Lenoir-Rhyne Ranked No. 9 in Preseason NFCA Poll
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Lenoir-Rhyne University Softball Team is ranked ninth nationally in the 2012 NFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Preseason Poll. NFCA is the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
UC San Diego, the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, is ranked No. 1 after receiving all 16 first-place votes.
Lenoir-Rhyne is coming off a 45-10 campaign last season including a 16-2 mark in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears are also the two-time defending league regular season and tournament champions.
In 2011, the L-R also advanced to the NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional Tournament for the second consecutive year.
L-R plays third-ranked North Georgia on Saturday, March 3, in the Mid-South Classic in Spartanburg, S.C., beginning at Noon.
Lenoir-Rhyne, which returns seven starters from last year's team, opens the 2012 season on Wednesday, February 8, against Belmont Abbey in a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m., at Bears Field.
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. The final 2011 records are shown and first-place votes are in parentheses.