College Women: Liberty is favored to repeat in Big South

Liberty, last yearÆs tournament champion and the 1999 runner-up, is the 2001 favorite in the Big South, picking up 10 first-place votes. Elon, last yearÆs runner-up, was picked second, and Radford, finished in third place. Coastal Carolina, which started itÆs womenÆs soccer program last year, was chosen fourth and Charleston Southern finished fifth in the voting, which is conducted by the League’s head women’s soccer coaches and sports information directors. High Point was sixth and UNC Asheville was picked to finish seventh. Birmingham-Southern, which is making the move from NAIA to NCAA Division I, will play a full League schedule, however the PanthersÆ games will not count in the regular season standings until the 2003 season, when they will also become eligible for the womenÆs soccer tournament. Listed below are the points each team received in the voting. The number in parenthesis indicates the number of first-place votes received.