Aug. 19, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The 2009 Tennessee Lady Vol soccer team was picked to finish third in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division in the annual poll of the league's head coaches. The Big Orange garnered 43 points to trail Florida (66 points) and Georgia (53 points) in the divisional standings.

The defending conference regular-season champion Gators were the coaches' overwhelming choice to repeat as both the overall league and Eastern Division titlist, while LSU totaled 63 points to hold off Auburn (58 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 Saturday's season opener versus in-state foe ETSU carrying a roster of 23 players, including 15 returning letterwinners, seven returning starters from last year's Southeastern Conference Tournament championship team and eight lauded newcomers. Leading the returnees for the Orange & White are senior forward Mick Imgram, sophomore midfielder Chelsea Hatcher, junior midfielder/forward Julie Edwards and junior midfielder Tanya Emerson. Among the lauded newcomers are forwards Jayden Barrett and Alexis Owens, defender Ali Hall, midfielder Amy Harrison and midfielder/defender Kylie Bono.

The Orange & White kick-off its 2009 regular season on Aug. 22nd, when ETSU visits Knoxville for a 7 p.m. ET match-up. Live video streaming as well as live stats are expected to be available through utladyvols.com.

2009 Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
SEC Champion: Florida (11); Auburn (1)
Eastern Division
Florida (11)	66
Georgia (1)	53
Tennessee	43
S. Carolina	40
Vanderbilt	25
Kentucky	19
Western Division
LSU (8)	63
Auburn (4)	58
Ole Miss	43
Alabama	39
Arkansas	25
Miss. State	18