Maize & Blue Ranked Ninth in National Preseason Coaches Poll
12/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Dec. 1, 2010
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's gymnastics program is ranked ninth in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 696 points from voters.
Four Big Ten programs earned spots in the top 25 with the Wolverines ranking ahead of No. 14 Penn State, No. 17 Illinois and No. 23 Minnesota. Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa received votes in the poll.
Michigan returns eight letterwinners and five All-Americans from a 2010 squad that won the Big Ten title and finished the season 10th in the nation. The Wolverines have won 17 of the last 19 Big Ten titles and 18 trophies in all -- the most of any Big Ten women's program in any sport -- while advancing to 19 consecutive NCAA Regional Championships and 18 of the last 19 NCAA Championships.
Defending national champion UCLA was picked to finish first in the preseason poll with 32 first-place votes, with Alabama, Florida Oklahoma and Utah rounding out the top five. Michigan faces eight preseason top-20 programs in the regular season, hosting No. 2 Alabama (March 4), No. 4 Oklahoma (Feb. 26), No. 6 Stanford (Feb. 13), No. 10 Nebraska (Feb. 13), No. 14 Penn State (Jan. 14) and No. 17 Illinois (Jan. 14). The Wolverines also visit No. 5 Utah (Feb. 18) and No. 7 Georgia (March 12).
The annual Maize and Blue Intrasquad kicks off the season on Sunday (Dec. 5) at 1 p.m. at Crisler Arena. Admission to the event is free [ Live Video ].
