Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball Picked to Finish Fifth in Pre-Season Patriot League Poll
2/26/2002 7:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 26, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell tallied 18 points to finish fifth in a preseason poll of Patriot League coaches and sports information directors' for the 2002 softball season. The Bison finished the 2001 season with a 19-26-2 overall record and a conference mark of 8-12.
Lehigh, the three-time defending Patriot League regular-season champion, was picked by 10 voters as the season favorite. The Mountain Hawks finished on top of the pack with 50 points in this year's preseason voting.
Colgate, which received the remaining two first-place votes, edged out Army (35 pts.) for the pre-season nod to finish second. Holy Cross was the coaches and SID's pick to finish fourth in the six-team league, receiving 28 points.
Rounding out the pre-season poll were Bucknell and Lafayette (12 pts.), finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. The Bison have three all-league selections on the roster from last season in senior outfielder Jenna Demetriades (Nesquehoning, Pa./Tamaqua), junior pitcher Brandi Porter (Prospect Park, Pa./Interboro) and junior shortstop Meredith Gill (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll). Demetriades was a first-team selection for the third time in her career, while Porter and Gill were tabbed second-team all-stars.
Bucknell opens its season on its spring break trip to the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. on March 10. The Bison will play at least ten games on the trip before returning home for the home opener against Delaware on March 20.
2002 Patriot League Softball Pre-Season Poll 1. Lehigh (10 first-place votes), 50 pts. 2. Colgate (two first-place votes), 37 pts. 3. Army, 35 pts. 4. Holy Cross, 28 pts. 5. Bucknell, 18 pts. 6. Lafayette, 12 pts.
The 2002 Patriot League Championship will be held May 4-5 at the site of the highest seed.
