Brooklyn, N.Y. - The two-time defending Northeast Conference champion Long Island University women's was predicted to finish five in the league during the 2011 campaign, the conference announced today. The Blackbirds garnered four first-place votes to capture the top spot in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.

 

Long Island returns four players from last year's NEC title team, including last year's All-NEC Second Team singles and doubles member sophomore Taysha Blessington. Also back for the Blackbirds are senior Dara Lahens and sophomore Aleksandra Pavlovic, who each earned All-NEC doubles honors.  Last season, the Blackbirds defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the conference championship to capture their second league crown.

 

Fairleigh Dickinson received three first-place votes to finish second while Quinnipiac also garnered a trio of votes to place third. Sacred Heart and Mount St. Mary's are predicted for finish fourth and fifth, respectively. Monmouth, Robert Morris, Saint Francis (Pa.), St. Francis (N.Y.) and Wagner round out the poll.

 

The Blackbirds will kick off the spring season on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m., taking on Howard at a neutral site in Queens, N.Y.