Jan. 26, 2017
LOS ANGELES - San Diego State, the three-time defending regular-season champions, finished in second place in the 2017 Golden Coast Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the league’s eight head coaches.
The Aztecs earned 43 points and one first-place consideration, and check in behind the favorite, Pacific, which tallied 49 points and seven first-place votes. LMU (35 points), California Baptist (30) and Santa Clara (26) sat in positions No. 3-5, respectively. Rounding out the poll was Azusa Pacific (6th; 21 points), Fresno Pacific (7th; 12) and Concordia (8th; 8).
SDSU enters the campaign having never lost a GCC game in the three years of the conference’s existence, going 19-0 in the process. Last season the Aztecs also won the GCC Championship, defeating Pacific for a second time to earn the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championship where they finished in eighth place.
San Diego State opens the 2017 season ranked 15th nationally and will jump into the pool for the first time on Saturday morning when it faces No. 5 Arizona State in Tempe at 11 a.m. MT. Later that day, the Aztecs will return to the ASU pool to play No. 21 Wagner at 5 p.m. MT.
2017 GCC Women’s Coaches’ Poll
1. Pacific - 49 points (7 first-place votes)
2. San Diego State - 43 points (1)
3. LMU - 35 points
4. California Baptist - 30 points
5. Santa Clara - 26 points
6. Azusa Pacific - 21 points
7. Fresno Pacific - 12 points
8. Concordia - 8 points