BATON ROUGE — The LSU softball team enters the 2003 season ranked seventh in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll that was released Wednesday, but will be without Tessa Lynam to start the season after she broke her hand in practice.
Lynam, a sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga., fractured her left hand while diving for a ball in practice. Expecting to see considerable time in the circle for the Tigers this season behind retuning All-American Kristin Schmidt, the right-hander will unavailable to pitch for 3-4 weeks. Schmidt is now the only pitcher on the LSU roster, but freshman infielder Alicia Owen, who also pitched in high school, may see action for the Tigers until Lynam’s return.
A first-team All-Louisiana selection and a member of the NCAA Regional and SEC All-Tournament teams, Lynam led the team in home runs and ranked second in slugging percentage, RBIs and triples. A powerful force for LSU offensively, she nailed a home run off former three-time All-American pitcher Britni Sneed in the alumni game two weeks ago. Lynam will be unavailable to bat for 5-6 weeks.
“This is a tremendous loss for us,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Tessa has been on a tear at the plate in the preseason and we had counted on her bat in the lineup. It is also a blow to our pitching lineup. We already lacked depth at that position and this just exacerbates that situation.”
The No. 7 national ranking is tied for the second-best preseason ranking for the LSU softball program. The 2000 team also entered the season ranked seventh, while the 2002 squad earned the highest preseason ranking for a Tiger program, starting the season at No. 3.
“To be ranked so high during the preseason despite losing a pair of All-Americans shows how well respected this program has become,” said Girouard, “but a preseason poll is just a prediction. It is now up to us to go out there and prove that we are deserving of that ranking.”
The USA Today/NFCA poll is voted on by 22 NCAA Division I coaches representing all regions. The Tigers finished the 2002 season ranked No. 9 in the poll after advancing to the NCAA Regional finals.
LSU was picked to win its fifth-consecutive Southeastern Conference title by the league’s coaches last week, after claiming both the regular-season and tournament championships a year ago.
Perennial powerhouse UCLA tops the poll, just ahead of Arizona. Defending national champion California ranks third, while Michigan and Nebraska are tied for fourth and Washington comes in at sixth. Rounding out the top 10 are 2000 national champion Oklahoma in eighth, Florida State in ninth and Cal State Fullerton at 10.
The Pac-10 leads the way with seven schools in the top 25. The Tigers lead four SEC teams in the top 25 as Georgia ranks in a tie for 17th, while Alabama and South Carolina come in at 20th and 22nd, respectively.
LSU faces seven opponents ranked in the preseason top 25 in 2003, including No. 1 UCLA. The Tigers open the season on Feb. 7 at home against Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m. as part of the three-day Tiger Classic. The tournament also features No. 11 DePaul and Baylor, which is led by former Tiger head coach Glenn Moore and receiving votes.