ISLE FILE
Five UH players preseason all-WAC

Advertiser Staff

Five University of Hawai'i softball players were named preseason all-Western Athletic Conference and the Rainbow Wahine were picked to finish third in a poll of league coaches released yesterday.

Fresno State, which was the only WAC team to advance to the NCAA Tournament last season and is the only team in the nation to play in all 23 NCAA Tournaments, received six first-place votes and 36 total points.

Tulsa was picked second with one first-place vote and 31 points. Hawai'i had one second-place vote and 25 points.

UH, however, led the way with the most preseason all-WAC selections.

The five UH players are pitcher Melissa Coogan, catcher Denise Dahlberg, second baseman Noelle Izumi, outfielder Tracie Uchima and designated player Kate Robinson.

Christina Clark and Jamie Southern, both from Fresno State, were named preseason Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

The Rainbow Wahine open the season Feb. 3 in the Hawai'i Paradise Classic. UH also plays an alumni game Jan. 29 and a scrimmage against Hawai'i Pacific Feb. 1.

BASEBALL

Rainbows mentioned in preseason poll

The University of Hawai'i baseball team received mention in the Sports Weekly/ESPN 2005 Preseason College Baseball Coaches Poll.

UH received 18 points.

Texas is ranked No. 1 with 15 first-place votes and 953 points. Cal State Fullerton, the defending national champion, is No. 2 with 16 first-place votes and 914 votes. The No. 25 team — TCU — received 107 points.

Two teams on the UH schedule — No. 14 Rice and No. 19 Florida State — are ranked in the top 25.