Last year’s national runner-up Washington University in St. Louis has been selected as the front-runner for the third year straight for the University Athletic Association women’s basketball title by the head coaches. The Bears finished the 2008-2009 season with a 13-1 record in Association play and a 26-5 overall record last year. Washington also enters the season as the favorite in the nation according to the D3hoops.com preseason poll.

Washington earned seven first-place votes to lead the 2009-2010 coaches poll. The University of Chicago finished second and received the remaining first-place vote. Brandeis University was selected third in the poll and is coming off a strong season in which the Judges reached the “Elite Eight” of the NCAA Division III championship before falling to Amherst College. Rounding out the remaining teams in the poll, in order, are New York University, the University of Rochester, Emory University, Case Western Reserve University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

The Bears, who earned their 20th straight NCAA Division III playoff berth last year, will look to senior forward Janice Evans and graduate student Jamie McFarlin to lead them to another UAA championship. Last season Evans, named All-Association First Team, was second on her team with 265 points while averaging 8.5 points per game. McFarlin, who was named All-Association Second Team, was fourth in the UAA in rebounds with 236 and was fourth in Association play in steals, averaging 2.1 steals per game last year.

Chicago returns four starters, including three All-Association selections from last year’s team. Senior forward Molly Hackney (9.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and sophomore Bryanne Halfhill (11.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg) both received All-Association Second Team honors last year. They are also joined by junior forward Karly Kasper (7.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg), who received UAA honorable mention recognition last season.

Brandeis is paced by senior guard Jessica Chapin who earned All-Association First Team honors and sophomore guard Diana Cincotta. Chapin led the team in nearly every major statistical category, including scoring (14.1 ppg), rebounding (6.7 rpg), assists (3.2 apg), and steals (2.9 spg). Cincotta started all but one game at guard, receiving UAA honorable mention recognition after finishing second on the team with 62 assists, 31 three-pointers, and 21 steals.

NYU will return three starters and nine letterwinners from its 2008-2009 team that reached the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Division III championship. The Violets look to pair of players who received UAA honorable mention recognition in senior forward Grace Carmen, senior guard Emily Foshag and senior Jen Hum-Traverso. Carmen averaged 8.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg while shooting 45.9% from the floor. Foshag finished the season averaging 7.5 ppg and 3.1 rpg. Also watch for senior Jen Hum-Traverso who tallied 46 steals and 6.0 ppg as she enters her third season as the starting point guard for the Violets.

Rochester reached its fourth straight “Sweet 16” and returns eight letterwinners including co-captains Melissa Alwardt and Jessica Mastronardi. Alwardt, a junior, led the club in assists (87), three-pointers made (71), and scoring (12.6 ppg) she finished fourth in the UAA in scoring with 353 points. Mastronardi, a senior, tallied 40 assists, made 34 three-pointers and averaged 6.3 points per game.

Emory finished the 2008-09 season at 13-12 overall and 4-10 in the UAA and will return nine letterwinners, including two starters in seniors Mary Smith and Whitney Martin. Smith averaged 5.3 points per game while starting 11 of the team’s 25 contests last season. The 6-foot Martin is the team’s leading returning scorer (5.7 ppg) and rebounder (6.2 rpg).

Case has added eight freshmen while returning all five starters. Leading the Spartans will be fourth-year starter and second-year team captain Ashleigh Tondo. The senior and back-to-back All-Association First Team selection led the UAA in assists (4.0 apg) and was second in steals (3.0 spg). Tondo is just 94 points shy of becoming the eighth member of the school’s 1,000-point club.

Carnegie Mellon returns three starters from last year’s team including leading scorer and UAA Rookie of the Year Jacki Cortese. Cortese, who came off the bench, scored 11.9 points per game on 54.3% shooting. The sophomore will team up with fifth-year senior Rachelle Roll to lead the Tartans post players. Roll averaged 7.6 points and seven rebounds per game last season while leading the team in rebounds with 174.

The 2009-2010 season opens on Sunday November 15, and Association play begins on December 5 with the University of Rochester traveling to Atlanta to face Emory University.

Team (1st-place votes) 2008-09 Record
1. Washington (7) 26-5, 13-1 UAA
2. Chicago (1) 17-8, 8-6 UAA
3. Brandeis 20-8, 7-7 UAA
4. NYU 23-5, 10-4 UAA
5. Rochester 24-4, 11-3 UAA
6. Emory 13-12, 4-10 UAA
Case 10-15, 3-11 UAA
8. Carnegie Mellon 5-20, 0-14 UAA