2008 NAC Softball Coaches' Preseason Poll 1. Aurora University (8), 164 2. Lakeland College (4), 156 3. Marian College, 140 4. Edgewood College (1), 130 5. Benedictine University, 118 6. Concordia University Wisconsin, 107 7. Wisconsin Lutheran College, 94 8. Dominican University, 59     Rockford College, 59 10. Alverno College, 54 11. Concordia University Chicago, 50 12. MSOE, 27 13. Maranatha Baptist Bible College, 25 First place votes in parentheses.

Aurora softball picked to repeat as champions according to NAC preseason coaches' poll
VERONA, Wis. -- Aurora University's softball team has been selected to win the 2008 Northern Athletics Conference Championship according to the preseason coaches' poll.

The Spartans, who won both the NAC regular season and tournament championships in 2007, received eight of the 13 first place votes for 164 poll points. Aurora finished with a 35-8 overall record last season which included a 21-1 conference mark.

The Spartans return 2007 NAC Player of the Year Dana Cebular who led the conference in hitting with a .483 average, which included 10 homeruns and 38 RBI. Also returning are three other All-NAC members, Nicole Capone, Nikki Veen and Abby Young.

Lakeland College received four first place votes and totaled 156 poll points. The Muskies finished second in the conference last season with an 18-4 record (27-12 overall). Leading the Muskies will be 2007 NAC Rookie of the Year Sara Roberts. Roberts compiled a 19-7 record and 1.67 ERA in 29 appearances last year. She pitched a perfect game and two additional no-hitters in her debut season.

Rounding out the top three is Marian College, selected third with 140 poll points. The Sabres finished 2007 with a 24-14 overall record and 16-6 in the NAC.

Edgewood College, which received the remaining first place vote, is picked to finish fourth. The Eagles (24-18, 14-8 NAC) were runners-up to Aurora in the 2007 NAC Tournament.

Benedictine University (21-20-1, 15-7) is selected fifth, Concordia University Wisconsin (19-23, 13-9) sixth and Wisconsin Lutheran College (12-21, 10-12) seventh.

Dominican University (8-22, 6-16) and Rockford College (10-28, 6-16) both tallied 59 poll points and are picked eighth. Alverno College (9-25, 6-16) is tabbed 10th, Concordia University Chicago (9-28, 4-18) 11th, MSOE (0-27) 12th and Maranatha Baptist Bible College (8-28, 3-19) 13th.

A few teams kick off their season at the end of the month, with the rest of the teams beginning their season in March. The season concludes with the 2008 NAC Softball Tournament May 1-3, and the NCAA Division III Championship May 8-12 and 16-20.

Northern Athletics Conference, Sports Information Department, February 19, 2008.