Virginia Wesleyan, Eastern Mennonite Round Out Top Three
SALEM, Va. --- Three-time defending ODAC
champion Randolph-Macon College earned 112 total votes including
seven first place tallies in being slated for the top spot in the
annual ODAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Virginia Wesleyan College grabbed three first place nods and 103
total votes while Eastern Mennonite University rounds out the top
three with 101 total votes and one first place prediction.
Roanoke College sits in the fourth position (91 votes) while
Washington & Lee University (74) and Bridgewater College (69)
hold the fifth and sixth places. Guilford College (59) and
Lynchburg College (46) are seventh and eighth while Emory &
Henry College (37), Randolph College (19) and Hollins University
(14) complete the survey in the ninth, tenth and eleventh slots,
respectively.
Randolph-Macon (26-5, 18-2 in 2006-07) has won the past three and
four of the last five ODAC tournament titles. Head coach
Carroll LaHaye's Yellow Jackets played host to their NCAA first and
second round opponents, defeating Piedmont (83-68) and William
Paterson (74-59) before falling to Kean (68-60) at the NYU
regional. R-MC welcomes back several stalwarts from last
season's squad include All-ODAC first team selection, Lindsay
Riesbeck, and 2007 Rookie of the Year, Molly Ariail. Riesbeck
and Ariail tied for the team lead and fourth in the conference at
14.4 points per game. Ariail was fourth in the conference in
rebounding (8.3 rpg) and second in blocked shots (1.96 bpg).
Leading the backcourt is Amanda Hiltunen (10.9 ppg) who finished
second in the conference in field goal percentage at 51.6-percent
(130-of-252).
Virginia Wesleyan (21-7, 16-4) returns two starters from last
season's squad that lost to Randolph-Macon in the ODAC Championship
game (76-65). Head coach Stephany Dunmyer's up-tempo style of
play spread the offensive wealth amongst several players last
year. Eight Marlins averaged at least 5.0 points per game.
Chelsey Barrett (7.1 ppg, 44 steals) and Andrea
Ushinski (6.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg) are ready to lead the way with Tonia
Jones (7.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 47 steals) and Heather Phillips (9.1 ppg)
ready to take the Marlins back to the ODAC title game.
Eastern Mennonite (17-8, 15-5) and reigning ODAC Coach of the Year,
Kevin Griffin, welcome back all five starters from last season's
squad. The Royals, who were picked seventh in the 2006-07
preseason poll, entered the ODAC tournament as the #3 seed before
bowing out having won five more conference games than the year
before. EMU is led by All-ODAC first team forward, Carolyn
Riley. Riley finished second in the conference in scoring at
15.7 points per game while pulling down 6.1 boards per
outing. Look for Jolene Kratz (10.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Tara Jones
(9.3 ppg, 45 steals) and Ebony Dennis (8.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 72 steals)
to provide plenty of support.
Posted below is the entire women's basketball preseason poll.
For more information on ODAC women's basketball, please visit any
of the participating schools' websites or the ODAC on the Internet
at www.odaconline.com.
To watch and listen to the coaches interviews, click HERE
2007-08 ODAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches
Poll
(#) Denotes first place votes
1. |
Randolph-Macon |
112 (7) |
2. |
Virginia Wesleyan |
103 (3) |
3. |
Eastern Mennonite |
101 (1) |
4. |
Roanoke |
91 |
5. |
Washington & Lee |
74 |
6. |
Bridgewater |
69 |
7. |
Guilford |
59 |
8. |
Lynchburg |
46 |
9. |
Emory & Henry |
37 |
10. |
Randolph |
19 |
11. |
Hollins |
14 |