Jennifer Roos talks to her team while freshman Sydney Lambert looks on. Roos, Lambert & the Falcons have been picked to finish third in the MAC's East Division in 2015-16
The Mid-American Conference women's basketball coaches have had their say, and Bowling Green State University has been picked to finish third in the East Division in the 2015-16 season. The MAC office announced the preseason poll on Tuesday morning (Oct. 27).
Additionally, the league office announced the Preseason All-MAC Team, and Falcon senior Erica Donovan was named to the team. Both the poll and the preseason all-conference team are the result of voting by the conference's 12 head women's basketball coaches.
Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons return a total of eight letterwinners, all of whom have started at least five games in their BGSU careers to date. That group includes Donovan and fellow senior Miriam Justinger, juniors Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker, redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick and true sophs Sarah Baer, Rachel Myers and Haley Puk. Â Erica Donovan was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team for the second-straight year Those eight returnees have been joined by five newcomers, including a pair of transfers who are eligible to play immediately. The quintet of new faces includes fifth-year senior Lauren Tibbs, junior Ashley Tunstall and freshmen Maddie Cole, Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro.
"It was very flattering for our program that the MAC coaches recognized Erica and voted her to the Preseason All-MAC East Team, since she did not participate in conference play last season due to injury," said Roos.
"As for the poll, coaches can use the preseason poll in a variety of ways: it can a motivational tactic for their team, a recruiting flier, or a coach may not use it at all. Our program uses the polls as a reminder that the season is only 17 days away. The team and coaching staff is very focused in their preparation for our first game on November 13." Â Ohio and Eastern Michigan were each selected to win their respective divisions. The Bobcats were voted the unanimous favorite in the East Division, receiving all 12 first-place votes after winning the MAC's regular-season and tournament titles a year ago. EMU was tabbed to win the West Division after making a tournament run that took the Eagles all the way to the championship game a year ago.
Akron edged out BGSU for second place in the East Division predictions, while Miami was picked to place fourth. Buffalo and Kent State were tabbed to tie for fifth in the East.
In the West, Ball State was picked to finish second, although the Cardinals received eight first-place votes to EMU's four. Western Michigan, Toledo, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois rounded out the West Division predictions.
Ohio received 10 votes to win the overall regular-season crown, with BSU and EMU garnering one vote apiece. The Bobcats got five votes to capture the MAC Tournament, with the Cardinals and Eagles each earning three votes. Buffalo received one vote to win the league tourney title.
Donovan was joined on the Preseason All-MAC East Division Team by Ohio's Kiyanna Black and Quiera Lampkins and the Akron duo of Anita Brown and Hannah Plybon. The Preseason All-MAC West Division Team included Ball State's Nathalie Fontaine and Jill Morrison, EMU's Cha Sweeney, UT's Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott and WMU's Miracle Woods.
Donovan and Black were voted to the preseason all-conference team for the second-straight season.
The 2014-15 Falcons went 9-21 overall after four players on the 12-woman preseason roster suffered season- or career-ending injuries, and a fifth missed the bulk of the conference schedule due to injury as well. The returning players have a combined total of 203 starts in the Brown and Orange.
Falcon fans will get their chance to see the 2015-16 team in action on Saturday, Nov. 7, when Ashland comes to the Stroh Center for an exhibition game with a 4:00 p.m. start time. The regular season begins the following weekend, with BGSU hosting both Illinois State (Nov. 13) and Bradley (Nov. 15) at the Stroh.
The non-conference schedule also includes home games vs. Evansville and South Dakota State, along with trips to Wilmington, N.C.; Charlottesville, Va.; and San Antonio, Texas (Donovan's hometown).
The 18-game MAC schedule begins on Jan. 2, 2016, when the Falcons will be in Oxford to take on Miami. The conference home opener is the following weekend, as BG faces defending MAC champion and preseason league favorite Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Women's basketball season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the BGSU Ticket Office at 877-BGSU-TICKET or by visiting the Falcon Ticket Zone right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
MAC PRESEASON POLL EAST DIVISION 1 - Ohio (12 first-place votes) 2 - Akron 3 - Bowling Green 4 - Miami T5 - Buffalo &Â Kent State
WEST DIVISION 1 - Eastern Michigan (4) 2 - Ball State (8) 3 - Western Michigan 4 - Toledo 5 - Central Michigan 6 - Northern Illinois
PREDICTED MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION (with votes received) Ohio 5, Ball State 3, Eastern Michigan 3, Buffalo 1.
PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM EAST DIVISION Kiyanna Black, Ohio Anita Brown, Akron Erica Donovan, Bowling Green Quiera Lampkins, Ohio Hannah Plybon, Akron
WEST DIVISION Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott, Toledo Nathalie Fontaine, Ball State Jill Morrison, Ball State Cha Sweeney, Eastern Michigan Miracle Woods, Western Michigan Â
