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Lady Vol Head Coach Pat Summitt
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Oct. 29, 2010
By Zach Stipe, Media Relations Assistant
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team will start the 2010-11 season ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. The preseason rankings were released on Friday.
The Lady Vols received 886 points to place behind only two-time defending national champion and No. 1 Connecticut (932 points), No. 2 Baylor (934) and No. 3 Stanford (922).
The Lady Vols return all 11 letterwinners, including Honorable Mention AP All-Americans Angie Bjorklund and Shekinna Stricklen, from the 2009-10 squad that went 32-3 and captured both the SEC regular season and tournament championships for the first time since 2000. UT earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16.
"I'm proud of our team that we're ranked No. 4 in the AP poll," Lady Vol head coach Pat Summitt said. "This is just the beginning. We have a long way to go and a lot of tough games. We need to stay healthy and play well together. We've got to get our post game healthy and that'll make a big difference. Our guard play is better this year. Hopefully, we are poised to take that next step this season."
The Huskies, who have won a record 78 straight games, received 39 of the 40 first-place votes from a national media panel. Baylor received the other first-place nomination.
It's the seventh time Connecticut has been atop the poll to the start the season. The Lady Vols hold the record for most appearances at No. 1 in the preseason poll with 12.
Rounding out the preseason top 10 are Xavier (818), Duke (802), Ohio State (759), Texas A&M (664), Kentucky (649) and Oklahoma (595).
Joining the Lady Vols and Wildcats in the preseason poll from the SEC were No. 19 Georgia and No. 24 Vanderbilt.
Tennessee is scheduled to face seven teams (Baylor, Stanford, Kentucky, Georgetown, Texas, Georgia and Vanderbilt) ranked in the preseason poll this season.
Associated Press Preseason Poll
1. Connecticut (39)
2. Baylor (1)
3. Stanford
4. Tennessee
5. Xavier
6. Duke
7. Ohio State
8. Texas A&M
9. Kentucky
10. Oklahoma
11. West Virginia
12. Notre Dame
13. Georgetown
14. St. John's
15. North Carolina
16. UCLA
17. Texas
18. Florida State
19. Georgia
20. Iowa State
21. Maryland
22. Iowa
23. TCU
24. Vanderbilt
25. Michigan State
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