AVCA COACHES TOP 25 POLL (Division I) - Preseason (08/12/97)

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Defending national champion Stanford is beginning the 1997 season exactly where they left off last year, ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY/AVCA top 25. The Cardinal, which return five starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team, received 58 of 60 first-pace votes and earned a 129-point advantage over second-ranked Penn State. The Nittany Lions, who came within one game of advancing to the 1996 final four, also return five starters and could get a chance to grab the top spot in the rankings when it plays at the State Farm/NACWAA tournament Aug. 22-23 at Stanford. Nebraska and Florida, both of which advanced to the national semifinals last year, are ranked third and fourth, respectively. Last year's preseason favorite and national runner-up Hawaii begins the season ranked No. 11 and UCLA is ranked No. 21 after missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history last year. The Pac-10 placed six teams in the preseason top 25, two more than both the Big 10 and the Big 12. The Big West and the WAC had three teams each.

AVCA Division I TOP 25 POLL - 08/12/96 (PRE-SEASON)

Rank    Team                     Points     '96 Record    '96 Ranking

 
 1      Stanford (58)            1,498         31-2            1
 2      Penn State (2)           1,369         31-3            5
 3      Nebraska                 1,354         30-4            3
 4      Florida                  1,289         37-2            4
 5      Long Beach State         1,220         33-3           10
 6      Michigan State           1,074         26-7            6
 7      Washington State         1,039         27-6            7
 8      BYU                      1,000         27-7            8
 9      Texas                      933         23-7           11
10      Pacific                    897         26-7           12
11      Hawaii                     802         35-3            2
12      UC Santa Barbara           707         23-9           17
13      Texas A&M                  663         25-8           19
14      Ohio State                 649         27-6           13
15      USC                        617         21-9           14
16      Loyola Marymount           613         26-3            9
17      Notre Dame                 567         22-12          25
18      Wisconsin                  555         25-8           15
19      Washington                 485         23-8           18
20      Arizona                    402         20-10          23
21      UCLA                       254         17-14         N/R
22      South Florida              195         27-5           22
23      Colorado                   166         19-10         N/R
24      Colorado State             162         23-11         N/R
25      Arkansas                   157         26-11         N/R


Others Receiving Points: George Mason (153); Georgia Tech (95); Maryland (93);
Louisville (83); Minnesota (80); Kansas State (76); Northern Illinois (35);
Duke (33)
University of San Diego (27); Houston (21); San Diego State (19); Texas Tech (19);
South Carolina (17); Oregon State (14); Rhode Island (12); Pepperdine (8);
Pittsburgh (7); Georgia (5); North Carolina (5); Oral Roberts (5); Arizona State (4);
Idaho (4); Illinois State (4); Miami, Ohio (4); Ball State (3); Massachusetts (2);
Auburn (1); Butler (1).

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