USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll - Week 13
West Hartford, CT – The University of Hartford women's basketball scored enough votes for its first top-25 ranking in school history on Tuesday. The Hawks, who have been receiving votes all season in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, earned 49 votes in the 13th week of the poll, enough to pick up the 25th spot in the poll, one of two teams jumping from unranked to ranked.
The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll is a weekly vote of 31 head coaches, representing each of the NCAA Division I conferences. All voters must be members of the WBCA. Hawks head coach Jennifer Rizzotti voted on the coaches poll from 2006-07 through 2008-09 and currently serves as the chair of the board of coaches.
The Hawks opened the season receiving votes in the coaches poll and have not fallen out of that list since the season began. The week 12 poll, released on February second had the most votes prior to this week, with 31 votes, three spots out of the top-25. The Hawks also made an appearance in the AP poll for the first time in the week 10 poll, released on January 18. The Hawks saw a season high 60 votes in the writer's poll in the most recent poll released on Monday, February eighth.
Hartford scored its first ever top-25 votes in the 2003-04 season in the AP Poll. The Hawks votes came in a season when they scored a then program-best 18 wins. The first votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll came during the 2005-06 season. Hartford narrowly missed cracking the top-25 after defeating Michigan State by three points just before Christmas in 2007. Following that win, Hartford had 46 votes in the coaches poll, falling one shy of breaking into the elite list.
The Hawks are the second America East team this season to garner a spot in the top-25 as Vermont picked up its first national ranking in 17 years when they were voted as the 24th team in the nation in the AP Poll released on January 18. Vermont fell to Boston University in their first game following their national ranking.
Hartford returns to action tonight when they travel to the furthest point north in the America East Conference to take on the 7-16 Maine Black Bears at 7:00 p.m. at Alfond Arena. Fans can catch all the action live on the flagship station for Hartford women's Basketball WWUH 91.3 FM or on ESPN Radio 1410 AM.
