CAA Coaches Pick Seahawks Third In League Preseason Poll
Courtesy: UNCW Sports Information
Release: 01/14/2009
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Colonial Athletic Association defending tournament champion James Madison received six first-place votes and was chosen by the league’s coaches to defend its title during the 2009 season. Defending regular season titlist UNC Wilmington, meanwhile, received one vote for the top spot and was picked to finish third behind the Dukes and George Mason.
“I feel good about our chances to finish towards the top of the league,” said UNCW Head Coach Mark Scalf. “Now we have to go out and prove it over the course of the season. JMU and Mason are solid clubs with a lot of experienced players returning. It’ll be a challenge for us.”
The Seahawks finished the 2008 season with a school-best mark of 44-17-1 and advanced to the finals of the Cary Regional where they dropped a 7-3 decision to UNC Chapel Hill to conclude the season. UNCW shattered the conference record for wins in league-play by posting a 25-4-1 mark.
JMU returns six starters from a club that went 39-19 while George Mason returns all nine starters and the bulk of its pitching staff from its 2008 club that finished 30-25.
Following the Seahawks are Georgia State, William & Mary and Towson to round out the top six. Virginia Commonwealth checks in at seven and is followed, in order, by Old Dominion, Delaware, Northeastern and Hofstra. Only the top six advance to the circuit’s postseason tournament to be held at UNCW’s Brooks Field on May 20-23.
UNCW returns a trio of freshman All-America honorees including CAA Rookie-of-the-Year Cameron Roth. Sophomores Cody Stanley and Stephen Harrold round out UNCW’s returning award winners after earning places on the CAA All-Rookie squad and a pair of freshman All-America teams.
The Seahawks open their 2009 slate on Feb. 20, when they play host to Maryland. Season tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling the UNCW Ticket Office at 1-800-808-UNCW or online at UNCWsports.com. Tickets are also still available for the annual Spring Training Banquet by calling the UNCW baseball office at (910) 962-7471.
