Michelle Phalen Hometown: Omaha, Neb. Position: Head Coach Experience: 8th Season Alma Mater: Missouri, '88 B.A., '94 M.A.

After a decade of being Pitt's lone softball head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, Michelle Phalen has continually moved her team up the ranks in competition.

Last year marked the second consecutive year the Panthers advanced to the Big East Championships after missing the conference dance for eight years. Now an expectation, rather than a far off goal, Phalen seeks to win a Big East Championship title.

"This year we have very high expectations for our team," Phalen said. "We expect to make the Big East Championships and challenge for the title. We are counting on every member of this team to contribute to our success."

In 2007, several Panthers recorded school-record performances for a season and in a career. However, the most notable achievement for Phalen and the team was their NCAA ranking in stolen bases.

For the first time, Pitt was among the nation's greatest the entire season, as they stole a program-record 177 bases in 2007, which shattered the mark set the previous year of 85.

During that record-setting performance, Pitt was ranked as high as sixth in the nation. Additionally, Phalen's club was ranked individually as Sheena Hellon was 25th in stolen bases and Jessica Dignon was 33rd on the hardest to strikeout list.

Leading the team in most offensive categories, Dignon became Phalen's second multi-honoree when she earned her second All-Big East third team nod at the conference banquet.

In 2006, eight school records were broken by the Panthers, on top of the team garnering its first-ever Big East Conference Tournament appearance.The records broken were all team marks for a season and included wins (32), hits (382), batting average (.259), RBIs (208), triples (14), runs scored (235), stolen bases (85) and run margin (+29).

"That year we really knew that we had a good group of people, a really good team. We didn't know what we were capable of, and we kept going and going."

In 2006, the Panthers won 32 games and finished seventh in the Big East, losing four seniors to graduation.

"We played some close games and won them that year, which was different from past years. We learned to fight through adversity," Phalen said. "We learned to win. That will to win has taken us a long way. We will not back down from any team. Our players are focused and intent on building on that season's success."

Pitt's first conference tournament win in 2006 included it's first-ever victory over a ranked opponent when the Panthers stunned then-No. 25 USF in a 2-1 victory.

Phalen guided Joey Scarf and Jessica Dignon to All-Big East Conference honors. Scarf became just the second Panther in Pitt history to receive a first team selection, while Dignon received her first conference nod, as a third team selection.

On the academic side, the Panthers also earned the highest team GPA award during Pitt's annual scholar-athlete banquet for the first time in the program's history.

Pitt's 2005 squad opened the season against the would-be 2005 NCAA Champion Michigan Wolverines. Although Pitt suffered a 3-0 loss, it was anybody's game leading into the fifth inning.

In fact, in 2005 the team played every game close, staying competitive day in and day out. Pitt's defense showed only 70 errors on the season.

Pitt's 2005 season concluded when Francesca DiMaria and Casey Pickard, the lone senior, earned All-Big East honors.

Pitt won 21 games in 2004 but lost eight by just one run, a fact that Phalen points out would have turned the Panthers' record into a winning one.

In 2003, Phalen led the Panthers to a then-school-record 24 wins and seven Big East victories. A midseason school-record 11-game winning streak that included a sweep of Big East rival Syracuse put the Panthers in position to challenge most of the team records.

Phalen also helped DiMaria earn All-Big East first team honors and All-Rookie honors, as well as NFCA Mid-Atlantic second team plaudits. Phalen's players also excelled in the classroom as Pickard earned the program's first Verizon Academic All-District 2 honor, and 10 players earned Big East Academic All-Star accolades.

Phalen's 2002 team led the Panthers to a sweep of Big East rival Villanova and wins against four other league opponents. She had 21 victories for the second time in three years. Phalen also produced two All-Big East second team honorees in Clare McCann and Heather Andrews.

During the 2001 season, Phalen led the Panthers to a sweep of Syracuse and wins against Big East opponents Providence, Boston College, Rutgers and St. John's for a total of six conference victories.

In 2000, she led the Panthers to a then-school-best 21 wins while also producing two All-Big East honorees in Robin Johnston and Amy Steich.

The 1999 season, only the Panthers' second and first as a member of the Big East, also had many highlights. Pitts began its 1999 campaign by garnering its first-ever victory with a 6-4 win over Indiana in the season opener. The Panthers went on to record 16 wins that year, including victories over conference rivals Connecticut and St. John's. Additionally, Katie Mitchell was recognized as a Big East All-Rookie selection.

Phalen, who was tabbed the Panthers' first-ever softball coach in July of 1997, is no stranger to success. Prior to her appointment at Pittsburgh, Phalen served two years as an assistant coach at South Carolina, a perennial softball power. While there, Phalen was responsible for recruiting as well as the Lady Gamecocks' field instruction, which included hitting and fielding.

During the 1997 season, Phalen helped guide South Carolina to a 63-5 mark, the third-highest win total in NCAA history, as well as the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships.

Included in the Lady Gamecocks' win total was a 38-game winning streak. South Carolina went on to win the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship and advanced to the College World Series.

A 1988 graduate of the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in social studies education, Phalen enjoyed an outstanding collegiate softball career. A four-year starting catcher for the Tigers, she earned All-Big Eight and All-Region honors as a senior and was also an All-Big Eight Academic honoree. One of the top hitters in Missouri history, Phalen's name can be found in the top five of many hitting categories.

Upon graduating, Phalen taught at D.J. Gross High School, her alma mater, in Omaha, Neb., for two years where she also served as soccer and volleyball coach. She returned to Missouri in 1992 as an assistant coach and helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA Regional twice and a College World Series berth in 1994.

Phalen received her master's degree in higher and adult education from Missouri in 1994.