Virginia Picked Seventh in the 2003 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll

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Jan. 28, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team was picked to finish seventh in the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. UVa received a total of 29 points in the poll to finish in front of both the Duke Blue Devils and the Maryland Terrapins. The ACC’s nine head coaches selected the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as the top pick to win the conference championship in 2003 with six first place votes and a total of 77 points in the poll.

Georgia Tech return 22 of the 28 letterwinner from its 2002 squad that finished the season with a 52-16 record, including a 14-9 league mark and a trip to the NCAA College World Series. Just behind the Yellow Jackets in the poll were the Florida State Seminoles who finished a close second place with 73 points and two first place votes after finishing the 2002 season as the regular season and ACC Tournament Champions.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons finished in third place tallying 65 points and one first place vote. Wake Forest finished last season with a 47-13-1 overall record and was the second seed at the ACC Tournament with a 17-6 conference record.

The Clemson Tigers were picked to finish in fourth place with 54 points, while the North Carolina Tar Heels placed fifth in the balloting with 41 points. North Carolina was followed by the N.C. State Wolfpack who finished with 30 points good for sixth place in the poll, just one more point than Virginia with 29 points in seventh. Duke was picked to finish in eighth place with 19 points and Maryland rounded out the poll in ninth place with 17 points.

The Cavaliers will begin their 2003 season on February 14-16 when Virginia travels to Auburn, Alabama to face the Auburn Tigers in a three game non-conference series.

2003 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll – Predicted Order of Finish

Place	School                 		Points        	2002 Record/Finish1.   	Georgia Tech (6)		77		52-16, 14-9 ACC2.   	Florida State (2)		73		60-14, 18-6 ACC3.   	Wake Forest (1)		65		47-13-1, 17-6 ACC4.   	Clemson			54		54-17, 16-8 ACC5.   	North Carolina		41		43-21, 17-7 ACC6.   	N.C. State		30		33-26, 7-17 ACC7.   	VIRGINIA		29		25-32, 8-16 ACC8.   	Duke			19		24-34, 4-20 ACC9.   	Maryland		17		34-23, 6-18 ACC

(#) denotes first place votes

— UVa —