Tech earns No. 15 preseason rank in NSCAA poll

August 11, 2010

The Hokies receive their highest preseason ranking.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech women’s soccer team will enter this season as the No. 15 team in the country according to the 2010 NSCAA Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll. This is the highest preseason ranking the Hokies have ever had and it marks the first time they have garnered top-15 honors in the preseason.

Tech, who finished the 2009 season as the No. 12 team in the country according to the same poll, returns the core of its starters from last year, having only lost three to graduation. The Hokies set numerous new school records last season, capping the year off with their first Sweet 16 appearance. The team will be led in 2010 by four senior captains, Kelsey Billups, Marika Gray, Jennifer Harvey and Kelly Lynch, and a wealth of underclassmen experience.

Gray, Harvey and sophomore Kelly Conheeney were the team’s top-three scorers last season, as Gray tallied 10 goals on the year, while Harvey and Conheeney buried 9 apiece. Also back for more in 2010, is the team’s entire defensive unit, which helped its keeper tally a school-record nine shutouts for the second-straight season.

The Hokies are joined in the top 25 by six other ACC schools. Two-time defending national champion North Carolina holds the top spot while Florida Sate, Boston College and Wake Forest hold the sixth, seventh and tenth spots, respectively. Ranking below Tech is Maryland at No. 16 and No. 17 Virginia.

Tech will host Richmond for exhibition play on Saturday, August 14, at 7 p.m., and will begin its season on Friday, August 20, at Elon at 7 p.m.

2010 NSCAA Preseason Poll

1. North Carolina

2. Stanford

3. UCLA

4. Notre Dame

5. Portland

6. Florida State

7. Boston College

8. Texas A&M

9. Santa Clara

10. Wake Forest

11. Florida

12. South Carolina

13. Penn State

14. California

15. Virginia Tech

16. Maryland

17. Virginia

18. Rutgers

19. USC

20. Wisconsin

21. Washington State

22. BYU

22. Oklahoma State

24. West Virginia

25. Central Florida

For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_WSoccer).

Women's Soccer