Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Tommy Tang Aggie Head Coach Jo Evans says she wants her team to focus on pressure situations in practice so when they appear in the big games against the top teams in the country, the Aggies will respond. [Click to enlarge]

They are the preseason No. 2 team in the country and coming off a trip to the College World Series. Coaches across the conference picked them to win the Big 12 without breaking a sweat. They have a senior core that includes two All-American starters, and yet, around the softball lockeroom and on the practice field, there's nothing but intensity, and it starts at the top.

"We never talk about our ranking," softball Head Coach Jo Evans said. "When [the ranking] came out, not a single person on the team talked about it. That isn't our focal point, and it shouldn't be."

The Big 12 is one of the toughest conferences in the coutry. Three of the teams, Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma, are ranked in the Top 10, and Texas and Missouri are also in the Top 25. To be successful, Evans knows her team has to be battle-tested coming in.

"The Big 12 is a great conference," Evans said. "What we try to do in the preseason is schedule the best teams we can so that when conference play comes we are ready."

The Aggies' schedule reflects that mentality. Before getting to conference play, the Aggies will play 22 teams that competed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, and five of those teams played in the College World Series. The Aggies will face off against No. 6 Northwestern, No. 11 Washington, No. 10 DePaul and reigning World Series Champs, No. 1 Arizona. Then the Aggies start conference play.

"It's an honor to be picked to win the conference by our peers, but we know things can happen, good or bad."

Evans said the pressure of being so highly recognized doesn't shake her or the team because their main focus is on what they can control: getting better and continuing to win games.

Continued...

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