Aug. 18, 2011

By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The 2011 Tennessee Lady Vol soccer team was picked to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division in the annual poll of the league's head coaches. The Big Orange garnered 35 points to trail Florida (66 points), South Carolina (51 points) and Georgia (48 points) in the divisional standings.

The defending conference regular-season and tournament champion Gators were the coaches' overwhelming choice to repeat as both the overall league and Eastern Division titlist, while Auburn totaled 62 points to hold off LSU (60 total points) for the Western Division's top spot.

Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Each coach was not allowed to vote for his/her own team and also voted for one squad as an overall conference champion.

Tennessee enters Friday's season opener at Kansas carrying a roster of 27 players, including 16 returning letter-winners, seven returning starters from last year's squad that finished 10-9-1 overall and third in the SEC at 7-3-1 and 11 lauded newcomers. Leading the returnees for the Orange & White are senior midfielder/forward Chelsea Hatcher, senior forward Emily Dowd, senior midfielder Emily Shore, junior midfielder Kylie Bono and sophomore midfielder/forward Caroline Brown.

The Orange & White kick-off its 2011 regular season on Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. ET at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex against Kansas. Live stats are expected to be available through utladyvols.com via Gametracker while live Twitter updates will be posted throughout the match @LadyVol_Soccer.

2011 Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll

(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)

SEC Champion: Florida (11); South Carolina (1)

Eastern Division

Florida (11) 66

South Carolina (1) 51

Georgia 48

TENNESSEE 35

Vanderbilt 26

Kentucky 20

Western Division

Auburn (7) 62

LSU (5) 60

Ole Miss 39

Alabama 37

Arkansas 30

Mississippi State 18