University of Tennessee Athletics
20 for 20: 14 Days Til Softball Season
January 23, 2015 | Softball
Only 14 days remaining until the start of the 2015 Tennessee softball season! Today we look back at the 2002 Lady Vols.
Tennessee celebrates its 20th year of softball in 2015. In honor of the program's 20-year anniversary, we will count down the 20 days leading up to 2015 season opener on Feb. 6 against Ohio by reflecting on each Tennessee softball team, starting with the first-ever squad in 1996. We will also count down the days by jersey number, reflecting on the past players who wore that day's countdown number.
The 2002 season was Tennessee's first under the direction of Ralph Weekly and Karen Weekly. The Weeklys came to Tennessee after seven years of success at Chattanooga, leading the Lady Mocs to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances. Prior to that, Ralph Weekly had led Pacific Lutheran to a pair of NAIA National Championships (1988, 1991), and one national runner-up finish (1990). After Tennessee experienced back-to-back losing seasons in 2000 and 2001, the Weeklys turned things around, leading UT to a 35-25-1 finish in 2002 and 13-straight winning seasons to date.
The 2002 team opened with the best start since the beginning of the program six years earlier. In the first half of the season the Lady Vols held a 23-7-1 record and scored 165 runs while allowing opponents only 53 runs.
The 2002 roster featured Nikki Sexton, Stephanie Humphrey, Andie Sherman, Nicole Schaeffer, Amber Rhinehart, Carissa Roustan, Nicole Murray, Adrianna Wilson, Maria Torres, Leigh Ann Ellis, Nicole Borg, Hannah Low, Ellisha Humphrey, Whitney Bradshaw, Crystal Bobo, Nicole Johnson and Blaine Teasley
Wilson led the team offensively, hitting .362 with 12 home runs, eight doubles and 45 RBIs. Rhinehart hit .325 and hit a team high of 12 doubles.
Stephanie Humphrey maintained her position as the team's ace for the second-straight year, going 24-19 with a 2.36 ERA, 19 complete games and 326 strikeouts over 249.1 innings. Ellis went 8-3 with a 1.94 ERA.
The largest win margin of the year came in a game against Tennessee State as the team crushed the Tigers, 22-0 on March 6. The Lady Vols also beat No.4 LSU, 4-2, on March 16.
Wilson earned NFCA All-South Region honors, becoming the third Tennessee player to be named to the first team.
JERSEY COUNTDOWN - #14
| No. 14 | |||||||||||
| No. | Player | Years | Pos. | GP-GS | Avg. | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB |
| 14 | Kenyail Norris | 1996-99 | OF | 260-252 | .342 | 734 | 179 | 251 | 19 | 163 | 42 |
| 14 | Kim Anders | 2003-04 | UTL | 79-3 | .000 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Erinn Webb | 2007-10 | OF | 244-208 | .264 | 607 | 100 | 160 | 25 | 126 | 30 |
| 14 | Kourtny Thomas | 2011 | IF | 8-4 | .231 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Megan Geer | 2014 | OF/IF | 58-58 | .297 | 182 | 51 | 54 | 6 | 33 | 19 |
Looking Back...#14 Kenyail Norris
1996-1999 | OF | 5-5 | R/R | Grand Prairie, Texas
Norris was one of UT's most consistent hitters and set a standard of excellence both on the field and in the classroom. She was one of the founding members of the Tennessee softball team and as a freshman in 1996, she posted .369 average with 53 RBIs, 15 doubles, three triples, four home runs, four stolen bases and 51 runs. She was a clutch performer as a rookie, hitting .403 with two outs. The following season, Norris notched 14 multiple-hit games for the Big Orange, hitting .326 with 25 RBIs, 34 runs scored, 7 doubles, a home run and 11 stolen bases. As a junior in 1998, Norris hit .304 with eight doubles, five triples, four homers and 36 RBIs and earned Second Team All-SEC and NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors. She saved her best season for her senior year in 1999, batting .367 with 77 hits, 14 doubles, one triple 10 homers, 49 RBIs, 52 runs and 13 stolen bases en route to earning Second-Team All-SEC and NFCA Second-Team All-South Region honors. She also earned Second-Team Verizon Academic All-America honors as a senior in 1999. She remains in UT's top 10 in triples (sixth), RBIs (eighth), total bases (t-ninth) and games played (ninth, 260).
THROWBACK NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Never received a grade other than an A through her first 12 years of school
- Also considered attending Harvard, MIT and Stanford
- Signing with the Lady Vols was one of her top softball career highlights
#14 Erinn Webb
2007-10 | 1B | 5-6 | L/R | Hemet, Calif.
Webb was a clutch hitter who came up big in big moments. As a freshman, she played in every game at the 2007 Women's College World Series. One of the biggest hits of her career was a double into left field to break a tie and give UT a 3-1 lead in the third game of a best-of-three series against No. 12 Hawaii in the NCAA Super Regionals. The win would send the Lady Vols to the WCWS. Webb erupted in her sophomore effort in 2008, hitting .314 with 14 doubles, six triples, 10 homers, 43 RBIs, 36 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. She started all contests and tallied 17 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games that year. She was outstanding in 2008 NCAA Super Regionals, hitting .529 with two doubles, a triple, three homers and six RBIs in five games. She crushed two HR's against No. 17 Virginia Tech in a 7-1 UT elimination contest victory, forcing a deciding game. Webb was effective once again in her junior season, bashing 13 doubles, five triples and six homers and driving in 35 runs. Webb registered a career-long seven-game hitting streak and earned All-SEC Tournament honors in 2009. She produced more clutch postseason moments as a senior in 2010. She hit two homers in a 4-3 Super Regional win over host and No. 2 seed Michigan to lead Tennessee to its fourth WCWS berth. In the World Series, Webb blasted a grand slam top lead Tennessee to a 7-5 win over Georgia and earned All-WCWS honors.
THROWBACK NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Claims to have modeled herself after former U.S. Olympian Dot Richardson
- Majored in Communication Studies
Looking Ahead...#14 Megan Geer
2014-pres | OF/IF | 5-8 | R/R | Los Alamitos, Calif.
The versatile Geer had a strong freshman season in 2014, hitting .297 with six homers, 10 doubles, two triples, 33 RBIs, 51 runs and 19 stolen bases. She led the team in stolen bases and ranked second in runs, triples and walks. Geer earned Freshman All-SEC honors and was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll. The future is bright for Geer in 2015.
NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Has a blackbelt in Hapkido (Korean martial arts)
- Her favorite musicians are Mariah Carey and Wiz Khalifa
