June 2, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland women's softball team is ranked No. 12 in the final USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll of the 1999 season. It is the highest ranking in the history of the program and is the first time in school history that the Terps have been ranked in the season-ending poll.

Maryland played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history and won a school-record 51 games during the season. The Terps advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Region 2 tournament and were one victory from playing in the College Softball World Series. The Terps earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid when they finished as the regular season champions of the South Atlantic Alliance (SAA) with a 10-2 record. In addition, the Terps finished in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time in school history with a 6-2 record and earned the top seed in the ACC Tournament.

Senior Kelly Shipman (Huntingtown, Md.) was named to the Louisville Slugger-NFCA All-America third-team. It marked the first time in school history that a Maryland player had earned All-America honors. Shipman won a school-record 32 games, recorded a school-record 290 strikeouts, pitched a school-record 14 shutouts, and recorded the third-best ERA (1.24) in school history. Offensively, Shipman hit .270 with a school-record nine home runs, a career-high tying 12 doubles and 29 RBI.

Gina LaMandre was named the 1999 ACC Coach of the Year. She completed her fifth season at the helm of the Terrapin program with a 51-23 record. Lamandre has a career record of 153-125-1. Maryland spent each of the final four weeks of the regular season ranked in the top 25. The Terps finished the regular season ranked No. 21

USA TODAY-NFCA COACHES TOP 25 POLL (FINAL)

Rank  School             Record    Pts.   LW
  1.  UCLA (25)            63-6    625     1   
  2.  Washington          51-18    600     6   
  3.  DePaul              54-14    562    18  
  4.  California          51-22    550    17
  5.  Fresno State        65-10    524     2
  6.  Arizona             53-16    505     3
  7.  Arizona State       41-29    472    16
  8.  So. Mississippi      52-9    454     8
  9.  SW Louisiana        54-11    397     4
 10. Oregon State         47-25    354    12
 11. Louisiana State      55-10    338     7
 12. MARYLAND             51-23    308    21
 13. Illinois-Chicago     67-17    276    10
 14. Michigan State       41-23    262    NR
 15. Missouri             40-21    250    23
 16. Michigan           51-13-1    237     5
 17. Massachusetts        43-10    224    13
 18. Texas                45-17    200    11
 19. South Carolina       49-21    182    14
 20. Nebraska             35-21    166    NR
 21. Hawaii               35-23    151    NR
 22. Minnesota            46-20    108    NR
 23. Oklahoma             40-29     61    19
 24. Texas Tech           35-31     93     9
 25. Oregon               40-29     61    19