Utah Selected to NCAA Softball Tournament Field

Utes Earn No. 3 Seed in Regional at Washington, Will Play Western Illinois

Utah will be making its ninth appearance in the NCAA and first since 1995.
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May 14, 2000

Colorado Springs, Colo. ­ The University of Utah received an at-large selection to compete in the 48-team NCAA Division I Softball Championships. The Utes are the No. 3 seed in Region I which will be played in Seattle, Wash., May 18-21. Utah will play Western Illinois in the first round of the double elimination event. Six teams will compete in each of eight regionals with the winners advancing to the Women¹s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., May 25-29.

The regular-season and conference tournament champion, Utah enters the tournament with a 39-21 record. The Westerwinds went 46-14 during the regular-season and are making their second NCAA tournament appearance. Utah is making its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1995 and its ninth NCAA overall. The Utes own a 13-19 NCAA record, including a 12-11 mark in NCAA regional play, and have advanced to the Women¹s College World Series four times (1982, ¹85, ¹91 and ¹94) with a 1-6 slate.

Also competing in Region I are the host and No. 1 seed Washington (56-7), which faces Army (27-16) in the first round, and No. 2 seed Mississippi State (42-25) which will play Tennessee-Chattanooga (46-25).

The Utes are led by Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and Championship MVP Kristin Arbogast, a junior pitcher from Eugene, Oregon. Arbogast posted a 37-17 record and 2.74 ERA with 54 starts in 59 appearances this season. She has struck out 199 batters and held opponent hitters to a .270 average. The Utes¹ supporting cast features five All-Mountain West Conference selections and five all-tournament team honorees. Nikki Hayhurst was named the Freshman of the Year and made both the all-conference and all-tournament teams as the designated player. Senior catcher Sunny Smith and senior outfielder Jenny Monson made both the all-conference and all-tournament squads. Sophomore outfielder Molly McLean was named to the all-conference team, while sophomore third baseman Lindsey Trevis made the all-tournament squad.

The Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year, Mona Stevens, is in her fourth season with the Utes and brings a 147-87 record into the NCAA tournament.

The complete NCAA Division I Softball selection release is available on the official NCAA website at NCAAchampionships.com.