Latest news with #nationaltitles
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Oklahoma eyes 5th straight national title at Women's College World Series
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma could extend its record run of consecutive national titles to five at this year's Women's College World Series. Patty Gasso's second-seeded Sooners will face No. 7 seed Tennessee in their WCWS opener. Oklahoma beat Alabama on Saturday to win the Norman Super Regional. Action in the eight-team double-elimination bracket begins Thursday at Devon Park. The final two teams will play for the title in a best-of-three series starting June 4. Gasso, who will coach the United States at the 2028 Summer Olympics, has led the Sooners to eight national titles, including six of the past eight and seven of 10. This was Oklahoma's first season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. In other opening-day matchups, third-seeded Florida will play No. 6 seed Texas, No. 9 seed UCLA meets No. 16 seed Oregon and No. 12 seed Texas Tech will face unseeded Mississippi. Oklahoma will face Tennessee star pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who broke her NCAA record by throwing a 79.4 mph pitch during Saturday's win over Nebraska. Pickens then shut out the Cornhuskers 1-0 on Sunday. Nebraska's loss means Oklahoma won't be facing former Sooners pitcher Jordy Bahl, who transferred to her home-state Cornhuskers after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 World Series with Oklahoma. Although No. 1 overall seed Texas A&M was knocked out in regional play, the SEC has five teams in the field — Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Ole Miss. Florida beat Georgia in three games to advance. The Gators won national titles in 2014 and 2015 and lost to Oklahoma in the semifinals last year. Texas has reached the best-of-three championship series in two of the past three seasons, with both losses coming to Oklahoma. The Longhorns are also in their first season in the SEC. Texas Tech and Ole Miss are first-time qualifiers. Texas Tech beat host Florida State in a super regional. Pitcher NiJaree Canady, last year's USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, led Stanford to the national semifinals two straight years before transferring to Tech. She led the Red Raiders to their first Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles. Ole Miss is the only unseeded team remaining. The Rebels beat Arizona twice to win the Tucson Regional and beat Arkansas in super regionals. UCLA and Oregon will meet in a matchup of former Pac-12 teams that moved to the Big Ten this year. Oregon, the Big Ten regular-season champion, defeated upstart Liberty to advance. Liberty stunned Texas A&M in regional play, but couldn't get past the Ducks. UCLA was down to its last out against South Carolina in Game 2 before winning, then took Game 3. The Bruins could add to their record 12 World Series titles. Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
Washington Post
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Oklahoma eyes 5th straight national title at Women's College World Series
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma could extend its record run of consecutive national titles to five at this year's Women's College World Series. Patty Gasso's second-seeded Sooners will face No. 7 seed Tennessee in their WCWS opener. Oklahoma beat Alabama on Saturday to win the Norman Super Regional. Action in the eight-team double-elimination bracket begins Thursday at Devon Park. The final two teams will play for the title in a best-of-three series starting June 4.
CBC
11-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
13-year-old Sask. tennis sensation smashes her way to 3rd national title
Social Sharing When Isabella Ruyu Yan grins, and you see her braces and small stature, you might think of her as cute or sweet. But when the 13-year-old steps onto the tennis court, there's no mistaking her laser focus and desire to crush her opponents. That steely determination has seen the young player from Regina win three national titles in a row: U12 in 2023, U14 in 2024 and most recently the U16 national title — toppling players two years older and bigger than her. "It's super insane that I won U16 nationals," Yan said after returning to her home court at the Lakeshore Tennis Club. "I never thought I could win nationals at the start, but the moment you win that last shot, it's amazing. I love the feeling of winning." Asked if she gets intimidated by taking on bigger competitors, she's unsure for a moment. "Mostly people are intimidated by me because I'm really short and small," she says with a smile. Her coach and dad say there's no one in Saskatchewan, kid or adult, that can give her the competition she needs Yan's parents might be her biggest fans. Her dad Sam Zhou describes his daughter as "his little sweetheart," but also marvels at her lethality on the court. "Every single time she sees the ball coming, she wants to hit it hard," he said. Since Yan started playing at seven, Zhou has dedicated himself to helping his daughter achieve her potential, working two jobs in paratransit and trucking to help her with her training and travel competition costs. "You got to sacrifice, right?" he said. WATCH: Dad and daughter share love of tennis — and each other: This Sask. 13-year-old might be the next big name in tennis after national title 3 days ago Duration 2:08 Regina tennis player Isabella Ruyu Yan is 13 years old. Just last month she added another national title to her list of wins. She is determined to make it to a Grand Slam in the future and won't let her age or size stop her. Both of Yan's parents give credit to her coach Marek Nehasil, saying she wouldn't be where she is without him. Nehasil said that while there are elements of the game Yan needs to work on, what she really needs is to travel internationally for competition. That would ideally get her some International Tennis Federation (ITF) points to move to a higher level of tournaments. "She's a very committed player.… Hopefully she can stay committed," Nehasil said. Yan already has one sponsorship through sports brand Head (although she dreams of the ultimate partnership with Nike), but her father says even smaller companies would benefit from partnering with her now. "She is the one. In my mind, I never doubt it," he said. "This young lady, I guarantee you, in less than three years, you will see her on national TV." And even though in tennis, love means zero — to this dad and daughter, love means everything. "If I didn't have him, I would obviously not be in the spot where I'm in. He's been there through my highs and lows," Yan said. "I'm really grateful for him." When describing the sport of tennis, Yan compares it to using a fly paddle. She gives her hand a swing, imagining holding a racket, and tries to think of the right analogy. "It's like I am killing a fly."
