From basking in the sun in Hawaii to watching as snow fell in New Mexico, the 2004 softball season took Tennessee all over the map.
In response, the Lady Vols stamped their names all over the program’s history books. A youth-laden squad, led by freshman pitcher Monica Abbott, soared to new heights in the 2004 season and returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.
“Since a lot of records were broken last season, I think our team can use those numbers to set even higher goals to achieve this coming season,” junior centerfielder Sarah Fekete said.
UT compiled a 55-16 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. But the Lady Vols’ season ended in disappointing style.
Forced by inclement weather to play three games in a less than 24-hour period, Tennessee began its final game of the season at 11:59 p.m. The team just missed the NCAA cutoff time of midnight that would have pushed the game to the following day.
The Lady Vols suffered a 6-5 loss at the hands of Illinois-Chicago after holding an early lead.
But the loss concluded the most successful season in program history. Their season-long performance landed the team as the No.16 team in the final ESPN.com/USA Today Softball Poll.
“(Co-head coach) Karen (Weekly) and I hope that the way our season ended will be a motivating factor in being even stronger next season,” coach Ralph Weekly said.
The foundations for the season were set when captains were named in June. Abbott, Fekete and junior pitcher Stacy Jennings are tri-captains for the 2005 season.
Abbott was named first team All-America for her 2004 campaign. The Salinas, Calif., native also earned Pitcher and Freshman of the Year honors in the SEC, marking the first time that both awards went to the same person.
Fekete secured All-SEC tournament accolades for the second consecutive year, while Jennings joined Abbott on the pitcher’s mound for a collective 33 shutouts.
“These three individuals displayed tremendous leadership ability during the past season,” Karen Weekly said. “We feel that this trio is best qualified to lead our team during the 2005 campaign.
“All three of these women are dedicated to raising the bar for Tennessee softball and taking the program to the next level.”
Fekete said that last year’s success built a foundation that the team can build on in the future.
“I think that our last season can only help us to improve in the future,” she said. “We had such a young team last year.
“I definitely think that as our team matures with age, our confidence will only get stronger.”
Ralph Weekly said he also sees abundant opportunities in the upcoming spring campaign.
“We will return all our starters, except at catcher and first base, and (sophomore) Brittany Bessho has experience at both of those positions,” he said. “We have several talented players who were in backup roles this spring who will provide a stiff challenge for the returnees.”
But Weekly didn’t forget about his newcomers.
“Most importantly, our incoming recruiting class is rated highly and should add valuable pieces toward building a championship puzzle,” he said. “We remain very proud of the accomplishments of our 2004 players and look forward to a promising future…”
