DENVER ? Fresno State has been picked to win the 2006 WAC crown as selected by the conference’s head coaches. Fresno State grabbed the 2005 WAC Tournament title after finishing tie for second in the regular season with a 4-2-1 WAC record. The Bulldogs return nine starters and 21 letterwinners, including the 2005 WAC Defensive Player of the Year, Rochelle Jagdeo. They also return first-team all-WAC members forward Cortney Sobrero and goalkeeper Angie Larsen.
Click here for a .pdf, printable version.Fresno State earned 46 points and grabbed five first-place votes to top the poll. After making a run in the 2005 WAC Tournament, the Bulldogs suffered a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament to Santa Clara. Hawai?i, the 2005 regular-season champion, has been selected by the coaches to finish second, receiving 42 points. The Rainbow Wahine return seven starters, including first-team all-WAC selections Jessica Domingo and Koren Takayama. Projected to finish third is San Jose State with 34 points. The Spartans finished tied for second in the WAC’s regular season with a 4-2-1 record. With 10 returning starters, including the WAC’s 2005 Freshman of the Year, Liz Behlen, San Jose State looks for its first crown since 2000.
Coming in fourth in the in the poll is Nevada which received one first place vote and 31 points. Nevada is hosting this year’s WAC Tournament. Grabbing fifth in the preseason poll is Utah State with 29 points. The Aggies finished tied for second last season, its first in the WAC. Boise State is tabbed to finish sixth with 20 points. Rounding out the field are Idaho with 14 points and Louisiana Tech with eight.
The WAC will continue its regular-season play as a single round-robin format for a total of seven conference matches. Each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. The six teams with the most points will advance to the WAC Tournament. The regular season kicks off August 25 with seven of eight teams in competition.
TEAM - POINTS (first place votes) 1. Fresno State - 46 (5)
2. Hawai?i - 42 (2)
3. San Jose State - 34
4. Nevada - 31 (1)
5. Utah State - 29
6. Boise State - 20
7. Idaho - 14
8. Louisiana Tech - 8