USA South releases fall
polls; #24 Bishops picked as
favorite
Fayetteville, NC
- The USA South Athletic
Conference has release its
fall preseason coaches
polls, and North Carolina
Wesleyan is pleased to
announce that Jason Kilby's Battling Bishops
have been tabbed the
preseason favorite in men's
soccer. Head
Coach Robin Pietryk's
volleyball squad also
garnered recognition in its
voting with three first
place votes and a second
place billing, while Beverly
Biancur's women's soccer
team
was tabbed sixth among the
league's ten teams. Rounding
out the fall polls was
Dominic Modise's cross
country squad with a
ninth-place finish.
In men's
soccer, Wesleyan received 37
points and four of seven first place
votes. NCWC was
followed by Christopher
Newport in
second place with 32 points
and the remaining three
first place votes.
Coming off a 16-3-2 season
in 2008 and the program's
third straight NCAA
appearance, Kilby's squad
has also gained respect
nationally with a #24
ranking in the NSCAA
preseason poll.
Wesleyan
returns 24 players and seven
starters from last year's
squad that captured the USA
South Tournament
Championship, and the
Battling Bishops will be
competing for their fourth
USA South regular season
title in
the past six seasons. Heading
NCWC's returners are seniors Robert Ivanovich,
Luke Oakley, Jimmy Pierce, and Edgar
Zaldivar. Kilby will look to
mesh their experience and skills with
a host of talented
newcomers.
In
volleyball, perennial
favorite CNU grabbed
seven of ten first place
votes and 78 total points to
take the poll.
Wesleyan received the final
three first place votes and
71 points to finish
second... an obvious show of
respect for the Bishops, who
turned in a 26-8 overall
record and a 15-3 league
mark last season.
The 26 victories tied the program
record for wins in a season,
while the 15 league
victories were a
program-best.
The 2008
season also saw the Bishops
boast a program-high four
All-Conference selections,
as well as the league's
Rookie of the Year in the
form of Mackenzie Tingle.
Other 2008 highlights
included Brittany Insley setting the all-time kills record in
just her third season of play.
Pietryk has
reason to be excited about
this season as she returns
six starters and 11
letterwinners overall.
Insley and Tingle lead the
way as First Team
All-Conference performers.
In
women's soccer, the Bishops
were tabbed sixth with 41
total points.
Meredith College took top honors
with six first place votes
and 77 points, followed by
CNU with three first place
votes and 75 points.
Methodist University rounded
out the league's top three
vote-getters with the final
first place vote and 65
points.
Third-year head coach
Beverly Biancur led the
Bishops to a 6-10-1 record in 2008
but has high hopes for this
year's squad.
Wesleyan returns four
starters and 10
letterwinners overall, and
Biancur will look to them
for leadership as she brings
on a class of 12 newcomers.
The Battling Bishops will
likely be led by senior
Meredith Hester, a
three-time All-Conference
performer who led the team
in scoring last season with
12 goals.
Finally,
Modise's squad received 25
points and a ninth-place
billing in the cross country
poll. Perennial favorite CNU
tallied nine first place
votes for 81 points to take
top honors. Senior
Juliana Richardson once
again leads this year's
returners. The Roanoke
Rapids product is a
three-time Most Valuable
Runner over the course of
her career.
Men's and
women's soccer, as well as
volleyball, will kick off their
seasons on September 1st on
the road. Men's soccer
will travel to Guilford
College for a 7:00 p.m.
match-up with the Quakers,
while women's soccer will be
at St. Andrews Presbyterian
at 5:00 p.m.
Volleyball takes on Chowan
College at 6:00 p.m.
Cross country opens up its
schedule on September 12th
at the Salem College
Invitational.
As
always, scores and stats
will be available via
Wesleyan's official
athletics website as soon as
possible following each
contest. Please make
sure to check Wesleyan's
"Live on the Web" link to
access any coverage
available for both home and
away matches. The NCWC
Sports Information Office
will provide live stats
and/or live webcasts for as
many home events as possible
this season.
Complete
poll results for each sport
are posted below.
|
2009 USA South
Men's Soccer
Poll
|
| Rank |
Institution
(1st place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
N.C. Wesleyan (4) |
34 |
| 2. |
Christopher Newport
(3) |
32 |
| 3. |
Greensboro |
26 |
| 4. |
Methodist |
21 |
| 5. |
Shenandoah |
17 |
| 6. |
Ferrum |
10 |
| 7. |
Averett |
7 |
|
2009 USA South
Volleyball Poll
|
| Rank |
Institution
(1st place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Christopher Newport
(7) |
78 |
| 2. |
N.C. Wesleyan (3) |
71 |
| 3. |
Averett |
66 |
| 4. |
Greensboro |
61 |
| 5. |
Methodist |
46 |
| 6. |
Meredith |
40 |
| 7. |
Ferrum |
33 |
| 8. |
Peace |
29 |
| 9. |
Mary Baldwin |
14 |
| 10. |
Shenandoah |
12 |
|
2009 USA South
Women's Soccer
Poll
|
| Rank |
Institution
(1st place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Meredith (6) |
77 |
| 2. |
Christopher Newport
(3) |
75 |
| 3. |
Methodist (1) |
65 |
| 4. |
Greensboro |
54 |
| 5. |
Shenandoah |
48 |
| 6. |
N.C. Wesleyan |
41 |
| 7. |
Ferrum |
35 |
| 8. |
Averett |
29 |
| t-9. |
Mary Baldwin |
13 |
| t-9. |
Peace |
13 |
|
2009 USA South
Women's
X-Country Poll
|
| Rank |
Institution
(1st place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Christopher Newport
(9) |
81 |
| 2. |
Shenandoah (1) |
73 |
| 3. |
Meredith |
59 |
| 4. |
Mary Baldwin |
57 |
| 5. |
Greensboro |
40 |
| 6. |
Methodist |
32 |
| 7. |
Averett |
30 |
| 8. |
Peace |
29 |
| 9. |
N.C. Wesleyan |
25 |
| 10. |
Ferrum |
24 |
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