1981 AIAW Slow-pitch Softball Tournament

The 1981 AIAW Women's College slow-pitch softball championship was held near Raleigh, North Carolina on May 14–16. Thirteen college softball teams met in the first AIAW national slow-pitch softball tournament. The AIAW conducted only two slow-pitch softball national championships, in 1981 and 1982, as the NCAA sought to and eventually did vanquish the women's collegiate athletic organization.

Teams

The double-elimination tournament included 13 teams seeded in the following order:

  1. Florida State
  2. East Carolina
  3. North Carolina
  4. South Florida
  5. North Carolina State
  6. Auburn
  7. Florida
  8. Wilmington College (Ohio)
  9. Western Carolina
  10. Northern Kentucky
  11. Georgia Southern
  12. Morehead State (Kentucky)
  13. Lakeland Community College (Ohio)

Top-seeded Florida State was the victor in the tournament, winning all four of its games. The team eliminated North Carolina in the final, 4-1, and placed five players on the all-tournament team. Darby Cottle was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.[1] The Lady Seminoles won 16 consecutive games to finish out the season with a record of 54-7. JoAnne Graf, who went on to have a legendary career at the university, coached the team to Florida State's first softball national championship.[2]

Bracket
1st Round[2][3][4][5]   2nd Round   3rd Round   4th Round   Semifinals   Finals
1 Florida State (bye)  
    Florida State 13  
8 Wilmington College 2   Western Carolina 9  
9 Western Carolina 5       Florida State 4  
5 North Carolina State 2       North Carolina State 3  
12 Morehead State 0     North Carolina State 3
4 South Florida 1   Lakeland College 2  
13 Lakeland College 6       Florida State 12[lower-alpha 1]  
2 East Carolina (bye)     East Carolina 3    
    East Carolina 11  
7 Florida 8   Florida 7  
10 Northern Kentucky 2       East Carolina 4
3 North Carolina (bye)       North Carolina 1  
    North Carolina 5
6 Auburn 5   Georgia Southern 1  
11 Georgia Southern 12  
  Florida State 4  
  North Carolina 1  
South Florida 14   Georgia Southern 4  
Morehead State 3   South Florida 6  
    South Florida 2   North Carolina State 8  
    Florida 1   South Florida 1  
n/a   Florida 4
  Wilmington College 1  
    North Carolina State 4   East Carolina 2  
    North Carolina 14   North Carolina 3  
n/a   Lakeland College 0  
  Auburn 9  
    Auburn 1   North Carolina 1
    Northern Kentucky 0   Auburn 0  
n/a   Western Carolina 5
  Northern Kentucky 6  
  1. 8 innings

Ranking
Place School WCWS Record
1st Florida State 4-0
2nd North Carolina 4-2
3rd East Carolina 2-2
4th North Carolina State 3-2
5th South Florida 3-2
Auburn 2-2
7th Florida 2-2
Northern Kentucky 2-2
9th Georgia Southern 1-2
Western Carolina 1-2
Lakeland Community College 1-2
12th Morehead State 0-2
Wilmington College 0-2

See also
See also: AIAW Champions § Slowpitch Softball, 1982 AIAW Slow-pitch Softball Tournament, and 1983 National Collegiate Slow-pitch Softball Championship

References
  1. "Softball History Website". Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  2. "Lady Seminoles claim national softball crown". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. May 17, 1981. p. 1F. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  3. "Lady Cats Set to Play National AIAW Slo-Pitch Softball Finals". The Sylva Herald and Ruralite. Sylva, North Carolina. May 14, 1981. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  4. "Lady Seminoles gain AIAW softball final". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. May 16, 1981. p. 2C. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  5. "NCAA Women's Softball". Retrieved 2017-03-08.
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