AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the 2019-20 Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
Following a 2018-19 campaign that saw BW reach the NCAA Tournament's Second Round, the Yellow Jackets were selected to finish first of the ten OAC member institutions with 78 points and six first place votes. Crosstown rival, and defending OAC regular season and tournament champions, John Carroll University followed very closely behind in second, tallying 75 points and the remaining four first-place votes. Third place featured Capital University with 64 points. Rounding out the top five vote getters were Marietta College and Ohio Northern University with 57 and 44 points, respectively.
While veteran BW women's basketball Head Coach Cheri Harrer appreciates the flattering predictions of her OAC peers, she understands that there is still a lot of work to be done.
"It's nice to have the respect of other league coaches in the preseason poll but the only thing that really matters is what the standings are at the end of the season." Harrer began. "For our program here at BW, the standard of success is to be atop the OAC at the end of the year. It's obviously a really tough league and we know that every game will be highly contested, but that's our annual goal as a program. We aren't the defending champions. Our mindset is that we are fighting to get there and someone else has that spot right now."
The Yellow Jackets open their 2019-20 campaign on Friday, November 15, when they travel to Rochester, New York to take on Skidmore College in the annual Chuck Ressler Tournament, hosted by Rochester University in Louis A. Alexander Palestra at 1:00 p.m. BW's home opener will take place on Tuesday, November 19 where they will compete against St. Vincent College in Ursprung Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. OAC play will commence on Monday, December 2 when the Yellow Jackets host Heidelberg University in Ursprung Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.
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2019-20 OAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll |
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Rank |
School |
Points |
|
1 |
Baldwin Wallace |
78 (6) |
|
2 |
John Carroll |
75 (4) |
|
3 |
Capital |
64 |
|
4 |
Marietta |
57 |
|
5 |
Ohio Northern |
44 |
|
6 |
Mount Union |
39 |
|
7 |
Wilmington |
37 |
|
8 |
Otterbein |
27 |
|
9 |
Heidelberg |
19 |
|
10 |
Muskingum |
10 |