Pac-12 Conference

PAC-12 CONFERENCE of the 31 championship games series played have included two Pac-12 teams. Most recently, the Pac-12 has been led by strong pitchers like Washington's Danielle Lawrie who under the leadership of head coach Heather Tarr, led Washington to its first NCAA softball title in 2009. Lawrie set the Pac-12 career strikeout record in 2010 and is now a star on the Canadian National Team. In 2010, UCLA made a run to the NCAA title, defeating Pac-12 rival Arizona in the final, behind the hitting and pitching of the dynamic Megan Langenfeld, the 2010 Pac-10 Player of the Year. 2010-11 was a landmark year for the Conference as it celebrated 25 years of women's athletics. Since expanding to add 10 women's sports in 1986-87, the Conference has been the leader of excellence in women's athletics, winning more NCAA titles than any other conference in the first 25 years. Pac-10 teams won 123 women's national titles, 106 coming in the last 25 years, easily outdistancing the SEC, was was second on the list with 74. In 1993, the Pac-10 added women's soccer, for a total of 11 total women's sports sponsored by the Pac-10. Since the NCAA began conducting women's championships 31 years ago Pac-12 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single season on 22 occasions. Pac-12 institutions have dominated a number of sports, winning 23 softball titles, 14 of the last 23 trophies in golf, and 13 in swimming and diving. There is arguably no sport that represents the Pac12's prowess in women's sports better than softball. The Conference has won 23 or 31 NCAA softball titles, more than any other Conference in the country. UCLA leads the way with 10 titles, ARIZONA has captured eight, and ARIZONA STATE, CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON each have one title a piece. All eight Pac-12 teams have made at least one NCAA Women's College World Series appearance, as 11 While some schools have supported softball programs since the AIAW years, official Pac-12 play did not begin until 1987 with six schools participating. Stanford and Washington added programs and joined the league in 1993. Conference teams have consistently been at the top of the polls and in the WCWS. UCLA and Arizona dominated the 1990's and have battled for the league and national titles nearly every year. They dynamic softball history of the Pac-12, with legendary coaches and players alike, will continue to carry Pac-12 softball as we embark on the next 25 years of women's athletics. No other conference in the country can claim the domination in one sport like the Pac-12 can in softball, winning 23 or 31 NCAA titles. And it is with all this history, legacy and heritage that Pac-12 teams continue to attract the strongest softball athletes in the nation, with the passion and drive to continue the Pac-12's unprecedented softball success. Pac-12 schools have produced 16 Honda Award winners and over 200 All-Americans. These standout players include Dot Richardson, Yvonne Guitierrez, Jenny Dalton, Gillian Boxx, Sara Pickering, Alison McCutcheon and Stacey Nuveman; Pitchers Jennie Finch, Lisa Fernandez, Michele Granger, Nancy Evans, Danielle Lawrie, Lisa Longaker and Susie Parra. In addition, Leah Braatz of Arizona was named the NFCA Catcher of the Year in 1997 and 1998. Stacey Nuveman won the award in 1999, 2001 and 2002, and Washington All-American Kristen Rivera won the honor in 2005. The Pac-12 in heavy with legendary coaches who's influence on the sport can be felt even today - from Sue Enquist of UCLA to Arizona's Mike Candrea to Arizona State's Clint Myers. Likewise, the new generation of top Pac-12 coaches have made their marks early int heir careers, with former players Heather Tarr of Washington and Kelly Inouye-Perez of UCLA winning the 2009 and 2010 NCAA titles, respectively. Enquist, a four-year letterman as a player for the Bruins, sparked UCLA to its first national championship, an AIAW title in 1978. After graduation, Enquist spend just one season away from Westwood, returning in 1980 as an assistant coach and later elevated to co-head coach in 1989. As either a co-head coach or head coach from 1989-2006, she has led the Bruins to six national titles, finishing her career with a record of 887-175-1 and an .834 winning percentage, the best in the history of NCAA softball. Dot Richardson, UCLA 1981-83 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Arizona's Mike Candrea has carried the torch of the Pac-12 softball beyond the collegiate walls, as the head coach for Team USA. In the four summer games the included softball from 1996-2008, the Pac-12 has produced 65 Olympians. Candrea has accumulated a multitude of accolades throughout the years, from 10 Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors to 19 league, regional and national coaching honors. He has produced five National Players of the Year award winners- pitcher Susie Parra (1994), infielder Jenny Dalton (1996), pitcher Nancy Evans (1998) and pitcher Jennie Finch (2001-2002). California 2002 NCAA Champions Jocelyn Forest and Candace Harper Enquist coached the likes of Bruin softball greats Lisa Fernandez, Dot Richardson and Gina Vecchione. Fernandez and Richardson were both star pitchers on Team USA. Vecchione became the first UCLA player to be inducted into the Amateur Softball Association of AMerica (ASA) Hall of Fame in 1997. 2013 PAC-12 SOFTBALL MEDIA GUIDE 5

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