11–0 .45034–24–1 .585 Northwestern ‍‍‍ 8–12–0 .40013–18–0 .419 Minnesota ‍‍‍ 7–13–0 .35036–22–1 .619 Michigan State ‍‍‍ 5–15–0 .25021–39–0 .350 Indiana ‍‍‍ 4–16–0 .20016–36–0 .308 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 2001 Rankings from NFCA | 2001 Pacific-10 Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT Arizona ‍†‍‍$^y$ 19–2–0 .90565–4–0 .942 UCLA ‍‍‍$^y$ 16–5–0 .76262–6–0 .912 Stanford ‍‍‍$^y$ 11–10–0 .52454–16–1 .768 Washington ‍‍‍$^y$ 11–10–0 .52440–23–0 .635 Oregon State ‍‍‍$^y$ 10–10–0 .50044–24–1 .645 Arizona State ‍‍‍$^y$ 9–12–0 .42936–22–0 .621 California ‍‍‍$^y$ 6–14–0 .30054–18–0 .750 Oregon ‍‍‍ 1–20–0 .04828–40–0 .412 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 31, 2001 Rankings from Coaches' Poll |
| 2001 Southland Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT Southwest Texas State ‍†‍‍$^y$ 26–1–0 .96354–12–0 .818 Louisiana–Monroe ‍‍‍ 17–10–0 .63031–22–0 .585 Texas–Arlington ‍‍‍ 15–10–0 .60025–22–1 .531 Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍ 16–11–0 .59331–22–0 .585 Northwestern State ‍‍‍ 15–11–0 .57730–20–0 .600 McNeese State ‍‍‍ 13–13–0 .50021–32–0 .396 Texas–San Antonio ‍‍‍ 12–15–0 .44429–31–0 .483 Stephen F. Austin ‍‍‍ 12–15–0 .44424–29–0 .453 Nicholls State ‍‍‍ 5–22–0 .18521–34–0 .382 Sam Houston State ‍‍‍ 2–25–0 .07420–34–0 .370 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 20, 2001 Rankings from Coaches' Poll |

## Women's College World Series

The 2001 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 24 to May 28, 2001 in Oklahoma City.
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Arizona | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | California | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | California | 2 | 1 | Arizona | 5$^8$ | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Oklahoma | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Michigan | 0 | 5 | Oklahoma | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 2 | | | | 1 | Arizona | 1 | — | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Stanford | 0 | — | | | | | |
| 8 | California | 5 | | | | | | | | 6 | Stanford | 0 | — | | | | |
| 4 | Michigan | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Michigan | 2 | 6 | Stanford | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | California | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Arizona | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | UCLA | 0 |
| 3 | LSU | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | UCLA | 0 |
| 6 | Stanford | 2$^8$ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Stanford | 2$^8$ | 2 | UCLA | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Stanford | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | UCLA | 2 | 6 | Stanford | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Iowa | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Iowa | 0 | | | | 2 | UCLA | 6 | — | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | LSU | 0 | — | | | | | |
| 3 | LSU | 2 | | | | | | | | 3 | LSU | 0 | — | | | | |
| 7 | Iowa | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Iowa | 1 | 5 | Oklahoma | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | LSU | 2$^{13}$ | | | | | | | | | |

## Season leaders

Batting
* Batting average: .455 – Oli Keohohou, BYU Cougars
* RBIs: 84 – Toni Mascarenas, Arizona Wildcats
* Home runs: 25 – Toni Mascarenas, Arizona Wildcats
Pitching
* Wins: 39-8 – Kristi Hanks, Iowa Hawkeyes
* ERA: 0.46 (10 ER/152.0 IP) – Amanda Freed, UCLA Bruins
* Strikeouts: 421 – Amanda Renfroe, Texas Tech Red Raiders

## Records

NCAA Division I season winning percentage: 32-0 (100%) – Jennie Finch, Arizona Wildcats
Freshman class winning percentage: 27-2 (93%) – Keira Goerl, UCLA Bruins
Sophomore class walks: 93 – Veronica Nelson, California Golden Bears
Junior class consecutive wins streak: 32 – Jennie Finch, Arizona Wildcats; February 2-May 28, 2001

## Awards

* Honda Sports Award Softball:
Jennie Finch, Arizona Wildcats
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 2001 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 29 | 27 | 19 | 0 | 207.0 | 102 | 19 | 16 | 45 | 279 | 0.54 | 0.71 |
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 2001 | 67 | 198 | 37 | 62 | .313 | 57 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 110 | .555% | 24 | 25 | 0 | 0 |

## All America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams.
First Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Jennie Finch | JR. | Arizona Wildcats |
| P | Britni Sneed | JR. | LSU Tigers |
| P | Dana Sorenson | SO. | Stanford Cardinal |
| C | Stacey Nuveman | JR. | UCLA Bruins |
| 1B | Sarah Beeson | JR. | Stanford Cardinal |
| 2B | Kelsey Kollen | JR. | Michigan Wolverines |
| 3B | Toni Mascarenas | SR. | Arizona Wildcats |
| SS | Natasha Watley | SO. | UCLA Bruins |
| OF | Lauren Bauer | SR. | Arizona Wildcats |
| OF | Oli Keohohou | FR. | BYU Cougars |
| OF | Kelly Kretschman | SR. | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| DP | Leneah Manuma | FR. | Arizona Wildcats |
| UT | Kellie Wilkerson | JR. | Mississippi State Bulldogs |
| AT-L | Kelli Braitsch | SO. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| AT-L | Kristi Hanks | JR. | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| AT-L | Jessica Mendoza | JR. | Stanford Cardinal |
| AT-L | Veronica Nelson | SO. | California Golden Bears |
| AT-L | Jenny Topping | SO. | Cal State Fullerton Titans |
Second Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Jocelyn Forest | JR. | California Golden Bears |
| P | Shelley Laird | JR. | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| P | Nicole Myers | JR. | FAU Owls |
| C | Ashli Barrett | SR. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| 1B | Lisa Carey | SR. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| 2B | Keisha Shepperson | SR. | East Carolina Pirates |
| 3B | Tairia Flowers | SO. | UCLA Bruins |
| SS | Alana Addison | JR. | ULL Rajin' Cajuns |
| OF | Sara Carlson | SO. | Villanova Wildcats |
| OF | Jackie McClain | FR. | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| OF | Melissa Taylor | SR. | Michigan Wolverines |
| DP | Kristen Dennis | JR. | Virginia Cavaliers |
| UT | Sarah Martz | FR. | DePaul Blue Demons |
| AT-L | Amanda Freed | JR. | UCLA Bruins |
| AT-L | Ashley Moore | JR. | Auburn Tigers |
| AT-L | Amanda Renfroe | SR. | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| AT-L | Kristin Schmidt | FR. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| AT-L | Karen Williams | SR. | Missouri Tigers |
Third Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Tia Bollinger | SO. | Washington Huskies |
| P | Jessica Chase | JR. | Texas State Bobcats |
| P | Leslie Malerich | JR. | FSU Seminoles |
| C | Stefanie Christoferson | SR. | UIC Flames |
| 1B | Alicia Gerlach | JR. | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| 2B | Suzanne Olcott | JR. | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| 3B | Becky McMurtry | SO. | Illinois State Redbirds |
| SS | Jaime Clark | SO. | Washington Huskies |
| OF | Deanna Dovak | JR. | Rider Broncs |
| OF | Kelly Hauxhurst | SR. | Washington Huskies |
| OF | Jenny Kriech | JR. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| DP | Melanie Fisher | SO. | Missouri Tigers |
| UT | Erin Stremsterfer | SR. | Southern Illinois Salukis |
| AT-L | Cindy Ball | JR. | Pacific Tigers |
| AT-L | Nicole Giordano | SR. | Arizona Wildcats |
| AT-L | Jarrah Myers | JR. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| AT-L | Marci Ridenbaugh | FR. | Kent State Golden Flashes |
| AT-L | Jennifer Sharron | SR. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| AT-L | Jennifer Stewart | JR. | Oklahoma Sooners |