Virginia Baseball Picked Eighth in 2002 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll

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Jan. 30, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team was picked to finish eighth in the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Poll. UVa finished 25-31 overall, 9-15 in the conference last season. The ACC’s nine head coaches selected Clemson as the top pick to win the conference championship in 2002 with five first place votes and 77 total points. The Tigers return seven position players and three starting pitchers from their 2001 squad that finished second in the ACC regular season standings and compiled an overall record of 41-22.

Following Clemson, Florida State was picked to finished a close second with 74 points and four first place votes after finishing the 2001 season as the regular season champion. 2001 ACC Tournament Champion Wake Forest finished in third place tallying 57 points. The Demon Deacons finished last season with a 44-18 overall record.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets claimed the fourth place slot with 56 points, while North Carolina placed fifth in the balloting with 45 points. The Tar Heels were followed by N.C. State in sixth who finished with 33 points and then Duke was selected seventh with 29 points. Virginia was picked to finish eighth in the ACC with 24 points and Maryland in ninth place with nine points.

The Cavaliers will begin their 2002 regular season on Saturday, February 16th when UVa hosts the Bucknell Bison in a doubleheader beginning at noon at the UVa Baseball Stadium.

2002 ACC Coaches Preseason Predicted Order of Finish

Place	School		Points	2001 Record/Finish1.   	Clemson (5)	77	41-22, 17-7 ACC2.   	Florida State (4)	74	47-19, 20-4 ACC3.   	Wake Forest	57	44-18, 16-8 ACC4.   	Georgia Tech	56	41-20, 13-11 ACC5.   	North Carolina	45	31-26, 9-15 ACC6.   	N.C. State	33	32-29, 9-15 ACC7. 	Duke		29	23-33, 10-13 ACC8.	VIRGINIA	24	25-31, 9-15 ACC9.	Maryland	9	17-37, 4-19 ACC

(#) denotes first place votes.

— UVa —