With an 11-0 NJAC victory over NJCU on April 25, Rutgers University-Camden head softball coach Carl Taylor earned his 200th career victory. Taylor, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the Raptors' program, owns a 201-114-2 career coaching mark. The doubleheader sweep over the Gothic Knights also lifted Rutgers-Camden to 30-4 overall and 14-0 in the NJAC, marking the third consecutive season in which the Raptors have won 30 or more

Rutgers-Camden is currently ranked No. 8 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III poll and has won 20 straight games. The next NFCA national poll will be released on April 26.

In the last three seasons, the Lady Raptors have posted a 101-23-1 record, beginning with the 2004 season when Rutgers-Camden won a school-record 36 games (36-11), captured the first NJAC championship in program history, and advanced to its first NCAA tournament. Rutgers-Camden finished as the regional runner-up to Salisbury, which went on to finish third in the country, and Taylor earned honors as the NJAC Softball Coach of the Year.

Last season, Rutgers-Camden won its first regular-season NJAC title before finishing as the runner-up in the conference tournament to William Paterson. Both teams advanced to the NCAA regionals, where Paterson again edged out the Raptors to advance to the NCAA championships. Rutgers-Camden finished with a 35-8-1 record.

Taylor came to Rutgers-Camden in 1996, where his first team posted a 2-12 record. The club went 1-11 in 1997 before his rebuilding effort started to pay dividends. Beginning with a 5-10 record in 1998, Taylor’s team improved its victory total for an amazing seven consecutive seasons, culminating with a 36-11 mark in 2004.

The 2005 team actually had a better winning percentage than the 2004 team, yet finished one win shy of the school mark at 35-8-1. That club, however, set a program record with a 26-game winning streak which is now being threatened this season. That 2005 team also produced Rutgers-Camden’s first All-American, as junior Michelle Schlichtig was named to the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American First Team - one of only two pitchers in the nation to earn that honor.

Taylor’s 2005 club peaked at No. 2 in the nation and finished at No. 11, both the highest rankings for any team in school history. Starting with the 2000 season, when the Taylor’s Raptors went over .500 for the first time with a 12-10 mark, the Lady Raptors have posted a 186-71-2 record.

A 1982 graduate of New Mexico Highlands who teaches health and physical education at Winslow Township High School, Taylor also has served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Rutgers-Camden during the 2004-05 season. He will begin his first season as the Lady Raptors’ head volleyball coach this fall.