![Lady Eagles picked to win South Atlantic Conference title](/photos/sport/w-softbl/auto_action/Vickee11.jpg?max_width=450)
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman College, which won the
2009 Food Lion SAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA
Divison II Southeast Super Regional championship, is the favorite
to win the 2010 South Atlantic Conference softball championship in
a vote of the league’s head coaches, the conference
announced.
Carson-Newman received four first-place votes and 72 total points,
in a tight race between three of the league’s traditional
softball powerhouses. The Lady Eagles went 32-17 in 2009 and won
their ninth South Atlantic Conference Tournament title and finished
ranked 21st in the final NFCA poll.
Carson-Newman opens its 2010 season on Feb. 11 with a doubleheader
at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.
Lenoir-Rhyne University, which has won five conference
championships, is picked to finish second. The Bears received one
first-place vote and 69 total points, to edge Wingate University by
one point. Wingate, the defending conference champion, received
three first-place votes.
Newberry College is picked to finish fourth. Newberry received one
first-place vote and 51 total points.
Mars Hill College is picked to finish fifth with 43 points. The
Lions, who finished tied for second with Lenoir-Rhyne last season,
tied Carson-Newman with five on the preseason All-Conference
team.
Catawba College was picked sixth, followed by Lincoln Memorial
University, Tusculum College, and Brevard College, respectively, to
round out the poll.
The 2010 softball season starts Wednesday with a double header
between Belmont Abbey and Newberry at 2 and 4 pm in Newberry,
S.C.
The 2010 Food Lion SAC Softball Tournament will be April 22-25 in
Wingate, N.C.
2010 Preseason South Atlantic Conference Softball
Poll
Poll
1st
1. Carson-Newman (4) 72
2. Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 69
3. Wingate (3)
68
4. Newberry (1) 51
5. Mars Hill
43
6.
Catawba
40
7. Lincoln Memorial
26
8.
Tusculum
21
9.
Brevard
15