Orangewomen Picked 10th in Preseason BIG EAST Poll
10/26/2001 3:19:52 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J. - The Orangewomen basketball team was picked 10th in the 2001-02 BIG EAST Coaches' Preseason Poll released on Thursday.
Connecticut was the coaches' choice to win the BIG EAST regular-season title. Defending national champion Notre Dame was picked to finish second, and Rutgers was the coaches' pick for third place.
Syracuse returns six letterwinners from last season's team that went 12-15 overall and 6-10 in the league. The Orangewomen finished tied for eighth in the BIG EAST and lost their first-round game of the conference tournament to Georgetown.
The league also announced its preseason awards. Connecticut's Sue Bird was named Preseason Player of the Year and Notre Dame's Jacqueline Batteast was tabbed the Preseason Rookie of the Year.
2001-02 BIG EAST Coaches' Preseason Poll
| 1. | Connecticut (11) | 167 |
| 2. | Notre Dame (2) | 155 |
| 3. | Rutgers | 143 |
| 4. | Boston College | 125 |
| 5. | Villanova (1) | 112 |
| 6. | Virginia Tech | 111 |
| 7. | Georgetown | 102 |
| 8. | Miami | 86 |
| 9. | Seton Hall | 75 |
| 10. | Syracuse | 59 |
| 11. | Providence | 56 |
| 12. | Pittsburgh | 41 |
| 13. | St. John's | 23 |
| 14. | West Virginia | 19 |
First-place votes in parentheses
Coaches could not vote for their own teams
2001-02 Preseason Player of the Year
Sue Bird, Sr., G, Connecticut
2001-02 Preseason Rookie of the Year
Jacqueline Batteast, Fr., F, Notre Dame
Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team
| *Sue Bird | Connecticut | Sr. | G |
| Rebekkah Brunson | Georgetown | So. | F |
| Swin Cash | Connecticut | Sr. | F |
| Becky Gottstein | Boston College | Sr. | F |
| Trish Juhline | Villanova | Jr. | G |
| Alicia Ratay | Notre Dame | Jr. | G |
| * - unanimous selection |
