Virginia Picked to Finish Fourth in ACC Preseason Poll

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference softball regular season, as voted on by the league’s eight head softball coaches.

Georgia Tech, who claimed the 2010 regular season and tournament championships, was selected to win the conference after receiving 49 points and collecting the maximum seven first-place votes. The Yellow Jackets were followed by Florida State and North Carolina in the preseason poll.

Virginia made is NCAA Tournament debut in 2010 and finished second in the conference standings, its highest since 1997. The Cavaliers return 12 letterwinners, including six starters, from that squad which went 34-23 overall and 13-7 in the ACC. Head coach Eileen Schmidt is in her fourth year at the helm.

Virginia opens the 2011 campaign Feb. 11 with an 11 a.m. game against Southern Illinois Edwardsville. That contest is one of four on the weekend as part of Campbell’s Hampton Inn Tournament.

2011 ACC Softball Predicted Order of Finish