COLUMBIA, Ky. — St. Andrews University’s football team took fourth place in its division of the Mid-South Conference preseason coaches’ poll, league officials announced on Friday.
Reinhardt received six of the seven first-place votes to sit atop the Appalachian Division poll. The Eagles earned an NAIA Football Championship Series berth last season finishing with a 9-2 record. Reinhardt owns four divisional titles, including winning the Appalachian last season.
Bluefield (Va.) is second in the Appalachian preseason poll with 28 voting points. Point (Ga.) is third with 27 voting points, including the final first-place vote.
St. Andrews (N.C.) checks in at fourth in the poll with 20 voting points, followed by Union (Ky.) with 16 points. Kentucky Christian is sixth in the preseason poll with 12 voting points and Cincinnati Christian completes the Appalachian Division with eight voting points. The 2019 season marks the first season Kentucky Christian and Cincinnati Christian compete in the Appalachian follow this summer’s realignment.
St. Andrews finished with an overall record 0f 2-7 last season, including a 1-4 mark against Appalachian Division opponents. The Knights’ season opener is against Keiser University at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 7 in Laurinburg.
Elsewhere in the conference, Reinhardt (Ga.) and Southeastern (Fla.) were selected to win their divisions while Cumberlands (Ky.) and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) tied in their division.
Cumberlands and Lindsey Wilson each received 42 voting points from the coaches within their eight-team division. Reinhardt and Southeastern each received 36 voting points from the coaches in their respective seven-team divisions.
Coaches voted only within their division and were not allowed to vote for their own team in the poll.
AAC volleyball poll
ASHEVILLE — Reinhardt is the favorite to win the 2019 Appalachian Athletic Conference volleyball championship, according to the AAC Coaches’ Preseason Poll released Thursday.
Reinhardt received all 15 first-place votes to give it a total of 225 voting points. The Lady Eagles posted a 35-8 overall record and won the AAC regular season with a 19-0 record. Reinhardt captured its first-ever tournament championship and won its NAIA National Championship Opening Round match to advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The Lady Eagles went 1-2 at the final site in pool play.
St. Andrews was picked to finish in sixth place. The Knights finished 16-13 last season, including a 12-7 mark in conference play.
Milligan is picked to finish second. The Buffaloes ended 2018 with a 26-9 overall record and went 16-3 in league play. Milligan was the tournament runner-up, and like Reinhardt, won its NAIA Opening Round match to advance to the national championship final site. The Buffaloes received 206 voting points.
Rounding out the top five are Point (190 points), Union (164 points), and Montreat (158 points.
The league is divided into divisions with seven playing in the North Division and eight in the South Division. The teams making up the North Division are Bluefield, Bryan, Kentucky Christian, Milligan, Montreat, Tennessee Wesleyan, and Union. In the South Division, the teams are Allen, Brenau, Columbia, Columbia International, Point, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, and Truett McConnell.
The top 10 teams in the conference will advance to the 2019 AAC Tournament, which is set for Nov. 13-16 at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center.
