RICHMOND, VA -- The University of Delaware field hockey team has been picked No. 6 in the Colonial Athletic Association field hockey pre-season coaches poll announced Tuesday.

Old Dominion, which has captured 13 of the last 16 league titles, was the pre-season No. 1 pick by the league head coaches with seven first place votes and 63 points overall. James Madison, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago as an at-large team, was No. 2 with two first place votes and 56 points.

Northeastern was picked third with 43 points followed by Hofstra (42), William & Mary (40), Delaware (35), Drexel (20), Towson (17), and Virginia Commonwealth (8). The top six teams will advance to the CAA Tournament at the end of the season. The CAA ranked No. 4 in the nation in the RPI power ratings last season.

The Blue Hens will begin their sixth season in the highly competitive Colonial Athletic Association as 15th-year head coach Carol Miller welcomes back 12 letterwinners and nine starters from last year’s team that posted a record of 7-12 and placed sixth in the CAA regular season standings. The injury-ravaged Blue Hens advanced to the CAA Tournament before falling to Hofstra in the opening round.

Delaware welcomes the return of junior first team All-Mid Atlantic Region forward Casey Howard (team-high nine goals), senior back Molly Burke (seven goals; at right), senior back Amanda Warrington, and senior goalkeeper Megan Allen. Warrington, a 2004 All-American, and Allen both missed all but four games in 2006 due to injuries.

The Blue Hens will face one of its toughest schedules in school history in 2007 as Delaware will take on five of the 16 teams that qualified for last fall’s NCAA Tournament, including a home date with defending national champion Maryland and games vs. Duke, Old Dominion, Ohio State, James Madison, and Richmond. The season opener is set for Aug. 25 at Ohio State.

AGATE:

2007 Colonial Athletic Association Field Hockey Pre-Season Coaches Poll: 1. Old Dominion (7 1st Place votes), 63 points; 2. James Madison (2), 56; 3. Northeastern, 43; 4. Hofstra, 42; 5. William & Mary, 40; 6. Delaware, 35; 7. Drexel, 20; 8. Towson, 17; 9. Virginia Commonwealth, 8.