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 Big East Conference women's soccer coaches picked West Virginia to finish ahead of Marquette in the American Division this season.
But the voters on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll like the Golden Eagles just a little bit more than the Mountaineers.
Marquette, coming off a 16-5-3 season in which they won all 11 of their conference regular-season matches, is 12th in the NSCAA preseason poll, one spot ahead of West Virginia.
In a bit of a surprise, the University of Wisconsin was not mentioned in the poll.
The Badgers return 10 of 11 starters from last year's team that finished third in the Big Ten Conference. Three Big Ten teams are ranked – No. 8 Ohio State, No. 22 Minnesota and No. 24 Illinois – and Penn State is honorable mention.
UW's opponent in its season opener, defending NCAA champion Notre Dame, starts the season ranked first. The Badgers play the Fighting Irish on Aug. 19 in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame will visit the state Sept. 25 for a Big East match against Marquette at Valley Fields.
UW-Parkside (16-3-2) is 13th in the first Division II poll, while UW-Stevens Point (18-2-2) is No. 15 in Division III.
Men
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater, both mainstays in the Division III poll last season, are the lone state representatives in the preseason rankings – both in the same spots they were at the end of 2010.
The Titans, who went 19-1-3 and advanced to the NCAA national semifinals, start the season at No. 3, while the Warhawks (14-2-4) are ranked 13th.
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