The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Picked to Win SEC Soccer Western Division
8/23/2004 | Soccer
Aug. 23, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Ole Miss soccer team was selected as the favorite to claim the 2004 Southeastern Conference Western Division title by the league's 12 head coaches, as announced Monday by the SEC office. The Rebels earned 57 total points and seven first-place votes ahead of Auburn's 55 points and five first-place nods, although the Tigers are the defending West champions. "We certainly did not anticipate this," said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman. "We have never put much in stock in preseason polls, but it is certainly an honor to receive such respect from the conference coaches. "The SEC West title is one of our goals this season, and this will serve as added motivation for our team to live up to these expectations." For the second straight year, Tennessee was the preseason pick to claim the overall title. The Lady Vols earned eight first-place votes, topping Florida who received four votes as SEC Champion. Tennessee was selected tops in the Eastern Division with 60 total points (nine first-place votes), surpassing the Gators' 52 points (three first-place votes). Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division, though each coach was not allowed to vote for his of her own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion. Ole Miss returns six starters from last year's NCAA Tournament second-round team, and regains 2002 All-SEC first team forward Kelly Renie and 2002 team defensive MVP Lyndsey Williams, both of whom missed last season with injury. The Rebels begin the 2004 season Friday in Oxford against Northwestern State at 7 p.m. CT. They follow up the opener with Middle Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m. and Memphis Tuesday at 7.
SEC SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES' POLL(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)SEC Champion: Tennessee (8); Florida (4)Eastern Division 2003 Results Pts. SEC Pct. Overall Pct.Tennessee (9) 60 7-1-1 .833 17-5-2 .750Florida (3) 52 6-2-1 .722 19-4-2 .800Georgia 39 4-5-0 .444 13-10-0 .565Kentucky 31 4-3-2 .556 6-9-4 .421Vanderbilt 18 3-4-2 .444 8-7-3 .528South Carolina 16 3-4-2 .444 10-8-3 .548Western Division 2003 Results Pts. SEC Pct. Overall Pct.Ole Miss (7) 57 4-3-2 .556 15-6-2 .696Auburn (5) 55 6-1-2 .778 14-4-3 .738LSU 31 2-7-0 .222 10-9-1 .525Arkansas 27 3-6-0 .333 7-10-2 .421Alabama 23 2-5-2 .333 9-8-2 .526Miss. State 23 2-5-2 .333 9-8-3 .525
