Spartanburg, S.C. – After beginning the season 16-0, the USC Upstate softball team continues to gain ground in the Top 25 polls and has received additional votes in the UltimateCollegeSoftball.com and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls released on Tuesday.

Upstate went 6-0 last week, including a 4-0 effort in winning the championship of the Campus Suites Spartan Classic, to improve to 16-0 on the year. It is the best start for the program since moving to NCAA Division I in 2008 and the best start since the 2000 team went 28-0 to begin the year.

Upstate received 26 votes in the UltimateCollegeSoftball.com Top 25 poll, coming in ahead of Kansas, Georgia Tech and New Mexico State. If the poll were expanded, the Spartans would be ranked No. 31, up one position from last week.

Upstate received three votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll. The Spartans are ahead of Georgia Tech and Florida State. If the poll was expanded, the Spartans would be ranked No. 32, up one spot from last week.

Upstate looks to continue its winning ways with six games this week. The Spartans will play host to Furman Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at Cyrill Stadium before heading to Charleston Southern for a two-day tournament. Upstate will play UNC Wilmington, Charleston Southern and Georgetown in the tournament.