OKLAHOMA CITY - Sometimes, winning really isn't everything.
I watched Stacey Nelson tear up during the post-game press conference Sunday night after losing to Texas A&M.
Not because she had lost the game, but because she wasn't ready to say goodbye to her friend - Mary Ratliff.
She wasn't ready for it all to be over.
Not yet.
"I'm not sad about the loss as much as I'm sad about it being over," Nelson said. "I'm sad about losing Mary Ratliff (the team's only senior). Looking back on the season, playing with all the girls was just enough for me to leave here and be happy with what we did."
The Gators have been knocked out of the Women's College World Series, but the strides that the UF softball program has taken in a year are remarkable.
At the start of the season, their goal was just to make the WCWS, but after coming so close to a championship that goal was clearly surpassed.
It would be hard to imagine that after winning three consecutive WCWS games and sending home NCAA Player of the Year Angela Tincher and UCLA All-American pitcher Anjelica Selden in back-to-back games, the Gators didn't think that they could go all the way.
Maybe they were too young?
Maybe they're just one year away?
Well, maybe.
Regardless, it shouldn't take away from what they have accomplished.
In their very first trip to the WCWS, the Gators went toe to toe with the most elite programs and the most elite players in the game.
After this weekend, one thing is for sure - UF softball is on the map.
Did you happen to watch any of the games during the weekend?
Perhaps you tuned in long enough to hear ESPN's John Kruk wax poetic lines about Dippin' Dots.
Or maybe you caught a glimpse of the World Wide Leader's Holly Rowe practically sweating to death in the Oklahoma sun.
But if you were lucky, you got a chance to see what I saw.
You saw UF left fielder Francesca Enea blasting home runs against Texas A&M and making one of most spectacular diving catches of the entire tournament.
You saw Mary Ratliff dance her way into the introduction of SportsCenter after driving in the game-winning run against Virginia Tech.
You probably saw Stacey Nelson pitch more innings in four days (39) than you ever thought was humanly possible.
Maybe you saw Tiffany DeFelice take an at-bat against Louisiana-Lafayette long enough for me to go to the bathroom find and plug in my lap top charger and still realize that she had been at the plate for what seemed like an eternity.
She fouled off 15 straight pitches, 21 in all, before finally popping out.
Maybe you realized just how incredibly athletic these women are.
I know I did.
Before the tournament began, UF coach Tim Walton said that his team had yet to accomplish anything on a national stage, and the only way for his program to be viewed in the same light as the UCLA's and the Arizona's of the world was to make it to the WCWS.
Now, there is no question that the Gators can compete with the royalty of college softball.
And the scariest part is, this is only the beginning.
The Gators return every member of their team except one.
So, what does the future hold for UF softball?
Well, it's hard to say.
Is it possible that they could improve on this year's NCAA record setting 70-5 season?
It would be hard, but then again, who thought that it was possible to only lose five games in a softball season.
Even Walton doubts whether or not the feat can be repeated.
"I don't know if anyone will win 70 games again," he said.
What is certain is that this isn't the last you will see of Walton and his Gators.
They will undoubtedly be the heavy favorite heading into next season.
The only question is whether or not next year will be the year they win it all.
