Tennessee Tech, which won the 2000 Ohio Valley Conference tournament title, is the favorite to capture the regular-season crown in 2001, according to a poll of the leagueÆs head soccer coaches. The Golden Eagles received three first-place votes and 22 total points in the balloting, edging out two-time defending regular-season champion Eastern Illinois, which earned two first-place votes and 21 total points. Murray State, which received the other first-place vote, and Southeast Missouri State were tied for third in the balloting with 16 points, followed by Morehead State and Tennessee-Martin. Tennessee Tech (12-8 overall, 4-1 in OVC) returns 11 letterwinners from a year ago, including four all-conference performers. Among the top returnees are senior forward Angela Freund (7 goals, 7 asst.), sophomore forward Cheryl Bjorgan (11 goals, 7 asst.), sophomore midfielder Kristin Stegeman (6 goals, 9 asst.) and senior defender Julie Tryon. Eastern Illinois (15-4-1 overall, 5-0 in OVC), which hasnÆt lost a regular-season OVC match since 1998, welcomes back eight starters. Leading the Panthers will be senior defender Devon Bissell (3 goals, 10 asst.), the 2000 OVC Player of the Year, sophomore forward Beth Liesen (15 goals), the 2000 OVC Freshman of the Year, and two-time All-OVC midfielder Cara LeMaster. The 2001 OVC womenÆs soccer tournament will be conducted Nov. 9-11 at the site of the regular-season champion with the top four teams participating. For the first time, the OVC tournament champion will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA WomenÆs Tournament. 2001 Preseason Ohio Valley Poll 1. Tennessee Tech (3 first-place votes) 22 2. Eastern Illinois (2 first-place votes) 21 3. Murray State (1 first-place vote) 16 3. Southeast Missouri State 16 5. Morehead State 10 6. Tennessee-Martin 5