University of Massachusets Athletics
A-10 Coaches Forecast The Spring Season
February 14, 2003 | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 14, 2003
AMHERST, Mass. -- In the conference's preseason polls the Atlantic 10 coaches named the Massachusetts softball and women's rowing teams as favorites to claim the conference title.
The UMass baseball was picked to finish second, while the women's lacrosse team was predicted to finish third, the women's tennis was selected as the fifth-best team, and the men's and women's outdoor track and field teams were picked seventh and sixth, respectively.
The Minutewomen are picked to defend their A-10 softball title they won last year after finishing 21-0 in conference play last season. UMass tallied an overall record of 53-13 last year, setting a school record for most wins in a single season. En route to capturing its 53 wins UMass established a 33-game winning streak, which tied for the eighth longest in NCAA history. Massachusetts closed out its season in the NCAA regionals, where they posted a 1-2 mark after beating Lafayette and falling to both Arizona State and LSU.
The baseball squad has been picked to finish second in the Eastern Division, behind defending champion St. Bonaventure. Mike Stone's squad placed fifth in the East last year with a 9-15 mark, while going 21-26 overall.
The women's rowing team looks to defend its A-10 title it captured last season, while the women's lacrosse team is chosen to finish where they ranked at the end of last season, in third place. The women's tennis team is chosen to improve from its seventh place finish from last season, a preseason fifth-place pick.
In track and field, the men's and women's teams are picked to finish seventh and and sixth, respectively. Last season both teams finished second in the Atlantic 10.