University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Staff Named SE Region's Best
July 14, 2012 | Softball
July 7, 2012
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Tennessee coaching staff of co-head coaches Karen Weekly and Ralph Weekly, assistant coach Marty McDaniel, volunteer assistant coach Marc Weekly and director of operations Stephanie Sayne have been named the NFCA Southeast Staff of the Year.
This is the fourth time the staff headed by the Weeklys has been named the regional staff of the year. They were also honored as the Southeast Region Staff of the Year in 2010, when the Lady Vols finished third in the nation. They were also honored as the South Region staff of the year in 2005 and 2007 after leading the Big Orange to third and second place national finishes at the WCWS, respectively.
In 2012, Tennessee returned to the Women's College World Series after a one-year absence. The Lady Vols spent the majority of the year ranked in the top ten and finished second in the SEC during the regular season. Tennessee finished the season with a 52-14 overall record and a 22-6 SEC mark.
After a semi-final loss to Florida in the SEC tournament, the Lady Vols were shocked in their NCAA regional opener by Miami (OH). However, Tennessee proved why it is consistently one of the nation's top programs by winning six of its next seven games to head back to Oklahoma City for the fifth time in program history. At the WCWS, the Lady Vols' season came to a close with two very close losses to Alabama and Oregon.
