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It's the eve of the NCAA softball regionals for the majority of the teams still playing, and with that, the
Pac-12 announced its all-conference teams for softball
. Taking home
Pac-12 Softball Player of the Year accolades was Arizona State catcher Amber Freeman
. She hit .385 with 16 bombs and 58 RBI, slugging .745 on her way to becoming the Forks' first softball POTY in four years.
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Oregon is one of the few teams that begin regional play today against BYU, and no matter how it turns out this weekend and beyond,
Jessica Moore will end her career at Oregon as one of the most successful pitchers in school history
. She was also named the
Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year
, so add that feather to the cap of the woman who is the Quacks' all-time leader in wins, strikeouts and appearances.
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Stanford's got a bright future at first base:
Kayla Bonstrom was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
after hitting .414, good for third in the Conference. She is the first Card rookie to be named FOTY since Ashley Hansen in '09, and she turned out to have a
pretty good career
(understatement alert).
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The Beavs' softball squad heads to Mizzou for what figures to be a tough regional, and Lindsay Schnell tells us about
shortstop Liz Santana getting a second chance at Oregon State
so you can get to know her a little better. The Beavers begin regional play with Hofstra Friday.
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NCAA Men's Golf Regionals begin today, and
No. 1 Cal is at the Pullman Regional
looking for tournament win No. 11, which would set an unofficial NCAA record. The Golden Bears will have some conference company there, as the Men of Troy will be hitting the links in the Palouse as well.
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The Fayetteville Regional is where Colorado is heading. Making its first regional appearance since 2009, the
future for Colorado men's golf is trending upward
.
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The men's tennis NCAA Round of 16 also begins today, and UCLA, USC and Cal are all still alive from the Conference of Champions. For UCLA,
the top-seeded Bruins will be battling Vanderbilt on unfamiliar turf
. While it's the 37th straight year the Bruins have advanced this far, Urbana, Ill., is not a place that usually holds the NCAA championships (coach Billy Martin says they've never gone to Illinois for NCAAs in his 30 years of coaching).
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The Pac-12 handed out women's tennis awards yesterday, and
USC sophomore Sabrina Santamaria is the Pac-12 Women's Tennis Singles Player of the Year
. Her Women of Troy will take on Stanford in the Round of 16 Friday, also in Urbana.
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Sure, she has won 24 consecutive collegiate high jumping competitions, but
Arizona's Brigetta Barrett still has a higher ceiling
. She won silver at the 2012 London Olympics by clearing 6-8, but Arizona jumps coach Sheldon Blockburger thinks she can clear 6-9 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, provided there is no rain (which may or may not be asking a lot).
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Not quite to the NCAAs in this sport, but
Washington State women's rowing is headed to the Pac-12 Championships this Sunday
. Six of the seven Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 20, including the 17th-ranked Cougs.
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Softball and football complexes are opening up in July. A new basketball facility and tennis stadium are in the works.
With new facilities, the Utes are Pac-12 ready
. The author of this article, Tony Jones, is a very good follow on twitter, by the way (@Tjonessltrib).
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What would a roundup be without a post from the ESPN Pac-12 Blog? Especially when it's a feature about the
Washington secondary looking to build off of 2012
, a year that saw vast improvements across the board for the unit.