BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team was voted to finish third in the SEC Western Division in the coaches preseason poll, the league announced Thursday.
Arkansas was chosen to win the SEC West. Auburn was selected second, and Ole Miss came in fourth behind LSU, with Alabama and Mississippi State finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
Georgia was picked to win the overall conference title as well as the SEC East. Florida was voted to finish second, followed by Vanderbilt and Tennessee at third and fourth. South Carolina was voted fifth, with Kentucky finishing sixth.
The Lady Tigers, led by senior All-American Megan Falcon, finished second in the SEC West last season. Falcon begins the spring season ranked fifth in the nation in singles and 17th in doubles teams with Mykala Hedberg.
The team will begin SEC play against Auburn in Auburn, Ala. on March 6.
The preseason poll is voted on by the SEC Women’s Tennis Coaches and is based on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 count. The complete tally for the poll is below.
2009 Women’s Tennis Coaches Preseason Poll
Eastern Division
1. Georgia 72
2. Florida 59
3. Vanderbilt 42
4. Tennessee 30
5. South Carolina 26
6. Kentucky 23
Western Division
1. Arkansas 72
2. Auburn 54
3. LSU 50
4. Ole Miss 35
5. Alabama 28
6. Mississippi State 13
Overall Regular Season Champion: Georgia (11 votes); Arkansas (1)