March 1, 2005

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.-The Baylor softball team entered the top 10 for the first time in school history as the Lady Bears climbed one spot to No. 10 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 released Tuesday. Baylor enters the top 10 after going 3-1 at the Compass Bank Invitational, improving to 20-3 on the year and becoming the nation's first 20-win team.

In a week that saw seven of the top 10 teams suffer a loss, the Arizona Wildcats, who handed Baylor's lone loss last week, remained at No. 1 for a fourth consecutive week with a perfect 13-0 record. The Wildcats are the only undefeated team in this week's top 25.

The Lady Bears are ranked second among Big 12 Conference schools as Texas (No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 11), Oklahoma (No. 12), Nebraska (No. 16) and Missouri (No. 22) join Baylor in this week's poll.

Baylor is the only team new to the top 10 this week as the Lady Bears replace LSU, who dropped three spots to No. 13 after two losses last week.

The No. 10 Baylor softball team will return to action on Wednesday, March 2, when the Lady Bears face Oklahoma Christian in a single game at 5:00 p.m.

ESPN.Com/USA SOFTBALL COLLEGIATE TOP 25
1. Arizona (18)
2. California (2)
3. Stanford
4. Texas
5. UCLA
6. Tennessee
7. Louisiana Lafayette
8. Michigan
9. Alabama
10. Baylor
11. Texas A&M
12. Oklahoma
13. LSU
14. Washington
15. Florida
16. Nebraska
17. Georgia
18. Fresno State
19. Georgia Tech
20. Oregon State
21. Florida State
22. Missouri
23. Northwestern
24. Pacific
25. Long Beach State

Others receiving votes: Oregon (28), Iowa (26), BYU (18), Arizona State (17), Creighton (12), Southern Illinois (5), Oklahoma State (5), North Carolina (3), Florida International (2), Virginia Tech (1), Syracuse (1), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (1).