Maryland Women's Basketball Ranked 14th in the Preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
11/2/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 2, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - With the release of the first ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll of the season, the Maryland women's basketball team has earned a No. 14 preseason ranking. It is the highest preseason ranking in the coaches poll for the Terps since 1992-93.
Head coach Brenda Frese's Terps have earned numerous top-15 preseason ratings from various publications, including a No. 7 ranking by SLAM Magazine. Maryland returns four starters from last season's team and nine letterwinners overall. The Terps posted a 22-10 record last year, the most wins for the program since 1992-93, earning a No. 24 final ranking in the Coaches Poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year.
Among the returnees are Wade Trophy and Wooden Award candidates Shay Doron and Crystal Langhorne. Doron was a Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-American and a first team All-ACC selection last season. Langhorne is the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year and also earned a spot on the second team all-conference squad. Combining for 34.8 points per game, the pair were also recently named Preseason All-ACC.
Frese welcomes her third-straight top 10 recruiting class, including two consecutive top-five classes. This season's incoming class of McDonald's All-Americans Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) and Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) was ranked fourth in the nation.
Maryland is scheduled to face five teams ranked in the preseason poll, including No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Duke. The Terps also battle No. 8 Michigan State in non-conference action, while ACC-foes North Carolina and NC State are rated No. 8 and No. 24, respectively. The Terrapins host EA Sports for an exhibition matchup on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. The Terps officially open the regular season at Siena on Nov. 18.
ESPN/USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll 1. Tennessee 2. Duke 3. LSU 4. Ohio State 5t. Rutgers 5t. Georgia 7. Baylor 8. North Carolina 9. Connecticut 10. Stanford 11. Michigan State 12. Texas 13. Texas Tech 14. Maryland 15. Notre Dame 16. Vanderbilt 17. Minnesota 18. Arizona State 19. DePaul 20. Temple 21. Utah 22. Southern California 23. Purdue 24. North Carolina State 25. Oklahoma
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