No. 5 Gator Softball Predicted to Finish Third in SEC Eastern Division
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 | Softball
The No. 5/5 Florida softball team was picked to finish third in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division in the 2011 preseason coaches poll, released by the league office Tuesday afternoon. Florida garnered one vote for conference champion; No. 6/3 Alabama claimed four votes as the favorite to win the league, while No. 4/7 Tennessee and No. 3/4 Georgia each tallied three of the eleven possible votes.
The Gator softball program owns three SEC Championships, including back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009, along with winning the league regular-season race, its first title, in 1998. Florida turned in a 20-4 conference record last season en route to its third-consecutive Women's College World Series appearance.
UF was picked third in the Eastern Division behind Tennessee and Georgia in first and second, respectively. Kentucky and South Carolina rounded out the five division institutions. The Gators, who were picked as the No. 5 preseason team in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls earlier Tuesday, will play host to both the Volunteers and Bulldogs from the Eastern Division this season, while also welcoming Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State from the Western Division to Gainesville in 2011.
In the SEC Western Division, No. 16/19 LSU was predicted to finish second behind the Alabama Crimson Tide, followed by Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Ole Miss in third through sixth, respectively.
Points for the preseason poll were awarded on a one through six basis in the West and one through five basis in the East. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The league will begin 2011 softball action Feb. 10 and the Gators will kick off the season Feb. 11-13 in Tampa, Fla., at the USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament. The 2011 SEC Softball Tournament will be hosted by Ole Miss May 12-14 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Miss.
2011 SEC PRESEASON SOFTBALL POLL
Conference Champion: Alabama (4), Tennessee (3), Georgia (3), FLORIDA (1)
Eastern Division:
1. Tennessee (17 points)
2. Georgia (18 points)
3. FLORIDA (22 points)
4. Kentucky (37 points)
5. South Carolina (46 points)
Western Division:
1. Alabama (10 points)
2. LSU (19 points)
3. Auburn (33 points)
4. Arkansas (36 points)
5. Mississippi State (46 points)
6. Ole Miss (51 points)
