Thomas More Women Picked to Repeat as PAC Basketball Champions in 2012-13

GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) released the results of its 2012-13 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll Thursday and Thomas More College was selected by the conference head women’s basketball coaches to capture its seventh-straight PAC Championship title. The Saints and second-year head coach Jeff Hans received nine of the 10 first-place votes.

“It is an honor to be selected as the top team in our preseason poll. Our past and present players and coaches have worked hard to get the Thomas More women's basketball program to this point. With the quality of teams and coaches in our conference, it is going to be a very competitive and exciting season.  We understand that there is a lot of hard work ahead of us to achieve a PAC Championship,” said Hans.

The Saints finished the 2011-12 season with a 25-5 overall record and a 17-1 mark in the PAC. They won their seventh-straight PAC regular season title, sixth-straight PAC Championship Tournament title and made their sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, advancing to the second round.

Saint Vincent College and third-year head coach Jimmy Petruska finished last season with a 22-7 overall record and 15-3 mark in the PAC. The Bearcats appeared in their second-straight PAC Championship Tournament title game a year ago and secured an appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the second-straight year.

Thomas More earned nine first-place votes and totaled 99 points, followed by Saint Vincent in second place with one first-place vote and 87 points. Waynesburg University was picked third with 78 points, followed by Washington & Jefferson College, who was selected fourth with 67 points. Bethany College was picked to finish fifth with 55 points, followed by Westminster College (51), Thiel College (46), Grove City College (36), Chatham University (16) and Geneva College (15).