HITTER OF THE WEEK
ADRIE BOGAARS, SAINT LOUIS
Junior, 3B/C, LaVerne, Calif.
Bogaars has helped lead the Billikens to the best start in school history (8-1). This past week, she helped SLU to four wins at the Tennessee-Martin Tournament by batting .444 with a double, two home runs and four RBI. She scored three times, stole a base and was 3-for-4 in a win over Lipscomb.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
LINDSAY CHOUINARD, DE PAUL
Junior, RHP, Arvada, Colo.
Chouinard wins the Pitcher of the week award for the second time in three weeks after not allowing a run in 15 innings pitched at the UNLV Mini-Tournament this past weekend. She was credited with a pair of wins and a save in three appearances, striking out 10 and allowing just five hits. Chouinard's first appearance was a no-hitter against No. 11 Pacific on Feb. 23 in which she struck out seven and walked just one batter.





NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA (February 18)
For the third straight year, two Conference USA softball teams were ranked in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Top 25. DePaul is ranked 15th in the latest poll, while Southern Miss and Houston are receiving votes. Here's a look at the latest poll:

1. UCLA
2. Stanford
3. Arizona
4. Oklahoma
5. Louisiana State
6. Washington
7. California
8. Arizona State
9. Nebraska
10. Michigan
11. Oregon State
12. Pacific
13. Fresno State
14. Cal State Fullerton
15. DE PAUL
16. Iowa
17. Florida State
18. Alabama
19 Notre Dame
20. South Carolina
21. Florida Atlantic
22. Louisiana-Lafayette
23. Georgia
24. Mississippi State
25. Massachusetts
ARV:
SOUTHERN MISS
HOUSTON


WINNING BIG
Three different Conference USA teams have combined to post five wins over nationally-ranked opponents during the season's first month:

Feb. 2 Houston 5 (17) Southwest Texas 0
Feb. 3 Houston 9, (17) Southwest Texas 1
Feb. 8 DePaul 8, (4) LSU 4
Feb. 16 Louisville 4, (14) Notre Dame 3
Feb. 23 DePaul 2, (12) Pacific 0

Last season, three different C-USA schools posted victories over nationally-ranked, non-conference teams, including three victories over top five teams. South Florida had three of the five wins over ranked opponents, while DePaul had two and Southern Miss had one. The 2-1 win by Southern Miss over No. 3 Oklahoma last February 25 marked the highest-ranked opponent that a Conference USA softball team has ever defeated.


JUST SAY NO
2002 C-USA NO-HITTERS
Feb. 23, 2002 Lindsay Chouinard, DPU vs. (12) Pacific
Feb. 23, 2002 Megan Stephenson, UAB vs. Centenary
*Perfect Games

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

CHARLOTTE (5-6, 0-0): The 49ers dropped a pair of doubleheaders last week, falling at No. 20 South Carolina on Feb. 20 and to Virginia Tech on Feb. 24. AUTUMN LAWSON went 4-for-6 with a double and an RBI against South Carolina. LEAH HESTON hit a three-run home run in game one vs. Virginia Tech, while STEPHANIE DUNLAP had three hits, including a pair of doubles and a triple, in the two games. The Niners doubleheader with Campbell, scheduled for this Wednesday, February 27, has been postponed until Wednesday, March 13.

DE PAUL (7-2, 0-0): The Blue Demons won three of four outings at the UNLV Mini-Tournament to raise their record to 7-2. The only loss was a 2-0 decision against No. 12 Pacific. DePaul pitchers allowed a total of 15 hits in the series, with LINDSAY CHOUINARD throwing the team's first no-hitter of the season in Saturday's 2-0 win over No. 12 Pacific. CHRISTINA DOUGLAS hit a two-run homer that proved to be the difference in a 3-1 win over UNLV. The Blue Demons return to action this weekend when they play five games at the University of Georgia Tournament in Athens, Ga.

EAST CAROLINA (6-5, 0-0): The Pirates posted a 4-2 record at the Hampton Inn Pirate Classic this past weekend. ECU opened with shutout victories over Delaware and Maryland-Baltimore County on Friday. Newcomer NICOLE BACON earned all-tournament honors after picking up two wins in three appearances. Included was a complete-game effort against Delaware on Feb. 22 in which she struck out 12 batters and walked just one. Bacon has a team-high four wins on the season. ANGELA MANZO went 6-for-8 with two doubles and four runs scored in Sunday's wins over Fairfield and Maryland-Baltimore County.

HOUSTON (14-7, 0-0) The Cougars won their opening game at the Lafayette Classics Tournament this past weekend, defeating Northwestern (La.) State, 6-0 before dropping the final four games, including two to nationally-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette. Sophomore pitcher JAMIE FALCO threw a two-hit shutout, striking out seven to earn her sixth win of the season. Falco, who pitched in four of the five games on the weekend, earned a spot on the all-tournament team along with RAY FERRERIS and RIANE NETARDUS. Ferreris went 6-for-14 and knocked in two runs batting cleanup for the Cougars, while Netardus had seven hits on the weekend, hitting safely in each game.

LOUISVILLE (4-8, 0-0): The Cardinals split four games at the Tennessee Tech Softball Classic, defeating Bowling Green and Tennessee Tech, while falling to Virginia and Middle Tennessee. KEOLA CALDERON was U of L's top hitter on the weekend, going 7-for-13 with a double, a home run and five RBI. She was 4-for-4 in the win over Tennessee Tech with a double and a pair of RBI. Calderon has a team-high 12 hits and a team-best 11 RBI on the season. JESSICA RAK was credited with both of Louisville's wins over the weekend and has all four of the team's victories on the year. Freshman SARA BAUSHER leads the team in batting at .345 (10-for-29). The Cardinals have scored 24 runs in their four runs, compared to just 12 runs in their eight defeats.

SAINT LOUIS (8-1, 0-0): The Billikens are off to the best start in school history at 8-1 after posting four wins at the Tennessee-Martin Tournament this past weekend. Senior OF ERIN JEFFERY has tied the career hits record at SLU. She has matched the 143 hits recorded by Dawn Elser and Missy Keim and has the opportunity to break the mark this weekend at the Southeast Missouri State tournament. Jeffery set the single-season hits record last year with 61. HEATHER HUBERT picked up three wins last weekend. She went the distance in shuting out Tennessee-Martin, allowing just three hits and held Indiana State to just one earned run, striking out seven with no walks.



SOUTH FLORIDA (6-10-1, 0-0): Heavy rains forced the cancellation of much of the Holiday Inn Tournament in Tampa this past weekend, as the Bulls split the only two games that they played. USF opened up with a 9-0 win over Indiana that was called after six innings due to the slaughter rule, but fell to Seton Hall, 4-3, in the other game. COURTNEY LEWELLEN had a pair of RBI in each game, going 3-for-7 combined with two doubles, a walk and a run scored. NIKI TROWELL pitched in both games, picking up the win against Indiana. On the season, the true freshman is 6-4 in seven starts with a two complete games and a 1.87 ERA.

SOUTHERN MISS (5-6, 0-0): The Golden Eagles had a tough weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, going 1-4, with three losses to nationally-ranked teams. The shutout losses to Texas A&M, Oregon State and Notre Dame marked the first time since 1989 that a USM had been blanked in three straight outings. AMANDA BROWN hit her first home run of the season against Missouri, ending a four-game hitting drought. Preseason C-USA Pitcher of the Year FELECIA GONZALEZ returned to action last weekend after being out with a hand injury. She appeared in three games, picking up the win against Missouri by throwing a complete-game three-hitter with six strikeouts.

UAB (10-3, 0-0): The Blazers went 3-0 at home this past weekend, dominating their opponents by a combined score of 45-1. MEGAN STEPHENSON threw her first career no-hitter in a 9-0 win over Centenary on Saturday, striking out seven. It was the third no hitter in UAB's three-year history. KAI PAUL was 5-for-8 at the plate in the three outings, clubbing three doubles, a home run and seven RBI. She leads the team in doubles with six and in total bases with 23. Paul is batting .333 on the season. In Sunday's 25-0 win over Alabama A&M, the Blazers set new school records for (at-bats (40), doubles (9), runs (25), hits (26) and home runs (5).


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
F11 Kristen Glowacz OF Houston
F18 Leah Heston 3B Charlotte
F25 Adrie Bogaars 3B/C Saint Louis

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
F11 Lindsay Chouinard LHP DePaul
F18 Jessica Rak RHP Louisville
F25 Lindsay Chouinard LHP DePaul