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OCT.
26 — Leafs Begin 2004-2005 Ranked 18th In Nation
Goshen
comes off of record-setting 2003-2004 season with high expectations |
Olathe,
KS — After winning both the Mid-Central Conference regular
season and tournament championships last season and making a
trip to the 2003-2004 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball
National Tournament — all program firsts — the Goshen
College women’s basketball team was voted the nation’s
18th-best program in the 2004-2005 NAIA’s pre-season women’s
basketball poll Tuesday.
Goshen, which completed last season with a 26-9 record overall,
finished 2003-2004 as the 25th-ranked team in the nation after
falling to the College of the Ozarks
by a 72-70 score in the first round of the national tournament. With the MCC’s
Player of the Year (senior Erin McDugle) returning along with first-team All-MCC
selection senior Candice Williams, Goshen head coach and MCC Coach of the Year
Steve Wiktorowski said he is excited for the upcoming season.
“The preseason ranking is nice in many ways because it does show a degree
of recognition and respect for our program by others,” Wiktorowski said. “However,
in reality, much of that is still from what we accomplished last year and this
is a different team with many new faces and a tougher schedule. This (ranking)
puts an even bigger target on our back, which means that we will have to be ready
to handle everyone’s best effort every game.”
The Leafs’ will get several tests to their ranking early this year, as
Wiktorowski has bolstered his team’s non-conference schedule. A tough,
pre-Christmas, four-day trip through Kentucky and the toughest field ever assembled
for the Goshen College Classic Tournament will be used as a barometer for Wiktorowski’s
squad, not to mention the mammoth season opener at 13th-ranked Cornerstone University
coming up this Saturday.
“Our non-conference schedule is more difficult this year, but our conference
is again extremely balanced and talented,” Wiktorowski said. “We
hope that this difficult schedule will make us ready to be competitive in the
conference again. I think we have the potential to be a better team by the end
of the season, but we are not ahead of this time last year. We have five new
people on the squad, two of whom have not yet joined the team (due to playing
volleyball), and we’ll have two new starters. We have also begun the season
with some injury and illness problems. The girls are working very hard, but our
progress
has been slowed by these things. I’m hopeful it will progress more rapidly
once
we have everyone together and get healthier.”
Goshen will open its season Saturday at Cornerstone. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
For a complete list of the NAIA Division II women’s basketball pre-season
rankings, click here. |
  2003-2004
MCC Champions
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