Thomasville, NC- Erskine College has earned the top spot in the preseason poll as voted on by league head coaches this season.  The Fleet have also earned their first-ever preseason national ranking, entering the Division II ITA poll at No. 26. 

Head Coach Calhoun Parr returns 9 of 10 players from a squad that went a perfect 9-0 during the CVAC regular season and then went on to win the CVAC tournament as well.  The Fleet finished the 2005 season at 22-2 and advanced to the NCAA Regional tournament for the first time in school history.  Coach Parr, the 2005 CVAC Coach of the Year and ITA Regional Coach of the Year, returns 2005 CVAC Freshman of the Year and 1^st Team All-CVAC member Jennifer Gennaoui at the #1 spot.   Erskine will also welcome back two-time All-CVAC standout junior Ellen Dawson, junior Julie Mages, and senior Chrissy Taylor.  Coach Parr welcomes to the team freshman Kacie Knox, a former South Carolina Co-Player of the Year for high school division 3A.  Senior Katie Chester, juniors Kimmons Kiser and Miroslava Stojkovic, and sophomores Katie Holmes and Jenna Tudor will round out the squad as the Lady Fleet look to defend their title and return to the NCAA tournament.   “There are a number of high-quality programs in the CVAC, but we are anxious to take on the challenging goal of defending our title,” remarks Coach Parr.

The Queens University of Charlotte women’s tennis team is flying high after a tremendous fall season that has launched them into the national Top 40 poll and placed them #2 in this year’s preseason poll.  Queens is ranked 38^th in Division II and 9^th in the Mid-Atlantic Region polls after a 20-10 overall and 7-2 CVAC record for 2005.  Returning for the Royals are two very talented sophomores in Skye Powell and Merrisa Rock.  Rock is currently ranked #6 in the CVAC individual rankings, while Powell is #7.  Powell placed 1^st in the #3 singles flight position during the Fall CVAC Tournament.  The Royals needed experience at the other flight positions and Jessica Burke, Kristen McCulley and Lee-Deane Elmore should add the leadership to find themselves at the top of the CVAC in the spring. Rounding out the Royals line-up is the lone freshman, Lindsey King.  King made quite an impression finishing 1^st in the #4 flight of the Fall CVAC Tourney and first year Coach Ramona Staton is excited about the instant impact she has made.

Finishing out the top 3 spots in the poll is Pfeiffer in the third position.  Pfeiffer returns five starters and adds freshman Juliana Reyes from Cali,Colombia to last year's fifth place team that  went 5-4 in the CVAC and 13-6 overall.  The Falcons are led by senior Leslie Watts, a three time All-CVAC player and ITA Scholar-Athlete.  Watts teams with junior Andrea Stroup, who was also an All-CVAC member, to form one of the top doubles teams in the league. Joining them are returnees Mia Bobrowski, Samantha Thomas, and Heather Smith, who will provide solid depth to the line-up.  Coach Mary Ann Sunbury says, "We have a great group of players that really work hard and are motivated to win.  They are a lot of fun to work with and we look forward to a competitive year."

                Rounding out the Coaches Preseason Poll 4-12 are: Mount Olive, Barton, Limestone, Anderson, Coker, Converse, Lees-McRae, and St. Andrews respectively.

Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Pre-Season Coaches Poll

(First place votes in parenthesis)