Nov. 6, 2001
NORFOLK, VA -- The Lady Monarch women's basketball team was ranked 18th in the USA TODAY/ESPN/WBCA Preseason Poll released today.
In all, five Old Dominion opponents were ranked in the preseason list, including top ranked Connecticut, which received 972 points and 25 first place votes. Also among the Lady Monarchs opponents are #2 Tennessee, #11 North Carolina State, #19 Penn State, and #23 Rutgers. Old Dominion opponents receiving votes include Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and James Madison.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 40 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
In other preseason poll released earlier this year, Old Dominion was ranked as high as ninth by Women's Basketball Magazine. The Lady Monarchs were also listed at #11 by Street & Smith, #19 by Lindy's, and #21 by Women's College Hoops.
The Lady Monarchs return 12 letterwinners to the 2001-02 squad, including all five starters from last year's CAA Championship team. Old Dominion will play in two exhibition games prior to the tip-off of the regular season. The Lady Monarchs host the Basketball Travelers on Wednesday night and MI Express on Wednesday, November 13th. Both games begin at 7:35 p.m. at the Fieldhouse. The regular season gets underway on Friday, November 16th when the Lady Monarchs host CAA newcomer Towson.
USA TODAY/ESPN/WBCA PRESEASON COACHES' TOP 25 POLL
RankSchool (Firsts) RecordPointsFinal 2000-01 Ranking1.Connecticut (25)32-397232.Tennessee (7) 31-393753.Vanderbilt (5) 24-1083774.Duke 30-480485.Oklahoma (1) 28-6798106.LA Tech (1) 31-578767.Texas Tech (1) 25-7744118.Iowa State 27-6668129.Purdue 31-7590210.Stanford19-11577NR11.NC State22-115091612.Florida 24-64441813.Colorado 22-94372314.Notre Dame 34-2363115.Georgia 27-63281316.Baylor 21-9320NR17.Washington 22-102531418.Old Dominion 21-9232NR19.Penn State 19-10222NR20.Michigan 19-11218NR21.LSU 20-111702022.G. Washington 22-10164NR23.Rutgers 23-81451724.Utah 28-41181525.Colorado State 25-7117NR
Others receiving votes: Arizona State 115, Clemson 105, Maryland 103, Texas 103,Iowa 68, North Carolina 65, Drake 54, St. Mary's (Calif.) 53, Xavier 51, TCU 50, Virginia 41, Southwest Missouri State 38, Virginia Tech 36, Boston College 32, Mississippi State 31,Illinois 28, Tulane 28, Florida State 26, Louisville 24, Ohio State 23, UC-Santa Barbara 22, Arizona 17, Wisconsin 17, Arkansas 16, James Madison 12, Florida International 11, UCLA 8,Auburn 7, Georgia Tech 7, North Texas 6, DePaul 5, Marquette 5, Southern California 5,Oregon State 4, Toledo 4, UNLV 4, Villanova 4, Chattanooga 3, Northern Iowa 3, Alabama 2, Brigham Young 2, Indiana 2, Oklahoma State 2, Tennessee Tech 2, Liberty 1, Loyola Marymount 1