FSU holds on to No. 1 in NFCA poll; Arizona slides up to No. 2

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Extending its winning streak to 24 games and undefeated streak to 29, Florida State expanded its hold on the No. 1 ranking in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. 

The Seminoles (38-1-1) garnered 21 first-place votes and 785 points to finish 30 points ahead of new No. 2 Arizona, which picked up seven first-place votes and 755 points. FSU swept an ACC road series at Syracuse, knocking off the Orange in three games (18-9, 13-4, 6-5).

RANKINGS: Updated NFCA top 25

The Wildcats (40-1) leapfrogged Florida and Oregon for the No. 2 ranking. They dismantled Stanford over the weekend in Pac-12 play, outscoring the Cardinal 41-2 (20-1, 12-0, 9-1) to become the first 40-game winner in Division I.

The third-ranked Gators stayed put after knocking off North Florida (5-1) and taking the first two contests from Georgia (5-0, 4-1) in SEC play. Picking up three first-place votes and 749 points, UF has won seven straight and 28 of its last 29.

The Ducks (36-2) matched the Division I record for best start to a season (35-0) with two mid-week wins over Portland State. The program that Oregon tied, UCLA, was its weekend opponent. The then-No. 9 Bruins (28-10) halted the streak with a 2-0 victory on April 7 and followed that up with a nine-inning 1-0 triumph on April 8. The Ducks avoided the Pac-12 series sweep with a 11-4 game three-triumph. The wins for UCLA helped it inch up one position to No. 8. 

Texas A&M and Minnesota each advanced one spot after sporting undefeated weeks. The Aggies (35-3) registered four non-conference home wins over McNeese State (10-3) and Oklahoma State (9-2, 9-1, 7-0), while the Gophers (35-3) swept North Dakota (8-0, 12-0) in a mid-week doubleheader and Indiana (11-6, 10-2, 8-0) in Big Ten play.

.@FSU_Softball remains No. 1 in this week's @USATODAY NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll https://t.co/HJKjwlki4I pic.twitter.com/VmSKmiECae

— NFCA (@NFCAorg) April 11, 2017

Auburn fell to No. 7 after winning its SEC series against then-No. 21 Ole Miss. The Tigers (33-6) sandwiched two 3-1 wins around a 10-4 game-two loss. Following UCLA is No. 9 Alabama and No. 10 Oklahoma.

The Tide (35-7) went 3-1 which included a 2-1 SEC series win against then-No. 8 LSU, claiming games one (3-0) and three (4-2). The Sooners (35-7) won all four of their contests, defeating then-No. 25 Arkansas and taking care of business in Big 12 play against Texas, sweeping the series from the Longhorns (3-2, 3-1, 6-0). OU is the third program in the poll with a current 20-plus game winning streak, pushing its to 21 after the weekend sweep.

Missouri, which dropped two of three to Arkansas, fell out of the poll. 

The 2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through April 9.