Women's Water Polo

Hartwick #10 in Preseason Water Polo Poll

BRIDGEPORT, PA. - After finishing the 2007 season ranked 10th in the country, the Hartwick water polo team finds itself in a familiar position as it enters its final preparation prior to the start of the 2008 season.

The Hawks, who posted a 32-10 mark a year ago and advanced to their third NCAA Tournament in four years, were selected 10th in the national preseason poll, it was released earlier Wednesday. Hartwick earned 55 points and edged Arizona State by one point to move into the top 10.

"It's nice recognition for the program," said head coach Alan Huckins, who enters his fifth year at the helm of the program. "However, what matters most is how we do at the end of the year. "This might be the highest preseason ranking that Hartwick had ever received," continued Huckins. "We just have to go out, work hard, and focus on winning an Eastern title."

Hartwick, which finished fourth in the nation in goals per game average (12.2 gpg) in 2007, returns five of its top six scorers from a year ago, which includes sophomore All-American Kirsten Hudson (Wellington New Zealand), who ranked 10th in the nation with 86 goals. Senior Ellen Sevigny (Mount Desert, Maine) and sophomore Christina Evans (Cedar Hill, Utah) ranked tied for 31st and tied for 39th in the country with 65 and 59 goals respectively. Seniors Kaitlin Leonard (Montreal, Quebec) with 46 goals and Megan Dahl-Smith (Montreal, Quebec) with 42 goals round out the list of returning scorers.

The Hawks will be looking to replace three starters, among which includes three-year standout Olivia Colebourne, the program's all-time leader with 798 saves. Freshman Jessica Dorman (Auckland, New Zealand) will look to take over controls in net for the Hawks.

Hartwick's season will get underway, February 2 on the west coast. In the opening week, the Hawks will see how they stack up against the nation's best as dates with defending champion and top-ranked UCLA; second-ranked USC; sixth-ranked San Diego State, and ninth-ranked UC Irvine are on the docket.

2008 Preseason Poll 1. UCLA 100 2. USC 93 3. Stanford 89 4. Hawaii 83 5. UC-Berkeley 80 6. San Diego State 77 7. San Jose State 72 8. UC Davis 60 9. UC Irvine 58 10. Hartwick 55 11. Arizona State 54 12. Loyola Marymount 49 13. Long Beach State 39 14. UC San Diego 32 15. Princeton 28 16. UC Santa Barbara 25 17. Cal State Northridge 22 18. Michigan 19 19. Santa Clara 16 20. Cal State Bakersfield 5 RV Indiana 2 RV Maryland 1 RV Colorado State 1