Thursday, Nov. 5, 1998
Enterprise staff
The UC Davis women's basketball team was picked by conference coaches to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association this season, while the defending national champion UCD men's team was selected to finish second behind Cal State Bakersfield.
Both teams have new coaches, with Sandy Simpson taking over the UCD women on an interim basis and Brian Fogel replacing Bob Williams as coach of the Aggie men. Both teams also return three starters.
UCD's women's team, which returns starters Karyn Castro, Des Abeyta and Kristin Coolidge from a 23-7 team, received nine of the possible 11 first-place votes for a total of 99 points. Cal State San Bernardino (85) and Cal Poly Pomona (81) were picked to finish behind the Aggies.
``Preseason polls are very much based on previous years' performances and I think that's the case this year,'' Simpson said. ``Still, we take it as a sign of respect.''
The UCD men got four of 12 first-place votes to finish with 111 points, seven behind conference favorite Cal State Bakersfield. The Aggies return five players with significant playing experience, including starters Dante Ross, Jason Cox and J.C. Timmons.
``I'm definitely happy for the players to get that kind of respect,'' said Fogel, whose team is picked as high as fourth in national polls. ``The teams in the previous years worked hard to help earn it.''
The women open their season next Friday at the Metro State (Colo.) Tournament, while the men play at NCAA Division I national contender Stanford the following day.
[ Home | News | Sports | Features | Weekend | Columns | Subscribe | Advertising ]