Dead last.
That's where SEC coaches picked the Tennessee softball program to finish in the East under first year co-coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly.
Instead, the Lady Vols have served noticed that they're a team to be taken seriously. Certainly, that was the case when UT handed fifth-ranked LSU a 4-2 defeat on March 16.
One month later, UT is holding third in the East and finds itself in position to make the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1999 pending the outcome of a three-game series with Auburn this weekend.
Former Halls standout Stephanie Humphrey will pitch the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, which begins at 1 p.m. at Tyson Park. Humphrey, who leads the SEC with 280 strikeouts, is expected to come back and start Sunday's showdown as well, set for 1 p.m. at the same venue.
"Everyone told us when we took over this program not to worry about winning this year," Ralph Weekly said. "Well, right now we're worried about winning. We want to get to Chattanooga for the SEC Tournament."
The tournament takes place May 9-12 at Jim Frost Stadium.
It was June 19, 2001, that the Weeklys headed north from Chattanooga to take over the UT softball program.
Jim Beitia, who coached the team from its inception in 1996, resigned after two consecutive losing seasons.
In came the Weeklys, who spent their previous seven years developing UT-Chattanooga into a Division I regional power.
"We were able to recruit the best players in Tennessee because the previous coach here really wasn't," Karen Weekly said. "There's plenty of talent in this state."
The Weeklys would know: Ralph served as the USA Softball National Teams Director 1999-2001, and he was the hitting coach and third base coach on the Gold Medal-winning USA Olympic team in 1996 in Atlanta.
In all, Ralph Weekly has appeared in 13 international tournaments, and his teams have won the gold medal every time.
"We've never had a losing record anywhere," said Ralph Weekly, who retired from his post as a commander at McChord Air Force Base in Washington in 1986 to begin his coaching career at Pacific Lutheran.
"One of the goals we set for this year was to have a winning record," he said. "The other was that we wanted to make the SEC Tournament."
The Lady Vols (32-19-1) have assured themselves of the winning record while improving off last year's 24-35 mark.
To achieve the second goal, UT needs to win three of its final six games against Auburn (28-19) and Florida (26-28).
Humphrey is the only healthy pitcher with any kind of experience that the Weekly's have to throw at their opponents.
"Nicole Borg, who was last year's No. 1 pitcher, injured elbow ligaments last May but it wasn't diagnosed until September," Ralph Weekly said. "By then, it was too late to sign anyone."
UT's pitching situation worsened when sophomore pitcher Leigh Ann Ellis left the team earlier this season after having philosophical differences with the Weeklys.
That has left shortstop Ellisha Humphrey and third baseman Carissa Roustan to divvy up the extra innings with walk-on Crystal Bobo.
"We don't have enough pitching to make the little mistakes defensively," said Ralph Weekly. "We've got to make the plays to win."
