Alfred softball team ranked 10th in preseason NFCA poll

2/4/2016 1:02:00 PM

ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University softball team, coming off the most successful season in program history, is ranked in the top 10 in the 2016 preseason national rankings.
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) released its Division III preseason poll Wednesday and the Saxons are ranked 10^th.

2016 Preseason NFCA Division III Poll

Alfred was ranked ninth in the final NFCA poll in 2015 after capturing the Empire 8 Conference regular season and championship tournament titles and making an historic run to Salem, VA, for the NCAA Division III national championship tournament. The Saxons lost both games played in Salem to finish the year with a 40-7 record, with the 40 wins representing a new school single-season record.

AU, looking to make a third consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2016, returns most of its lineup. While the Saxons did lose two starters to graduation, including Second Team NFCA All-American utility player Alison Wickwire, they do return eight starters, including junior third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), the 2015 Empire 8 Player of the Year and an NFCA Second Team All-American.

The Saxons are led by first-year head coach Luke Wesneski. He took over for former head coach Gino Olivieri, who left the program in September to take over at Coppin (MD) State.

All eight teams that competed in the national championship tournament in Salem last year are ranked among the top 16 in the NFCA preseason poll. National runner-up Texas-Tyler is the unanimous top-ranked team in the poll, followed by Salisbury and DePauw (both tournament teams in 2015).

East Texas Baptist is fourth, followed by Salem participants Linfield and 2015 national champion Tufts at fifth and sixth, respectively. Luther, Washington and Rowan are seventh, eighth and ninth, followed by Alfred. The Saxons took two games from Rowan to win the double-elimination regional at AU last year. Alma and Kean, the other two teams that competed in Salem last year, are ranked 11^th and 16^th, respectively. Heidelberg, which AU defeated in three games to win its Super Regional last year, is ranked 15^th.

Alfred opens its season with a 12-game Spring Break trip to Clermont, FL, March 7-12. After returning to Alfred, the Saxons open up the regular season with a pair of weekend home Empire 8 contests: April 1 against Stevens and April 2 against Elmira. Stevens handed AU its only Empire 8 loss last year as the Saxons finished with a 15-1 conference mark.