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 regular season, as voted on by the league’s eight head coaches and announced Friday by the conference office.

Georgia Tech, who claimed the 2011 regular season title, was selected to win the conference after receiving 46 points and collecting five first-place votes. The Yellow Jackets were followed by North Carolina (43 points) and Florida State (39), the 2011 tournament champion, in the preseason poll.

Virginia, picked to finish fourth for the second consecutive year, garnered 26 points in the poll. The Cavaliers return 14 letterwinners, including eight starters, from the 2011 squad that went 24-31 and 5-14 in the ACC. Head coach Eileen Schmidt is in her fifth season at the helm of her alma mater.

Virginia opens the 2012 campaign Feb. 10-12 at East Carolina’s Pirate Classic in Greenville, N.C. The Cavaliers meet Drexel at 10 a.m. Feb. 10 in the first game of the season.

2012 ACC Softball Predicted Order of Finish