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Hokies Picked Fourth in Preseason Poll
The Beat
January 8, 2003

Coaches Poll
 2002 RECORDS2002 FINISH
 SchoolPtsConfOverallReg. Season
1.Notre Dame (9)9918-244-17-01st
2.Syracuse8512-625-21-03rd
3.Villanova (1)7514-645-15-02nd
4.Virginia Tech (1)7112-842-18-04th
5.Seton Hall6911-929-17-0t-5th
6.Boston College6311-926-26-0t-5th
7.St. John's365-1323-30-19th
8.Rutgers359-1122-25-07th
9.Connecticut315-1513-36-0t-10th
10.Pittsburgh306-1421-33-08th
11.Providence115-1516-36-1t-10th
First-place votes in parentheses PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Notre Dame received 99 points and is the coach's choice to win the 2003 BIG EAST Softball regular season title. Each head coach votes for every team except his or her own, with 10 points given for a first-place vote, nine for second, etc.

Notre Dame, which received nine first-place votes, ranks first for a second-consecutive year. The Irish return to the field this season after capturing their third BIG EAST Championship title in four years. The Irish completed last season with a 44-17 record and a berth to play in the NCAA Championship. In second place is Syracuse. SU made its first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship in 2002, in just its second year in the league. The Orangewomen finished 2002 in third place with a 25-21 overall record. After completing 2002 in second place, Villanova received one first-place vote for the third-place spot in the poll. The Wildcats led the league in both team batting (.302 avg.) and pitching (1.29 ERA) last season.

Entering its third season in the conference, Virginia Tech was picked fourth in the preseason rankings. The Hokies, who received one first-place vote, made a run for the BIG EAST title last season, losing to Notre Dame in the championship game, 3-1. Seton Hall was picked fifth. SHU ended last season tied for fifth with a 29-17 record. Boston College earned the sixth-place spot after winning 11 league games in 2002. The Eagles return all their infield starters who helped the team to a 26-26 record. St. John's kept its preseason spot from 2003 with a seventh-place ranking in this year's poll. The Red Storm finished 2002 with a 23-30-1 record and in ninth place.

In the eighth spot is Rutgers. Ending 2002 with three wins in its last four games, the Knights finished in seventh place, two spots higher than their 2002 preseason ranking. Connecticut nabbed the ninth spot in the preseason poll. The Huskies had a 13-36 overall record in 2002. With a 21-33 record last season, Pittsburgh enters this season with a 10th-place ranking. The Panthers tied a school record for most win in 2002. Rounding out the poll is Providence. PC had a 5-15 BIG EAST record last year, the most league wins since 1996.