Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball

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Tennessee Volunteers softball
Founded1996
UniversityUniversity of Tennessee
Athletic directorPhillip Fulmer
Head coachRalph and Karen Weekly (15th season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationKnoxville, TN
Home stadiumSherri Parker Lee Stadium (Capacity: 1,614 Record: 2,549)
NicknameVolunteers
ColorsOrange and white[1]
   
NCAA WCWS runner-up
2007, 2013
NCAA WCWS appearances
2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
NCAA Tournament appearances
1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Conference Tournament championships
2006, 2011
Regular Season Conference championships
2007

The Tennessee Volunteers softball team represents the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA Division I women's softball competition. Coached by husband and wife Ralph and Karen Weekly, the team has become a consistently top tier team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Along with all other UT women's sports teams, it used the nickname "Lady Volunteers" (or the short form "Lady Vols") until the 2015–16 school year, when the school dropped the "Lady" prefix from the nicknames of all women's teams except in basketball.[2] In September 2017, the “Lady Volunteers” name was reinstated for all women’s athletics teams. [3]

Overview

Volunteers softball legend Monica Abbott

The then-Lady Vols first fielded a softball team in 1996 with Jim Beitia as head coach. In 2002, Tennessee brought in the husband and wife team of Ralph and Karen Weekly as co-head coaches. Since 2004, the team has reached the NCAA Tournament every year and the Women's College World Series five times. In 2007 the Lady Vols managed to make history and set the benchmark by which all future Lady Vol teams will be compared as the squad finished 63–8 for the programs best winning percentage of .887. A third-straight trip to the WCWS ended with Tennessee becoming the first SEC program to reach the best-of-three NCAA Championship Series, before falling to champion Arizona. That year the team managed two wins over No. 4 Arizona and triumphs against No. 6 Northwestern and No. 7 Texas A&M which led to Tennessee spending a record 11 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, becoming the first SEC school to reach the lofty top ranking in the league's softball history.[4]

Sherri Parker Lee Stadium

The Sherri Parker Lee Stadium is the home venue for the Vols. Opened in 2008, the stadium can seat 1,614 spectators as well as three press boxes, four VIP suites and an observation deck for television crews.[5] In addition to Tennessee home games, Lee Stadium has hosted the SEC Softball Tournament (in 2009 and 2017) and exhibition games involving the US national team (2008) and the Dutch national team (2011).

Sherri Parker Lee Stadium

Situated next to the stadium, the Volunteers clubhouse is approximately 7,000 square feet (650 m2) and features a team room, whirlpools, training area and conference room. Its other amenities include a kitchen, 30-seat theater, trophy room and a recreation room with a big-screen television, pool table, video games and comfortable furniture for the student-athletes. The locker room is also equipped with full laundry facilities, a mud room, 24 large lockers, shower and bathroom facilities. Also next to the clubhouse is one of the largest batting cage facilities in the nation. It contains four 16-by-60-foot (18 m) cages which are designed to provide plenty of room to walk or film between each. All four cages are covered from the weather and possess high-quality Astroturf. [6]

In 2011 the field was recognized as the NFCA/Stabilizer Solutions Field of the Year.[7]

In 2017 general admission outfield bleachers were added to the stadium.

Head coaches

Since Ralph and Karen Weekly took over the then-Lady Vols they have guided the program from a team struggling to make a name for themselves in the SEC to a team that has garnered world recognition for their success. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has chosen to honor Ralph for his efforts throughout a distinguished, three-decade career, that has spanned from his time in the U.S. Air Force through stops at Pacific Lutheran, Chattanooga and now Tennessee, with a 2011 induction into the NFCA Hall of Fame. Voted in by his coaching peers and with the organization consisting of just 49 previous inclusions, Weekly will join Ithaca Head Coach Deb Pallozzi in ceremonies to be held at the annual NFCA Convention. Ralph and Karen have taken the Vols to their first Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships as well as the team's first Women's College World Series appearance. Their over-all record at Tennessee is 465–150–2 and they have recorded the programs most wins in a season with 67, a then national record in the NCAA. Ralph and Karen have also authored a book, High-Scoring Softball.[8] [4]

Year-by-year results

Season
Overall
Record 		SEC
Record 		NCAA
Tournament Results 		SEC
Tournament Results 		SEC Regular
Season Finish
1996 54–14[10] – – – –
1997 45–22[10] 20–7 – L 0–2 vs. Auburn
L 1–2 vs. Florida		 2nd Eastern
1998 37–31[10] 13–15 – L 1–2 vs. Alabama
W 2–1 vs. Arkansas
L 0–8 vs. No. 12 LSU		 3rd Eastern
1999 44–27[10] 17–11 L 1–12 vs. Cal State Fullerton
L 1–12 vs. Washington		 W 11–3 vs. Florida
W 4–2 vs. Mississippi State
L 2–3 vs. Arkansas
L 1–3 vs. Arkansas		 Tied 1st Eastern
2000 29–34[10] 5–22 – – 5th Eastern
2001 24–35[10] 9–20 – – 5th Eastern
2002 35–25–1[10] 8–17 – – 4th Eastern
2003 45–25[10] 14–15 – L 0–1 vs. No. 12 LSU
W 4–3 vs. Auburn
W 5–3 vs. No. 7 Georgia
L 4–3 vs. No. 16 Alabama		 4th Eastern
2004 55–16[10] 20–8 W 10–0 vs. Illinois-Chicago
L 0–4 vs. Oregon State
W 4–0 vs. DePaul
L 5–6 vs. Illinois-Chicago		 L 2–8 vs. Mississippi State
W 7–5 vs. No. 23 Florida
W 1–0 vs. No. 15 Alabama
L 0–4 vs. No. 10 Georgia		 1st Eastern
2005 67–15[10] 20–8 W 9–0 vs. Miami (Ohio)
W 4–0 vs. College of Charleston
W 2–0 vs. College of Charleston
W 2–0 vs. No. 6 Stanford
W 6–0 vs. No. 6 Stanford
*W 1–0 vs. No. 3 Arizona
*L 1–3 vs. No. 7 UCLA
*W 4–0 vs. No. 12 Alabama
*W 2–0 vs. No. 1 Michigan
*L 2–3 vs. No. 1 Michigan		 W 4–0 vs. No. 23 Florida
L 3–5 vs. No. 8 Georgia
W 3–0 vs. Mississippi State
W 3–1 vs. No. 9 Alabama
L 0–3 vs. No. 9 Alabama		 2nd Eastern
2006 61–12[10] 21–9 W 6–4 vs. Tennessee Tech
W 9–1 vs. Virginia Tech
W 8–1 vs. Louisville
W 5–3 vs. No. 9 Michigan
L 1–5 vs. No. 9 Michigan
W 1–0 vs. No. 9 Michigan
*W 4–3 vs. No. 1 UCLA
*L 0–2 vs. No. 4 Northwestern
*W 3–1 vs. No. 6 Arizona State
*W 1–0 vs. No. 2 Arizona
*L 0–6 vs. No. 2 Arizona		 W 6–0 vs. Florida
W 2–1 vs. No. 4 Alabama
W 3–0 vs. No. 12 LSU
SEC Tournament Champions		 2nd Eastern
2007 63–8[10] 23–4 W 8–0 vs. Furman
W 2–0 vs. North Carolina
W 7–0 vs. Winthrop
W 9–0 vs. Hawaii
L 6–9 vs. Hawaii
W 7–1 vs. Hawaii
*W 2–0 vs. No. 4 Texas A&M
*W 1–0 vs. No. 1 Arizona
*W 3–0 vs. No. 2 Northwestern
*W 3–0 vs. No. 1 Arizona
*L 0–1 vs. No. 1 Arizona
*L 0–5 vs. No. 1 Arizona		 W 6–0 vs. Ole Miss
L 0–1 vs. No. 19 Florida		 SEC Champions
2008 50–16[10] 14–2 W 3–0 vs. Winthrop
L 0–4 vs. Virginia Tech
W 8–1 vs. Louisville
W 7–1 vs. Virginia Tech
L 2–4 vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech		 W 5–2 vs. No. 25 Georgia
L 1–6 vs. No. 1 Florida		 2nd Eastern
2009 40–18–1[10] 12–12–1 W 4–3 vs. James Madison
W 5–2 vs. Nebraska
L 1–6 vs. Jacksonville State
L 1–2 vs. Jacksonville State		 W 6–5 vs. No. 20 LSU
L 3–11 vs. No. 1 Florida		 3rd Eastern
2010 49–15[10] 17–8 W 5–0 vs. Ball State
W 11–2 vs. Virginia
W 3–1 vs. Louisville
W 5–0 vs. No. 2 Michigan
W 4–3 vs. No. 2 Michigan
*W 9–0 vs. No. 10 Arizona
*W 7–5 vs. No. 6 Georgia
*L 0–8 vs. No. 10 Arizona
*L 2–5 vs. No. 10 Arizona		 W 6–4 vs. No. 9 Georgia
L 3–4 vs. No. 4 Alabama		 3rd Eastern
2011 49–12[10] 20–8 W 8–0 vs. Liberty
L 1–6 vs. Oklahoma State
W 7–0 vs. No. 19 Georgia Tech
L 5–6 vs. Oklahoma State		 W 4–1 vs. No. 20 Kentucky
W 2–1 vs. No. 24 Auburn
W 6–5 vs. No. 9 Georgia
SEC Tournament Champions		 2nd Eastern
2012 52–14[11] 22–6 L 0–1 vs. Miami (OH)
W 8–0 vs. UAB
W 8–0 vs. Miami (OH)
W 2–1 vs. Virginia Tech
W 10–2 vs. Virginia Tech
W 3–2 vs. No. 10 Georgia
L 0–1 vs. No. 10 Georgia
W 2–1 vs. No. 10 Georgia
*L 3–5 vs. No. 2 Alabama
*L 1–3 vs. No. 11 Oregon		 W 2–1 vs. Auburn
L 1–2 vs. No. 7 Florida		 1st Eastern
2013 52–12[12] 16–6 W 9–0 vs. Longwood
W 1–0 vs. NC State
W 7–0 vs. NC State
W 3–2 vs. No. 10 Alabama
W 5–3 vs. No. 10 Alabama
*W 9–2 vs. No. 2 Florida
*W 1–0 vs. No. 11 Washington
*W 2–1 vs. No. 5 Texas
*L 3–5 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma
*L 0–4 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma		 W 5–0 vs. South Carolina
L 0–3 vs. No. 8 Missouri		 1st Eastern
2014 46–12[13] 17–8 W 12–3 vs. Charleston Southern
W 12–0 vs. Virginia Tech
W 2–0 vs. Lipscomb
L 1–8 vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
W 4–0 vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
L 2–8 vs. No. 7 Oklahoma		 L 2–0 vs. No. 15 Kentucky 2nd SEC
2015 47–17[14] 15–9 W 2–0 vs. Longwood
W 9–1 vs. Utah
W 3–1 vs. Utah
W 3–2 vs. No. 9 Florida St.
L 1–6 vs. No. 9 Florida St.
W 2–1 vs. No. 9 Florida St.
*L 2–7 vs. No. 1 Florida
*L 2–4 vs. No. 4 Auburn		 W 5–4 vs. No. 24 Kentucky
W 7–5 vs. No. 8 LSU
W 2–1 vs. No. 1 Florida
L 5–6 vs. No. 5 Auburn		 5th SEC
2016 43–16[15] 16–7 W 10–2 vs. Marist
L 0–4 vs. Arizona
W 10–1 vs. Ohio St.
L 3–4 vs. Arizona		 W 5–1 vs. South Carolina
L 1–3 vs. No. 13 LSU		 3rd SEC
2017 48–12[16] 16–7 W 5-0 vs. Longwood
W 7–3 vs. USC Upstate
W 3-0 vs. Longwood
W 8-1 vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
L 5-6 vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
L 3-5 vs. No. 11 Texas A&M		 L 2-6 vs. No. 21 LSU 3rd SEC
2018 48–14[17] 14-10 W 9-0 vs. Monmouth
W 12–3 vs. James Madison
W 5-1 vs. Ohio
L 3-4 vs. No. 7 Georgia
L 1-2 vs. No. 7 Georgia		 W 1-0 vs. No. 11 LSU
L 2-10 vs. No. 4 Florida		 4th SEC
*Women's College World Series

All-Americans

Four time All- American Monica Abbott

The Tennessee Volunteers softball program has garnered 36 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American honors.

  • Monica Abbott – 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Tonya Callahan – 2006, 2007, and 2008 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Raven Chavanne – 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 NFCA All-American[18][19]
  • India Chiles – 2007 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Kat Dotson – 2010 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Kristi Durant – 2005 and 2006 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Sarah Fekete – 2005 and 2006 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Rainey Gaffin – 2015, 2016 NFCA All-American
  • Lauren Gibson – 2011, 2012 and 2013 NFCA All-American[19]
  • Meghan Gregg – 2017 and 2018 NFCA All-American[20]
  • Tiffany Huff – 2009 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Aubrey Leach – 2018 NFCA All-American[21]
  • Ellen Renfroe – 2011 and 2012 NFCA All-American[19]
  • Lindsay Schutzler – 2005, 2006, and 2007 NFCA All-American[18]
  • Madison Shipman – 2012, 2013, and 2014 NFCA All-American[22]

National Awards

  • USA Softball National Collegiate Player of The Year[23]
Monica Abbott – 2007
  • Honda Sports Award for Softball[24]
Monica Abbott – 2007
Madison Shipman – 2014
  • NFCA Golden Shoe Award[25]
Raven Chavanne – 2013
  • Senior Class Award
Madison Shipman – 2014[26]

SEC Awards

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