HITTER OF THE WEEK
COURTNEY LEWELLEN, SOUTH FLORIDA
Senior, C, Seminole, Fla.
Lewellen batted .667 (10-for-15) in seven games last week, leading South Florida to victories in all seven games. She had a double, a home run and four RBI, while scoring five runs and walking three times. Lewellen had a hit in each of the first six games last week, including a 3-for-3 performance in a win over Hofstra.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
LEIGH ANN ELLIS, SOUTH FLORIDA
Senior, LHP, McCalla, Ala.
Ellis went 4-0 last week, posting 35 strikeouts and just three walks over 28 innings pitched. She recorded 16 strikeouts against Seton Hall (one shy of the school record) and notched back-to-back 10+ strikeout games. Ellis tossed three complete game victories and picked up the other win in relief against Maryland on Sunday.


NATIONAL POLLS

USA Today/NFCA Poll (Feb. 17)
In the most recent USA TODAY/NFCA Poll, DePaul is ranked No. 8. The Blue Demons ranking is the highest by a C-USA team since Southern Miss finished No. 6 in the final 2000 poll. Here's a look at the entire poll:

1. UCLA (19)
2. Arizona (1)
3. Nebraska
4. California
5. Washington
6. Texas (2)
7. Cal State Fullerton
8. DE PAUL
9. LSU
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida State
12. Stanford
13. Georgia
14. Arizona State
15. Michigan
16. South Carolina
17. Alabama
18. Oregon State
19. Texas A&M
20. Pacific
21. Ohio State
22. Fresno State
23. Notre Dame
24. Georgia Tech
25. Massachusetts
Oregon
ARV:
South Florida


BULLS ON A RAMPAGE
South Florida won all five of its games at the USF/Best Western Tournament this past weekend to increase its win streak to 10 games, the seventh-longest win streak in league history. The Bulls have outscored their opponents 57-14 during the streak, which began with a win over No. 8 Oklahoma.

MOTHER NATURE PLAYS A BIG ROLE
For the second straight weekend, rain and snow played a large part in softball action around Conference USA. Saint Louis had its season-opening tournament cancelled for the second straight week when Tennessee Tech called off its tourney. That tournament field also included Louisville, which has not played since Feb. 9. Charlotte, East Carolina and Houston all hosted tournaments that had to be adjusted and eventually reduced due to weather. DePaul and Southern Miss were only able to play three games instead of five at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. and UAB lost a game at the Compass Bank Invitational in Waco, Texas.

AN EARLY CONFERENCE CALL
C-USA's conference season will get its earliest start ever this coming weekend when East Carolina visits South Florida. March 1 will mark the earliest that a league series has been played in the league's four-year history.

ONE-RUN GAMES
Charlotte 1-3
DePaul 1-2
East Carolina 1-1
Houston 1-4
Louisville 0-1
Saint Louis 0-0
South Florida 4-1
Southern Miss 3-1
UAB 3-0

WINNING BIG
Three different Conference USA teams have posted wins over Top 20 teams, including three victories over top 10 squads. Last season, C-USA defeated six nationally-ranked non-conference foes, but just one was ranked in the Top 10 at the time: Here's a look at this season's ranked wins:

2003 RANKED NON-CONFERENCE WINS
Feb. 8 DePaul 4, (7) LSU 0
Feb. 9 South Florida 5, (8) Oklahoma 4
Feb. 14 UAB 6, (8) Oklahoma 5
Feb. 15 South Florida 5, (17) Notre Dame 4


AROUND THE HORN

CHARLOTTE (4-3, 0-0 in 2003): The 49ers went 2-1 at the First Pitch Classic over the weekend, posting a 10-0 win over Robert Morris and a 6-4 win over College of Charleston before dropping a 1-0 decision to Pittsburgh. SAM MOORE had a pair of hits vs. Robert Morris and then produced the game-winning triple against C of C. AUTUMN LAWSON hit a double and a home run and scored three times vs. Robert Morris. AMY MORSE struck out 10 Robert Morris batters over five innings to earn her second win of the season. BETSY THOMPSON was credited with the victory against College of Charleston.

DE PAUL (6-2, 0-0 in 2003): The No. 8 Blue Demons dropped two of three games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, falling both times to ranked opponents by one run. DePaul lost the first game to No. 14 Arizona State, 1-0, despite out-hitting them 5-3. The Demons also dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 21 Ohio State. DePaul closed out the rain-shortened tournament by defeating Liberty, 6-3. LIZ BOUCK was named to the All-Tournament Team at second base. She closed out the tournament with a 4-for-4 outing that included a stolen base. She hit safely in all three games and finished with six putouts and five assists in the field.

EAST CAROLINA (7-2, 0-0 in 2003): The Pirates won all four of their games at the Hampton Inn Pirate Classic this past weekend. East Carolina has outscored its opponents 39-11 in its seven victories. BRENTLY BRIDGEFORTH went 3-0 in the tournament, allowing just seven hits to the 58 batters that she faced. She allowed juts one run and struck out 11 and earned a spot on the All-Tournament team. KATE MANUSE also earned a spot on the all-tournament team after hitting a home run with four RBI and four runs scored.

HOUSTON (6-8, 0-0 in 2003): The Cougars dropped three of four games at the Houston Invitational this past weekend. UH dropped one-run games to Texas Tech and Kentucky and also fell to No. 25 Oregon before closing out the tournament with a 2-1 win over Texas-san Antonio. JAMIE FALCO picked up the victory against UTSA, evening her record at 3-3 on the season. She tossed her second complete game of the year, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight. Houston's pitching staff has recorded 97 strikeouts with just 21 walks. The unit has posted a 2.02 ERA, compared to 4.45 for its opponents. JEANNIE DAVIS leads the team in batting at .429. She is second on the team with five doubles and also has two homers and nine RBI.

LOUISVILLE (0-5, 0-0 in 2003): Rain forced the cancellation of the entire Tennessee Tech Tournament this past weekend. The Cardinals have not competed since taking part in the Chevron Paradise Classic Feb. 7-9, falling to nationally-ranked Washington, Hawaii, Oklahoma State and Santa Clara (twice). Louisville is scheduled to host Morehead State on Wednesday in what would be its first game action in 17 days. U of L hosts the annual Cardinal Spring Tournament this weekend, playing Kent State, Indiana, Iowa and Miami (Ohio).

SAINT LOUIS (24-27, 5-17 in 2002): Head coach Jim Molloy became the winningest softball coach at SLU last year with his 68th career victory, surpassing the previous mark of 67 by Vicki Schneider from 1978-1982. NICOLE BOHNENSTIEHL broke the single-season total bases record last year with 73, topping the previous record of 67 set in 2001 by Erin Jeffery. Bohnenstiehl (29) and ADRIE BOGAARS (25) surpassed the school's previous RBI record of 22 last season. SLU will attempt once again to open its season this weekend when it competes in the Austin Peay Tournament in Clarksvillle, Tenn. The Billikens first 10 games this season have been cancelled due to inclement weather.

SOUTH FLORIDA (16-4, 0-0 in 2003): The Bulls increased their win streak to 10 games by winning all five games at the USF/Best Western Tournament. USF, which is receiving votes in the latest NFCA Coaches Poll, has outscored its opponents 57-14 during the winning streak. KRISTA HOLLE set a new school record by getting hits in eight consecutive at-bats during the USF/Best Western Tournament. COURTNEY LEWELLEN became just the fourth player in school history to reach 100 career RBI. She has 10 hits in her last 15 at-bats over seven games. LEIGH ANN ELLIS struck out 35 batters in four appearances last week, including 16 vs. Seton Hall. The 16 strikeouts were just one shy of the USF school record. On the season, Ellis has 75 strikeouts in 12 appearances.

SOUTHERN MISS (5-6, 0-0 in 2003): The Golden Eagles are on a three-game losing streak, experiencing three-consecutive shutouts at the NFCA Leadoff Classic this past weekend. No. 3 Nebraska (5-0), No. 12 Stanford (2-0) and North Carolina (1-0) blanked Southern Miss at the Columbus, Ga., tournament. Junior RHP JESSICA HOLAWAY pitched her best performance of the season against Southeastern Louisiana, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, recording her sixth shutout as a Golden Eagle. She gave up two hits and one walk, while striking out eight. Senior OF AMANDA BROWN leads Southern Miss with a .357 batting average on the season.

UAB (8-6, 0-0 in 2003): UAB went 2-3 at the Compass bank Invitational in Waco, Texas over the weekend. The Blazers opened the tournament with wins over Louisiana Tech and Tulsa and closed it by losing to those two teams. In between they dropped a decision to Baylor. Senior RHP KERRI FOSTER has been credited with five of UAB's eight victories this season. On Sunday she picked up just her second loss of the year. BETH MULLINS had a double and a home run in the 8-1 win over Louisiana Tech on Friday.

2003 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The 2003 Conference USA Softball Tournament is scheduled for May 8-10 in Houston, Texas. The University of Houston will serve as the host institution for the event with all games being played at the Houston Softball Stadium.

The top six finishers in the regular season standings will compete in the double-elimination tournament, with the champion receiving the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The championship game on May 10 will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network.


PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Each Monday during the season Conference USA names a Hitter of the Week and a Pitcher of the Week. Here's a look at this season's winners:

HITTER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 10 Courtney Lewellen C South Florida
Feb. 17 Kristen Glowacz SS/OF Houston
Feb. 24 Courtney Lewellen C South Florida

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 10 Lindsay Chouinard LHP DePaul
Feb. 17 Kerri Foster RHP UAB
Feb. 24 Leigh Ann Ellis LHP South Florida