A head-to-head win over Florida State gave the Gators the No. 1 spot back after losing it in Week 2.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Coming off a 4-1 week, which included a victory over then-No. 1 Florida State, Florida returned to the top ranking in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Gators (40-3) are back in the No. 1 position since last holding it in the first poll of the regular season on Feb. 14, while the Seminoles have their eight-week run at No. 1 snapped.
.@GatorsSB returns to No. 1 in this week's @USATODAY NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll https://t.co/CoHbsk3oqW pic.twitter.com/tbLJwfxblD
— NFCA (@NFCAorg) April 18, 2017
UF collected 26 first-place votes and 791 points after posting shutout victories over then-No. 19 Georgia, the Seminoles and then No. 21 Kentucky. After completing the SEC sweep of the Bulldogs on April 10, the Gators walked off with a 1-0 win over FSU snapping the Seminoles’ 24-game winning and 29-game undefeated streaks. They capped off the week taking two of three from the Wildcats.
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The Seminoles (39-3-1) grabbed two first-place votes and 747 points and fell to No. 2. Playing out of conference, FSU also split a two-game series at South Carolina, taking Game 2 3-1 following a 7-2 loss a day earlier.
Arizona dropped to No. 3 as it lost its first Pac-12 series of the season at then-No. 14 Utah. The Wildcats (41-3), who received a first-place vote and 730 points, opened with a 5-1 win over the Utes (28-8) but were knocked off in the final two games of the series (6-3, 3-2), snapping a 26-game win streak. With the two wins, Utah (first-place vote) made a four-position leap to No. 10.
Alyssa Barrera's walkoff hit for @Utah_Softball is the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! #Pac12SB pic.twitter.com/uAumgEzKxs
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 15, 2017
With Oregon dropping to No. 6, Texas A&M and Minnesota slid up one spot each to No. 4 and 5, respectively. The Aggies (37-4) took two of three at No. 24 Arkansas (3-0, 3-2, 3-4), while the Gophers (38-3), who picked up two first-place votes, swept a home Big Ten series from Northwestern (6-2, 3-2, 8-0).
The Ducks (37-4) slipped to No. 6 as it dropped a home Pac-12 series to then-No. 12 Washington (2-4, 4-1, 3-5). With the two wins over the Ducks, the Huskies (31-10) returned to the top-10 at No. 9.
Auburn stayed put at No. 7 with three wins, including two over RV Missouri, while Oklahoma inched up one position to No. 9 after sweeping Kansas in Big 12 action on the road.
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Tennessee made the biggest move, leaping five spots to No. 11 and has won 18 straight games, the longest current winning streak in NCAA Division I. LSU dropped from No. 11 to No. 16 as it was swept on the road by then-No. 22 Mississippi. The Rebels (30-13) made their way into the top 20 at No. 18, following the sweep of the Tigers (32-12).
Making its first appearance of 2017 is Illinois at No. 25, replacing Big Ten foe Ohio State.
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 16.
