2001 Women's College World Series
The 2001 Women's College World Series was held from May 24 until May 28, 2001, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This was Oklahoma City's 11th time to host the WCWS since first hosting the tournament in 1990.
Having advanced through a 32-team bracket, eight NCAA Division I college softball teams met at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium to decide the 2001 Softball National Championship:
- Arizona
- California
- Iowa
- LSU
- Michigan
- Oklahoma
- Stanford
- UCLA
Of these eight teams, only two of them had to win their respective regional tournaments on the road in order to advance to Oklahoma City: California, and Michigan.
The Championship Game featured Arizona and UCLA in their 6th* meeting in a Championship game. Arizona would go on to win their 6th National Title.
Arizona pitcher Jennie Finch was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
*: Including their 1995 Championship Game match up, even though UCLA was forced to vacate their 1995 title and participation by the NCAA.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record | Head Coach | WCWS Appearances† (Including 2001 WCWS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Pac-10 | 62-4 | Mike Candrea | 14 |
| California | Pac-10 | 53-16 | Diane Ninemire | 6 |
| Iowa | Big Ten | 47-11 | Gayle Blevins | 4 |
| LSU | SEC | 57-9 | Yvette Girouard | 1 |
| Michigan | Big Ten | 43-15-1 | Carol Hutchins | 5 |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 | 50-7 | Patty Gasso | 2 |
| Stanford | Pac-10 | 52-14-1 | John Rittman | 1 |
| UCLA | Pac-10 | 59-5 | Sue Enquist | 18* |
*: Excludes UCLA's vacated 1995 WCWS participation.
†: Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.
Bracket
2001 Women's College World Series Bracket
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | California | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 5* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oklahoma | 4* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oklahoma | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Stanford | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | California | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | California | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Stanford | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 1 | † | † | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 0 | † | † | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | LSU | 1* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Stanford | 2* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Stanford | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | LSU | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 6 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | LSU | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oklahoma | 1* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | LSU | 2* | |||||||||||||||||||
*: Denotes extra inning or run-ruled games (See Game Results below)
†: The Championship Series wasn't implemented until the 2005 WCWS
Game Results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/24/2001 | Game 01 | Arizona | 3 - 2 | California | |
| Game 02 | Oklahoma | 2 - 0 | Michigan | ||
| Game 03 | Stanford | 2 - 1 | LSU | 8 Innings | |
| Game 04 | UCLA | 2 - 0 | Iowa | ||
| 5/25/2001 | Game 05 | Arizona | 5 - 4 | Oklahoma | 8 Innings |
| Game 06 | UCLA | 5 - 0 | Stanford | ||
| 5/26/2001 | Game 07 | California | 5 - 2 | Michigan | Michigan eliminated |
| Game 08 | LSU | 2 - 1 | Iowa | Iowa eliminated | |
| Game 09 | Stanford | 1 - 0 | California | California eliminated | |
| Game 10 | LSU | 2 - 1 | Oklahoma | 13 Innings Oklahoma eliminated | |
| 5/27/2001 | Game 11 | Arizona | 1 - 0 | Stanford | Stanford eliminated If Necessary Game (Game 13) not necessary |
| Game 12 | UCLA | 6 - 0 | LSU | LSU eliminated If Necessary Game (Game 14) not necessary | |
| Game 13 | -- | -- | -- | Arizona / Stanford If Necessary Game (Game 13) not necessary | |
| Game 14 | -- | -- | -- | UCLA / LSU If Necessary Game (Game 14) not necessary | |
| 5/28/2001 | Championship Game | Arizona | 1 - 0 | UCLA | Arizona Wins 2001 WCWS |
Championship Game
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Lindsey Collins (C) | 1-3 RBI HR K |
| UCLA Bruins | Amanda Freed (P) | 1-3 BB |
| School | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Jennie Finch | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 26 |
| UCLA Bruins | Amanda Freed | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 29 |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team:
| Position | Player | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | Amanda Freed | Junior | UCLA |
| Britni Sneed | Junior | LSU | |
| Jennifer Stewart | Junior | Oklahoma | |
| Catcher | Lindsey Collins | Senior | Arizona |
| 1st Base | Tairia Mims | Sophomore | UCLA |
| 3rd Base | Toni Mascarenas | Senior | Arizona |
| Julie Wiese | Freshman | LSU | |
| Outfield | Nicole Giordano | Senior | Arizona |
| Jessica Mendoza | Junior | Stanford | |
| Christy Ring | Junior | Oklahoma | |
| Designated Hitter | Claire Sua | Freshman | UCLA |
| Most Outstanding Player | Jennie Finch | Junior | Arizona |