West Babylon, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's bowling team is sitting atop the 2022-23 East Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced Friday afternoon.

A well-deserved preseason ranking for the Panthers, who enter this year as the defending runner-up to the ECC crown.

With two ECC All-Conference bowlers having graduated, Adelphi still has two ECC All-Conference selections on the returning roster in Blanca Fraticelli and Kristen Derr.

Fraticelli took home ECC Rookie of the Year and All-ECC Second Team honors in 2021-22, while Derr also earned inclusion on the All-ECC Second Team.

Among the ten teams making up the conference, Adelphi received half of the first-place votes and 87 points to headline the poll. Mercyhurst ran a close second with 84 points and three first-place votes.

The Panthers' quest for an ECC Championship begins next weekend (Oct. 15-16) in Fairfield, Conn. at the Sacred Heart University Bowl for a Cure.

2022-23 ECC Women's Bowling Preseason Poll
1. Adelphi (Five First-Place Votes) - 87 Points
2. Mercyhurst (Three First-Place Votes) - 84 Points
3. Daemen - 73 Points
4. Roberts Wesleyan (One First-Place Vote) - 59 Points
5. Kutztown - 58 Points
T-6. D'Youville - 57 Points
T-6. Molloy - 57 Points
8. Bryant (One First-Place Vote) - 38 Points
9. Saint Anselm - 19 Points
10. St. Thomas Aquinas - 18 Points