1981 AIAW slow-pitch softball tournament

The 1981 AIAW women's college slow-pitch softball championship was held near Raleigh, North Carolina on May 14–16. Thirteen college softball teams met in the first AIAW national slow-pitch softball tournament. The AIAW conducted only two slow-pitch softball national championships, in 1981 and 1982, as the NCAA sought to and eventually did vanquish the women's collegiate athletic organization.

Teams

[edit]

The double-elimination tournament included 13 teams seeded in the following order:

  1. Florida State
  2. East Carolina
  3. North Carolina
  4. South Florida
  5. North Carolina State
  6. Auburn
  7. Florida
  8. Wilmington College (Ohio)
  9. Western Carolina
  10. Northern Kentucky
  11. Georgia Southern
  12. Morehead State (Kentucky)
  13. Lakeland Community College (Ohio)

Top-seeded Florida State was the victor in the tournament, winning all four of its games. The team eliminated North Carolina in the final, 4-1, and placed five players on the all-tournament team. Darby Cottle was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.[1] The Lady Seminoles won 16 consecutive games to finish out the season with a record of 54-7. JoAnne Graf, who went on to have a legendary career at the university, coached the team to Florida State's first softball national championship.[2]

Bracket

[edit]
Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper round 3Upper finalFinal
Florida State13
Western Carolina9
Wilmington College2
Western Carolina5
Florida State4
North Carolina State3
North Carolina State2
Morehead State0
North Carolina State3
Lakeland College2
South Florida1
Lakeland College6
Florida State12[a]
East Carolina3
East Carolina11
Florida7
Florida8
Northern Kentucky2
East Carolina4
North Carolina1
North Carolina5Florida State4–
Georgia Southern1North Carolina1–
Auburn5
Georgia Southern12
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower round 3Lower round 4Lower round 5Lower final
Georgia Southern4
North Carolina State8
South Florida14South Florida6
South Florida2South Florida1
Morehead State3
Florida1East Carolina2
Florida4
North Carolina State4North Carolina3
Wilmington College1
North Carolina14
Lakeland College0
North Carolina1
Auburn9
Auburn1Auburn0
Northern Kentucky0
Western Carolina5
Northern Kentucky6

Source:[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ 8 innings

Ranking

[edit]
Place School WCWS Record
1st Florida State 4-0
2nd North Carolina 4-2
3rd East Carolina 2-2
4th North Carolina State 3-2
5th South Florida 3-2
Auburn 2-2
7th Florida 2-2
Northern Kentucky 2-2
9th Georgia Southern 1-2
Western Carolina 1-2
Lakeland Community College 1-2
12th Morehead State 0-2
Wilmington College 0-2

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Softball History Website". Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Lady Seminoles claim national softball crown". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. May 17, 1981. p. 1F. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lady Cats Set to Play National AIAW Slo-Pitch Softball Finals". The Sylva Herald and Ruralite. Sylva, North Carolina. May 14, 1981. p. 8. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "Lady Seminoles gain AIAW softball final". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. May 16, 1981. p. 2C. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "NCAA Women's Softball". Retrieved March 8, 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1981_AIAW_slow-pitch_softball_tournament&oldid=1229131529"