NFHCA Division III Preseason Poll

LANCASTER, Pa. – Coming off a 14-5 season in 2009, the Gettysburg College field hockey team has been ranked No. 20 in the 2010 Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Preseason Top-20 Poll, it was announced Tuesday.

In addition, the Bullets were picked to finish third in the Centennial Conference (CC) Preseason Coaches Poll.

Gettysburg, which finished the 2009 season ranked No. 17 by the NFHCA, picked up 193 points in the poll. Defending national champion Salisbury University was ranked No. 1 and earned 40 of the 63 first-place votes. Among Centennial Conference schools, Ursinus College was ranked No. 3 and garnered four first-place votes while Johns Hopkins University was ranked No. 15.

In the CC preseason poll, defending conference champion Ursinus was the unanimous favorite, capturing 100 points and 10 first-place votes (coaches could not vote for their own team). Johns Hopkins was second with 87 points and one first-place vote while the Bullets were a close third with 83 points.

Gettysburg plays its 2010 opener Sept. 3, when it visits Eastern Mennonite University at 4 p.m. in a non-conference game.

2010 Centennial Conference Field Hockey Preseason Poll
1. Ursinus College, 100 pts. (10)
2. Johns Hopkins University, 87 pts. (1)
3. Gettysburg College, 83 pts.
4. Haverford College, 66 pts.
5. Franklin & Marshall College, 63 pts.
6. Muhlenberg College, 51 pts.
7. McDaniel College, 44 pts.
8. Washington (Md.) College, 37 pts.
9. Dickinson College, 32 pts.
10. Swarthmore College, 23 pts.
11. Bryn Mawr College, 10 pts. 

First-place votes in parentheses