Two Conference USA teams (DePaul and South Florida) have been selected for the 2003 NCAA Tournament, which gets underway on Thursday, May 15; DePaul's junior pitcher LINDSAY CHOUINARD, who led the No. 4 Bue Demons to their third consecutive regular season title and second consecutive C-USA Tounament crown this season, is the league's Pitcher of the Year and Most Valuable Player; Catch up on all the latest C-USA news in this week's Softball Weekly Notebook.

NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA Poll (May 6)
In the most recent USA TODAY/NFCA Poll, DePaul is ranked No. 4, the highest ranking ever by a team in league history. South Florida also remained at No. 19 in the rankings. Here's a look at the entire poll:


1. Arizona (22)
2. UCLA
3. Texas
4. DE PAUL
5. Oklahoma
6. Cal-State Fullerton
7. Georgia
8. Washington
9. California
10. Florida State
11. Nebraska
12. LSU
13. Oklahoma State
14. Michigan
15. Arizona State
16. Alabama
17. Stanford
18. Oregon
19. SOUTH FLORIDA
20. South Carolina
21. La-Lafayette
22. Texas A&M
23. Iowa
24. Southern Illinois
25. Florida

DEPAUL CLAIMS BACK-TO-BACK C-USA TOURNEY TITLES
The DePaul Blue Demons clinched their second consecutive C-USA Tournament title, defeating the second-seeded South Florida Bulls, 7-0, in the championship game of the C-USA Softball Tournament at the Cougar Softball Stadium on May 10. LINDSAY CHOUINARD was named Tournament MVP, giving up only six earned runs and striking out 22 in 22 innings pitched during the series. Other All-Tournament honorees were DePaul's LIZ BOUCK and CHRISTINA DOUGLAS, Houston's KIM NESLONEY, Louisville's SARA BAUSHER and NICOLE SPARKS, Southern Miss' JESSICA HUERTA and South Florida's COURTNEY LEWELLEN, KATTRINA DOWD, LEIGH ANN ELLIS and HOLLY GROVES.

THE BIG DANCE
Two Conference USA teams have been selected for the 2003 NCAA Tournament, which gets underway on Thursday, May 15. Regular season champion DePaul (46-5-1) earned C-USA's automatic bid after capturing the league tournament on Saturday in Houston and have earned the No. 7 seed overall in this year's tourney. The No. 4 DePaul Blue Demons will be making their seventh straight NCAA appearance when they meet Horizon League champion Wright State at 11:30 a.m. CST on Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich. South Florida (53-17) returns to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence and will open play vs. Atlantic Sun Conference champion Florida Atlantic at 8:00 a.m. CST on Thursday in Gainesville, Fla.


POSTSEASON AWARDS
DePaul's junior pitcher LINDSAY CHOUINARD, who led the No. 4 Bue Demons to their third consecutive regular season title and second consecutive C-USA Tounament crown this season, is the league's Pitcher of the Year and Most Valuable Player. South Florida's KEN ERIKSEN was named C-USA Coach of the Year after guiding his program to a 51-15 overall record and second place regular season finish program. East Carolina's CHRISTINA SHERIDAN earned Freshman of the Year honors after ranking ranking first in walks (40) and on base percentage (.503), while placing sixth in batting average (.357). Other award winners:
All-Conference First Team
Arelis Ferreris, Houston
Kristen Glowacz, Houston
Liz Bouck, DePaul
Christine Sheridan, East Carolina
Saskia Roberson, DePaul
Holly Groves, South Florida
Shannon Nord, Louisville
Dana Kenney, DePaul
Lindsay Chouinard, DePaul
Leigh Ann Ellis, South Florida
Sarah Martz, DePaul

All-Conference Second Team
Courtney Lewellen, South Florida
Carmela Liwag, South Florida
Katy Kukman, DePaul
Nicole Sparks, Louisville
Keola Calderon, Louisville
Shelly Riker, South Florida
Heather Bell, Southern Miss
Renee Oursler, South Florida
Nicole Bohnenstiehl, Saint Louis
Jamie Falco, Houston
Nicole Bohnenstiehl, Saint Louis

All- Freshman Team
Sara Bandauski, DePaul
Krista Jessup, East Carolina
Christine Sheridan, East Carolina
Crystal Briscoe, Houston
Jaci Gonzalez, Houston
Michelle Vasquez, Louisville
Ashlee Heady, Saint Louis
Christie Chapman, South Florida
Kattrina Dowd, South Florida
Ashley Davis, Southern Miss
Amanda Byrne, UAB

Freshman of the Year: Christine Sheridan, East Carolina
Pitcher of the Year: Lindsay Chouinard, DePaul
Most Valuable Player: Lindsay Chouinard, DePaul
Coach of the Year: Ken Eriksen, South Florida


THE C-USA CONSTANT
For the fourth straight year, C-USA has had three or more schools with 30-plus wins. This year, DePaul (46-5-1-1), South Florida (53-17) and Houston (36-24) all reached the 30-win plateau this season.


AROUND THE HORN

CHARLOTTE (14-31, 4-19 in 2003): Charlotte closed the 2003 season on April 27, falling to UAB, 6-4. It marked the final game of their collegiate career for DANA BOWERS, AMY MORSE, MELANIE THEVENOTE and BETSY THOMPSON. There were a number of highlights for the team this season. Thompson broke the school's 12-year old record for career strikeouts, finishing her career with 415. Morse finished fourth on the all-time list with 328. Thevenote's nine home runs ranks tied for fourth on the career list, while newcomer SAM MOORE hit six homers, the second-most in a season.

DE PAUL (46-5-1, 22-2 in 2003): No. 4 DePaul captured its second consecutive C-USA Tournament title, defeating second-seeded South Florida, 7-0, in the championship game on Saturday. LINDSAY CHOUINARD earned her second consecutive MVP honors, pitching 22 innings in the tournament, while giving up only six earned runs and striking out 22. Chouinard also led the Blue Demons' offense, batting 5-for-8, with one home run, two runs scored and four RBI. She currently ranks second in the nation with a 0.61 ERA. DePaul will be making its eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship, when it faces Wright State in the opening round on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. (CST).

EAST CAROLINA (24-31, 5-19 in 2003): The Pirates closed out the 2003 season with a three-game sweep over Saint Louis last weekend. CHRISTINE SHERIDAN went 2-for-6 including a two-RBI double in the final game that gave East Carolina a 3-2 win in the final game. This season, Sheridan led East Carolina, notching a .355 batting average, a .522 slugging percentage, 39 walks and 30 RBI. In the pitching circle, BRENTLY BRIDGFORTH has posted a team-high 82 strikeouts in 141 innings pitched. The freshman notched her first no-hitter of the season against Liberty on April 23. She allowed only two walks in the game, and struck out three batters.

HOUSTON (36-24, 15-9 in 2003): The Cougars went 1-2 at the C-USA Tournament, defeating UAB, but falling to South Florida twice. Houston set the single-season league record for home runs in 2003, hitting 59 in 60 games this season. In addition to posting a program-best win mark, the five Cougars earned All-C-USA honors in 2003. The Cougars were led by 2003 First Team All-C-USA selections KRISTEN GLOWACZ and ARELIS FERRERIS. Glowacz finished the season with a conference-record tying mark of 14 home runs and a .699 slugging percentage while Ferreris hit .337 and notched a team-best 49 RBI in 2003. The Cougars, who finish the 2003 campaign with a 36-24 overall and 15-9 league record, will return all nine starters and 18 of 19 veterans next year.

LOUISVILLE (24-26, 12-11 in 2003): Louisville went 3-2 at the C-USA Tournament, falling to second-seeded South Florida, 7-0, just one game shy from the C-USA Championship game. NICOLE SPARKS earned All-Tournament honors, after batting 7-for-13 with four runs scored and two RBI in the tourney. SARA BAUSHER also earned All-Tourney accolades, after notching the first-ever grand slam in tournament history for an 8-1 win over Southern Miss on Thursday. She batted 6-for-13 with three runs and six RBI.

SAINT LOUIS (21-18, 9-14 in 2003): Saint Louis finished the 2003 season with a 21-18 overall record and 9-14 conference mark. All-Conference First Team honoree NICOLE BOHNENSTIEHL set the career RBI record at SLU with 69, breaking the previous record of 65. She also broke her own single-season strikeouts record with 262. She led Saint Louis in batting average (298), RBI (21) and home runs (5). In the pitching circle, she finished with a team-high 18 victories in 203 innings pitched.

SOUTH FLORIDA (53-17, 17-5 in 2003): No. 19 South Florida suffered a 7-0 shutout to DePaul in the championship game of the C-USA Tournament. LEIGH ANN ELLIS earned All-Tournament accolades, after pitching a C-USA Tournament record 26 innings, while giving up only eight earned runs and striking out 13. COURTNEY LEWELLEN, KATTRINA DOWD and HOLLY GROVES also earned All-Tourney honors. South Florida leads C-USA in runs scored (327), runs batted in (289), hits (547), total bases (763), walks (212) and triples (13). South Florida will next compete in the NCAA Tournament, facing Florida Atlantic on Thursday at 8 a.m. (CST) in Gainesville, Fla. This will be the Bulls' fourth appearance in the Regional Tournament since KEN ERIKSEN took over as head coach in 1997.

SOUTHERN MISS (28-30, 12-12 in 2003): Southern Miss went 1-2 at the C-USA Tournament, defeating Houston, but falling to Louisville twice. JESSICA HUERTA led the Golden Eagles offense, batting 3-for-7 with two home runs and three RBI. Southern Miss finishes out the 2003 season with a 28-30 overall mark and 12-12 conference record. AURIEL JENKINS posted a team-best .285 batting average and a .343 on-base percentage, while HEATHER BELL led the Golden Eagles with 21 RBI and a .473 slugging percentage.

UAB (28-28, 10-14 in 2003): The Blazers went 0-2 at the C-USA Tournament to close their 2003 season with a 28-28 record. SARA CHRISTOPHEL led the Blazers, batting 4-for-6 with one home run and one RBI in the tourney. KELLI THOMPSON led the conference with 14 doubles, while ranking sixth with a 1.74 ERA this season. As a team, the Blazers finished fourth in the league in runs batted in (147), hits (346) and total bases (499), while ranking third in the conference with 72 doubles.

CHOUINARD FINALIST FOR PITCHER OF THE YEAR
The Amateur Softball Association announced the top 10 finalists for the 2003 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. DePaul's pitcher, LINDSAY CHOUINARD is one of the finalists. Chouinard has an ERA of .44, the second best in the nation. Her record of 26-4 puts her at ninth in the nation for total wins. She's pitched 14 shutouts and tallied 180 strikeouts in 204.2 innings pitched. Also vying for the award is Oklahoma State's Lauren Bay, UCLA's Keira Goerl, Tairia Mims and Natasha Watley, Arizona's Alicia Hollowell and Lovieanne Jung, Florida State's Jessica van der Linden, Mississippi State's Iyhia McMichael and Texas' Cat Osterman. The top three finalists will be announced May 13 and the winner will be honored May 21 at the opening ceremonies of the NCAA College World Series in Oklahoma City.

BLUE DEMONS' CONFERENCE RECORD
This season, with 22 victories, the Blue Demons' broke their own single-season record set last year with 20. For the second-consecutive year, DePaul posted 20-plus wins in conference play.

REACHING THE 50-WINS MILESTONE
With a 53-17 overall record, South Florida became the first team to reach 50 wins this season. It marks the first time since 1998 that the Bulls have reached this milestone. During the 1998 season, South Florida posted a 57-14 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In four years since softball became a conference sport, only two other schools have reached the 50-plus win plateau. Southern Miss accumulated a 63-13 mark in 2000, while DePaul finished 51-16-1 in 2001, and 50-11 in 2002.