University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Picked To Finish Fourth In ACC
January 23, 2007 | Softball
Jan. 23, 2007
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Returning 16 letterwinners, including three players from the 2006 All-Southeast Region team, the North Carolina softball team was predicted to finish fourth in the ACC in 2007 as determined by a vote of the league's eight head coaches. The NC State Wolfpack topped the list, garnering seven first-place votes and 62 points.
The Tar Heels set a school-record for wins last year with 48 and finished with the second-best conference record at 13-7. They were the only other school besides NC State to garner a first-place vote in this year's poll, helping them to amass a 40-point total.
Second place in the preseason poll is Florida State, which picked up 53 points. According to the league's coaches, the conference race is expected to be tight among four schools standing between third and sixth places. Virginia Tech, which tallied 45 points and a third-place showing in the poll, returns 11 letterwinners to its lineup. Behind UNC in fourth, Georgia Tech stands fifth as the Yellow Jackets received 32 points, while the Terrapins collected 31 points and a spot at sixth.
Rounding out the preseason poll at seventh and eighth, respectively, are Virginia (17 points) and Boston College (8 points).
The 2007 ACC Softball Championship will take place May 11-13 in Tallahassee, Fla., with Florida State serving as the host. Carolina will open its season with the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill the weekend of Feb. 9-11.
Below is a complete listing of the preseason coaches' poll with 2006 records:
2007 ACC Preseason Softball Poll School Points 2006 Record 1. NC State (7) 62 50-21 (14-6) 2. Florida State 53 44-30 (10-10) 3. Virginia Tech 45 39-21 (12-8) 4. North Carolina (1) 40 48-19 (13-7) 5. Georgia Tech 32 48-22 (12-9) 6. Maryland 31 32-27 (7-13) 7. Virginia 17 29-26 (7-13) 8. Boston College 8 22-26 (6-15)
