University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Opens Season At No. 5 In AP Poll
October 30, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 30, 2009
(AP) --- The North Carolina women's basketball team will open its 2009-10 campaign ranked No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press poll, the AP announced Friday. The Tar Heels, who were 28-7 a year ago, were picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier in the week.
Defending national champion Connecticut received all 40 first-place votes, marking the seventh time in school history UConn has held the top preseason ranking by The Associated Press.
Connecticut was the unanimous choice atop the poll the final 15 weeks last season, winning its sixth national championship to cap a 39-0 run. Huskies coach Geno Auriemma returns four starters from that team, including player of the year Maya Moore.
Stanford was voted second and Ohio State third, with Notre Dame and North Carolina rounding out the first five. The Big East and ACC each have five teams in the Top 25.
Duke and Baylor start the next five, followed by Tennessee - the only team with more No. 1 preseason rankings than UConn. It's the Lady Vols' lowest preseason mark since 1985, when they were voted ninth.
The Huskies topped the poll all last season, and have been there for 25 straight weeks. It's the fourth-longest stretch all-time, and UConn could break the record this season; Louisiana Tech was No. 1 for 36 straight weeks from 1980-82.
Connecticut, which was also No. 1 in the preseason in 1995, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '08, opens Nov. 14 against Northeastern. Since the 1989-90 season, the top team in the preseason has won the NCAA championship six times, including the Huskies last season.
LSU is ninth with Michigan State rounding out the top 10.
Xavier is No. 11 - the Musketeers' highest ranking ever. Expectations are high with Amber Harris back after sitting out last season with a knee injury.
Xavier is followed by Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Florida State, while Arizona State, DePaul, California, Georgia Tech and Kansas complete the first 20.
The Jayhawks, who return four starters from last season's 22-14 team, are ranked for the first time since Feb. 21, 2000. They lost in the WNIT finals in front of more than 16,000 fans after winning four of their final five league games.
Georgia, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Middle Tennessee State and Rutgers finish off the Top 25.
Middle Tennessee State returns Alysha Clark, who led the nation in scoring last season, and is ranked in the preseason poll for the first time.
LSU is one of eight teams in the poll not ranked at the end of last season. The others are Michigan State, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Georgia, Middle Tennessee State and Rutgers.
2009 Preseason AP Poll
| 1. | Connecticut (40) | 0-0 | 1000 |
| 2. | Stanford | 0-0 | 951 |
| 3. | Ohio State | 0-0 | 862 |
| 4. | Notre Dame | 0-0 | 799 |
| 5. | North Carolina | 0-0 | 798 |
| 6. | Duke | 0-0 | 772 |
| 7. | Baylor | 0-0 | 744 |
| 8. | Tennessee | 0-0 | 676 |
| 9. | LSU | 0-0 | 600 |
| 10. | Michigan State | 0-0 | 521 |
| 11. | Xavier | 0-0 | 492 |
| 12. | Texas | 0-0 | 487 |
| 13. | Oklahoma | 0-0 | 444 |
| 14. | Virginia | 0-0 | 394 |
| 15. | Florida State | 0-0 | 385 |
| 16. | Arizona State | 0-0 | 317 |
| 17. | DePaul | 0-0 | 301 |
| 18. | California | 0-0 | 294 |
| 19. | Georgia Tech | 0-0 | 262 |
| 20. | Kansas | 0-0 | 241 |
| 21. | Georgia | 0-0 | 201 |
| 22. | Vanderbilt | 0-0 | 165 |
| 23. | Louisville | 0-0 | 156 |
| 24. | Middle Tennessee State | 0-0 | 143 |
| 25. | Rutgers | 0-0 | 138 |
