Jan. 27, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The San Diego State softball team has been picked to finish second in the Mountain West Conference in the preseason poll released Wednesday by the league.
The Aztecs, who went 33-20 last season and finished second in the MWC at 10-5, picked up 22 points, including two first-place votes. Brigham Young, which won the league championship last year with a 12-2 mark, is predicted to win the title again with 24 points, including the other four first-place votes. The Cougars and SDSU were followed by UNLV (17), Utah (10), Colorado State (9) and New Mexico (8).
San Diego State, which is receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA preseason polls, has five former all-conference selections on this year's roster, including last season's MWC Freshman of the Year Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.). Other all-conference returnees include senior two-time selection Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS), redshirt senior Monica Alnes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), redshirt junior Lindsey Marquez (Tustin, Calif.) and junior Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS).
Last season, the Aztecs advanced to their second consecutive NCAA tournament, a first in the program's history.
SDSU begins its season Feb. 11 against Creighton at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
2010 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Brigham Young (4) - 24
2. San Diego State (2) - 22
3. UNLV - 17
4. Utah - 10
5. Colorado State - 9
6. New Mexico - 8