ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. − The challenge has been set forth by the coaches of the Peach Belt Conference as they voted Flagler College to finish 13th in the preseason poll released today, by conference officials. Flagler tallied 17 points receiving five 11th and seven 12th place tallies.
Two-time NCAA Division II Elite Eight participant Augusta State University is the overwhelming favorite with 10-out-of-12 first place votes and 142 total points. Clayton State came in second with 123 points and USC Aiken was voted third with 118 points.
The Peach Belt will be split into two divisions. Members of the East Division are: Augusta State, USC Aiken, Lander, Flagler, Armstrong Atlantic Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke. Members in the West Division are: Montevallo, Columbus State, Georgia Southwestern, Georgia College, Clayton State and North Georgia.
Flagler will tip-off its 2009-10 slate with an exhibition game against the St. Kitts National Team on Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. The exhibition season ends with a Nov. 10 game against the Sawyer Brown Stars at 7:30 p.m. The regular season gets underway Nov. 19 against the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at 7:30 p.m. Flagler opens the Peach Belt schedule on Jan. 2 against Armstrong Atlantic at 3:30 p.m. at Flagler Gym.
The top four teams from each division will advance to the conference tournament with quarterfinal play on Mar. 1 or 2 at campus sites. The semifinals and championship will be held Mar. 6-7 at Aiken, S.C.
Flagler is coming off a 12-15 season, its last as an independent. The Saints return guards
D.J. Ferguson (Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore HS) and
John Pietkiewicz (Winter Park, Fla./New Hampton Prep). Ferguson finished third in Division II with an average of 7.3 assists per game while Pietkiewicz was tenth nationally in 3-pointers made per game with 3.4. Head Coach Bo Clark enters his 24th season and brings over 400 wins to a new conference. He returns three starters and had an excellent recruiting class.
|
Peach Belt Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
|
| Rank |
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11th |
12th |
Total |
| 1. |
Augusta State |
10 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
142 |
| 2. |
Clayton State |
1 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
123 |
| 3. |
USC Aiken |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
118 |
| 4. |
GCSU |
0 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
114 |
| 5. |
Lander |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
89 |
| 6. |
Francis Marion |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
83 |
| 7. |
Montevallo |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
80 |
| 8. |
North Georgia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
74 |
| 9. |
Armstrong Atlantic |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
57 |
| 10. |
Columbus State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
48 |
| 11. |
Georgia Southwestern |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
47 |
| 12. |
UNC Pembroke |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
22 |
| 13. |
Flagler |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
17 |