Lehigh expected back on the mountaintop
The Patriot League announced today that Lehigh University has been picked to win its first conference championship in 10 years. The Mountain Hawks received nine first-place votes and are the clear favorite to win the league. The team returns four senior starters from last year’s third-place team.
Lehigh Head Coach Sue Troyan enters her 25th season and is the longest-tenured coach in the league. Troyan owns three conference championships and aims for the program’s first since the 2009-2010 campaign.
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Holy Cross was slated second in the poll, receiving five first-place votes. The Crusaders will be coached this season by interim head coach Ann McInerney. She will be joined by reigning Rookie of the Year Avery LaBarbera. They return their entire playing rotation from a year ago.
The rest of the preseason poll sees defending champion Bucknell University in the third slot, collecting four first-places votes. The Bison enter the season under the direction of first-year head coach, Trevor Woodruff.
Boston University was tabbed fourth, followed by American University, Colgate, Loyola, Navy, Lafayette, and Army. American also received two first-place votes.
Lauren Manis of Holy Cross was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year. It is the second-straight season she has been tabbed as the league’s top performer in the poll.
Manis led her team to an 18-13 mark last season, posting 16.8 PPG and 11.1 RPG. She also claimed 20 double-doubles last season, which ranked 11th in all of Division 1.
Lehigh will pursue the title behind the play of senior guard Camryn Buhr, also selected for the preseason all-league team. Buhr led Lehigh last season with 12.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG, earning a spot on the First Team All-Patriot League team.
Rounding out the preseason all-league team are Ellie Mack (Bucknell), Rachel Thompson (Colgate) and Natalie Kucowski (Lafayette) who was the Defensive Player of the Year a season ago.
The Patriot League poll was conducted by a vote of head coaches and sports information directors.
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