Nov. 2, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team will head into the 2008-09 season ranked No. 25 by the Associated Press.
The Lady Monarchs are coming off a 31-5 season, where they finished 11th in the Associated Press Poll and 12th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. They return eight letterwinners and two starters from a year ago. Among the returnees are Preseason First Team selection and CAA leading shot blocker Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.), Preseason Second Team All-CAA pick and CAA assist leader Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.), and Preseason Second Team All-CAA honoree and the CAA leader in field goal percentage, junior Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.).
Five opponents on the 2008-09 Lady Monarch slate are featured in the poll, including a pair in the top ten. Maryland, the 2006 NCAA Champions, are seated at No. 3 with defending NCAA champions Tennessee coming in at No. 7. Also in the Top 25 are No. 13 Texas and No. 15 Virginia, while Michigan State is among those teams receiving votes.
The No. 25 Lady Monarchs have two exhibition games on tap before opening the regular season at the World Vision Classic with contests against St. Mary's, Dayton, and host Texas. Monday night the Lady Monarchs will host the University of D.C. in exhibition action at the Ted Constant Convocation Center at 7:00 p.m.
AP Top 25 - Preseason
1. Connecticut (44)
2. Stanford (1)
3. Maryland
4. Oklahoma
5. Rutgers
6. North Carolina
7. Tennessee
8. Duke
9. California
10. Louisville
11. Texas A&M
12. Vanderbilt
13. Texas
14. Oklahoma State
15. Virginia
16. Notre Dame
17. Arizona State
18. Ohio State
19. Baylor
20. Auburn
21. Florida State
22. Xavier
23. Purdue
24. LSU
25. Old Dominion
Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 116; Michigan State 67; Iowa State 66; Marist 58; Marquette 56; Utah 50; Georgia 37; Kansas State 25; Syracuse 20; DePaul 8; George Washington 7; Illinois State 7; Southern California 5; West Virginia 5; Arkansas 3; Texas-El Paso 2; Montana 2; Georgia Tech 2; Iowa 1; Gonzaga 1; Liberty 1; South Dakota State 1; Southern Methodist 1