October 25, 2007

Pacific fares poorly in polls

By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer

The Pacific women's basketball team is expected to finish near the bottom of the Big West Conference for the fourth consecutive season, according to polls conducted Wednesday at the Irvine Marriott Hotel.

The Tigers were picked seventh in the coaches' poll and ninth in the media poll after finishing last the past three seasons.

"I don't think I anticipated anything much different than that," second-year Pacific coach Lynne Roberts said. "I think it's a good place for us because we're still scrapping for respect."

UC Riverside was a near-unanimous pick to win its second consecutive Big West championship. The Highlanders, who have their most seasoned team yet under coach John Margaritis, received first-place votes from the other eight coaches in the conference. They received nine of 10 first-place votes in the media poll.

UC Riverside returns reigning Big West Player of the Year Kemie Nkele, a 6-foot-1 senior forward who underwent reconstructive knee surgery last spring.

"She should be able to come back sometime soon," Margaritis said. "She's doing some things in practice, but not everything. There are times she's looks good and she's as fast as she's ever been, so I don't think it's going to affect her."

Nkele was named to the preseason all-conference team along with UC Santa Barbara's Jenna Green and Jessica Wilson, UC Riverside's Seyram Gbewonyo, Long Beach State's Karina Figueroa and Cal State Fullerton's Toni Thomas.

UC Santa Barbara was picked second in both polls. In the coaches' poll, the Highlanders and Gauchos were followed by UC Davis, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, Pacific, Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine. In the media poll, Cal Poly was third, Long Beach and UC Davis tied for fourth, Cal State Fullerton sixth, Cal State Northridge seventh, UC Irvine eighth and Pacific ninth.

Margaritis said Pacific, with eight returning players and four returning starters, could be one of the Big West's big surprises.

"They have a lot of people returning, and they were in just about every game last year," Margaritis said. "I thought they played exceptionally hard."

Pacific forward Karen Dawkins said she wasn't disappointed with the poll results, but she will be disappointed if they prove true.

"I'm not really surprised," Dawkins said. "I'm sure teams are still underestimating us, which is probably a good thing."

Women's basketball

Big West Conference preseason polls

Coaches

1. UC Riverside (8) 64

2. UC Santa Barbara (1) 57

3. UC Davis 44

4. Cal Poly 41

5. Long Beach State 37

6. Cal State Fullerton 24

7. Pacific 23

8. Cal State Northridge 17

UC Irvine 17

Media

1. UC Riverside (9) 89

2. UC Santa Barbara (1) 81

3. Cal Poly 56

4. Long Beach State 53

UC Davis 53

6. Cal State Fullerton 43

7. Cal State Northridge 30

8. UC Irvine 25

9. Pacific 20

Preseason all-conference team

Karina Figueroa, Jr., G, Long Beach State

Jenna Green, Sr., F, UC Santa Barbara

Seyram Gbewonyo, Jr., G, UC Riverside

Kemie Nkele, Sr., F, UC Riverside

Toni Thomas, Jr., F, Cal State Fullerton

Jessica Wilson, Sr., G, UC Santa Barbara