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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Arizona Wildcat Softball was tabbed No. 13 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll, released Tuesday.
Arizona will begin the season where it ended last season - ranked 13th.
Defending champion Alabama is ranked No. 1 and received 25 of the 31 first-place votes. 2012 runner-up Oklahoma received five first-place votes and is preseason No. 2.
The Pac-12 occupies spots 3-through-5 with California, Arizona State and Oregon, respectively. Overall, seven of the nine Pac-12 teams are featured in the preseason poll including Arizona (13), Washington (16), UCLA (19) and Stanford (21).
In addition to the seven Pac-12 opponents the Wildcats will also face 2nd-ranked Oklahoma (twice), 10th-ranked LSU, 14th-ranked Florida, 15th-ranked Michigan. Additionally, UA will face Northwestern, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, all of which are receiving votes in the poll.
In total, 23 of Arizona's 56 games will be played against top-25 teams, including 12 top-10 squads.
Arizona begins its season Feb. 8 when it travels to Tempe for the Kajikawa Classic.
For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat Softball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com. Be sure to follow Arizona Softball on Twitter (@UA_Softball) and Facebook (ArizonaSoftball).
Rank Team 2012 Record Totals Final 2012 Poll
1 Alabama (25) 60-8 765 1
2 Oklahoma (5) 54-10 745 2
3 California (1) 58-7 704 3
4 Arizona State 53-11 684 4
5 Oregon 45-18 635 5
6 Tennessee 52-14 626 6
7 Texas 47-13 534 9
8 Missouri 47-14 496 11
9 Georgia 45-17 490 10
10 LSU 40-25 475 7
11 Louisiana Lafayette 53-6 429 12
12 USF 50-14 423 8
13 Arizona 38-19 406 13
14 Florida 48-11 342 18
15 Michigan 42-17 326 15
16 Washington 39-19 316 14
17 Texas A&M 41-18 296 19
18 Louisville 55-5 255 17
19 UCLA 36-20 216 20
20 Hofstra 42-15 203 16
21 Stanford 40-19 183 21
22 North Carolina 43-15 102 24
23 Hawai'i 44-9 89 22
24 Baylor 34-22 80 RV
25 Florida State 47-16 58 RV
