Cougars Tabbed 4th in WAC Preseason Poll

DENVER – The Western Athletic Conference softball coaches have picked the BYU softball team to finish fourth and Fresno State to win the 2012 WAC regular-season crown.

In addition, senior Jessica Dugas and sophomore Carly Duckworth were named to the preseason All-WAC team. Both players earned All-Mountain West Conference honors following the 2011 season.

In its first season as members of the WAC, the Cougars earned one first-place vote and 35 points. Fresno State took the top spot in the preseason poll with 44 points and three first-place votes. Hawai‘i came in second, picking up two first-place votes and 42 points, followed by New Mexico State in third place with 37 points and two first-place votes. Nevada was picked to finish fifth with 20 points, followed by San Jose State and Louisiana Tech tied for sixth with 17 points apiece. Utah State rounded out the poll in eighth place with 12 points.

BYU took the MWC championship each of the last three seasons and has played in the NCAA tournament every year since 2005.

2012 WAC Preseason Poll
Team (first-place votes)	Points
1. Fresno State (3)	44
2. Hawai'i (2)	42
3. New Mexico State (2)	37
4. BYU (1)	35
5. Nevada	20
T-6. Louisiana Tech	17
T-6. San Jose State	17
8. Utah State	12

2012 Preseason All-WAC Team
Player	School	Year	Position
Teresa Conrad	New Mexico State	Jr.	SS/1B
Carly Duckworth	BYU	So.	OF
Jessica Dugas	BYU	Sr.	OF/3B
Jessica Iwata	Hawai'i	Jr.	SS
Tiare Jennings	New Mexico State	Sr.	OF
Michelle Moses	Fresno State	Sr.	P/1B
Andrea Ortega	Fresno State	Sr.	OF
Stephanie Ricketts	Hawai'i	Sr.	P
Valerie Swedberg	New Mexico State	So.	OF
Alex Aguirre	Hawai'i	Sr.	OF
Janna Frandrup	Louisiana Tech	Jr.	P/2B
Erin Jones	Nevada	Jr.	3B
Allison Lenzora	Utah State	So.	INF
Kelly Majam	Hawai'i	Jr.	OF
Brooke Ortiz	Fresno State	So.	2B/3B
Kassy Uchida	Utah State	So.	UT