Florida Soccer is League Coaches Pick to Win SEC Title
Thursday, August 18, 2011 | Soccer
The University of Florida soccer program is the league coaches' pick to defend its Southeastern Conference team title in 2011, according to the conference office release Thursday afternoon.
Florida earned 11 first-place votes in the poll. In 2010, UF claimed their 11th overall and fifth consecutive SEC title with a 9-1-1 league record.
In the preseason voting for the SEC East title, Florida led with 11 first-place votes and 66 points. South Carolina was second with 51 points, followed by Georgia (48), Tennessee (35), Vanderbilt (26) and Kentucky (20).
In the West, Auburn was first with 62 total points (seven first-place votes). LSU was picked to finish second in the West with its 60 points, followed by Mississippi (39), Alabama (37), Arkansas (30) and Mississippi State (18).
Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division, though each coach was not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion.
Florida returns eight starters from the 2010 team that reached the NCAA Second Round. The Gators return five who have earned All-SEC honors during their careers - seniors Tahnai Annis (2010 All-SEC second team), Lindsay Thompson (2009 All-SEC second team), juniors Erika Tymrak (2010 All-SEC first team), Kathryn Williamson (2010 SEC first team/SEC Defensive Player of Year) and sophomore Taylor Travis (2010 All-SEC second team/SEC Freshman of the Year).
Florida ranks No. 9 in the 2011 NSCAA/Continental Tire Preseason poll. Four 2011 opponents also appear in the NSCAA preseason poll The second weekend of the season has the Gators traveling to Knoxville, Tenn., to face a pair of preseason top 20 teams at the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic. Florida opens play at the Classic with preseason No. 11 Texas A&M on Aug. 26 and then meets No. 16 UCLA on Aug. 28. Two teams on the preseason top 25 visit the James G. Pressly Stadium in 2011. No. 5 Florida State makes the trip to Gainesville for a Sept. 9 meeting. The regular-season finale brings No. 21 South Carolina to Pressly Stadium for an Oct. 28 match scheduled to air on FS-Florida.
Soccer will again be the first Florida team to compete this season, as the Gators open the 2011 season with four consecutive road matches. The season begins at Miami on Aug. 19 and then at Florida International on Aug. 21. The second weekend sends the Gators to Knoxville, Tenn., to face a pair of preseason top-20 teams who earned NCAA Championship berths in 2010. Florida faces No. 11 Texas A&M on Aug. 26 and then meets No. 16 UCLA on Aug. 28. The home season begins Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. versus Texas Tech.
| 2011 SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll | |||
| (First-place votes in parentheses) | |||
| SEC Champion: Florida (11), South Carolina (1) | |||
| Eastern Division | Western Division | ||
| Florida (11) | 66 | Auburn (7) | 62 |
| South Carolina (1) | 51 | LSU (5) | 60 |
| Georgia | 48 | Mississippi | 39 |
| Tennessee | 35 | Alabama | 37 |
| Vanderbilt | 26 | Arkansas | 30 |
| Kentucky | 20 | Mississippi State | 18 |
| Eastern Standings | ||||||||
| 2010 Southeastern Conference Team Standings - Final | ||||||||
| TEAM | SEC | Pts. | OVERALL | PCT. | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL | |
| Eastern Division | ||||||||
| Florida#% | 9 - 1 - 1 | 28 | 19 - 2 - 3 | .854 | 10-0-1 | 6-1-2 | 3-1-0 | |
| South Carolina | 8 - 2 - 1 | 25 | 15 - 6 - 4 | .680 | 7-4-1 | 7-1-1 | 1-1-2 | |
| Tennessee | 7 - 3 - 1 | 22 | 10 - 9 - 1 | .525 | 7-3-1 | 3-4-0 | 0-2-0 | |
| Georgia | 5 - 3 - 3 | 18 | 11 - 6 - 4 | .619 | 5-2-2 | 5-3-1 | 1-1-1 | |
| Kentucky | 4 - 5 - 2 | 14 | 10 - 7 - 3 | .575 | 8-2-1 | 1-5-1 | 1-0-1 | |
| Vanderbilt | 4 - 5 - 2 | 14 | 8 - 10 - 2 | .450 | 4-4-2 | 4-4-0 | 0-2-0 | |
| Western Division | SEC | Pts. | OVERALL | PCT. | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL | |
| Auburn^ | 5 - 4 - 2 | 17 | 11 - 8 - 2 | .571 | 7-3-0 | 2-3-2 | 2-2-0 | |
| LSU | 4 - 4 - 3 | 15 | 8 - 8 - 5 | .500 | 5-2-1 | 2-5-3 | 1-1-1 | |
| Mississippi | 3 - 5 - 3 | 12 | 7 - 9 - 4 | .450 | 5-3-4 | 2-4-0 | 0-2-0 | |
| Alabama | 3 - 6 - 2 | 11 | 8 - 8 - 2 | .500 | 6-3-1 | 2-5-1 | 0-0-0 | |
| Arkansas | 2 - 7 - 2 | 8 | 5 - 11 - 3 | .342 | 2-5-1 | 2-6-2 | 1-0-0 | |
| Mississippi State | 1 - 10 - 0 | 3 | 8 - 12 - 0 | .400 | 4-6-0 | 3-6-0 | 1-0-0 | |
| #-Regular Season and Eastern Division champion; ^-Western Division champion; %-SEC Tournament champion | ||||||||
