USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll
Tennessee’s stay at No. 2 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll only lasted a week as the Lady Vols returned to the No. 1 position they occupied for 11 straight weeks.
UT, who established the second-longest consecutive run at No. 1 with its 11-week stay, dropped the top position to Alabama last week, but it used a two-game sweep of the Crimson Tide in the regular-season finale to re-claim the No. 1 ranking. The Tide returned to second after earning its first No. 1 ranking in school history.
Despite shifting throughout the top five, Oklahoma remained steady at No. 3. Arizona crept back toward the top spot as the Wildcats moved up one place to fourth after LSU dropped two games to Georgia and slipped to fifth.
Northwestern moved up one place to No. 6, switching spots with Texas A&M. The Aggies landed just ahead of Big 12 foe Baylor, who moved up two places to eighth after claiming the program’s first Big 12 regular season title.
The Bears made the two-spot leap as Michigan dropped two notches to 10th. Arizona State remained at No. 9, while Pac-10 opponent Washington stayed in the No. 11 spot.
Hawaii moved up one place to 12th after UCLA dropped a pair of games on the week and slipped one place to 13th. DePaul, Oregon State and Stanford remained at Nos. 14, 15 and 16, respectively.
Georgia Tech moved up two notches to No. 17, taking the spot from Texas after the Longhorns slipped one place to No. 18. The Yellow Jackets and Florida surrounded UT after the Gators jumped up one place.
Oregon slipped two places to No. 20, just ahead of ACC regular-season champion Virginia Tech who leaped three places to 21st. Illinois State followed at No. 22, while Louisiana-Lafayette dropped to 23rd after sitting in a tie with the Redbirds a week ago. Southern Illinois fell three spots to 24th after dropping a weekend series to Wichita State.
A pair of newcomers tied for the 25th spot this week. N.C. State, who finished second in the ACC, moved back into the poll, while Ohio State, who claimed its first Big Ten regular-season title in 17 seasons, landed in the poll for the first time since Apr. 8, 2003.
