RICHMOND, VA -- The University of Delaware softball team received 23 points and was picked sixth in the 2007 Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Coaches Poll announced by the league on Wednesday.

Five-time defending CAA champion Hofstra, which received sixth place votes and 48 points, was picked to capture its sixth consecutive league title. Georgia State, which won the 2006 regular season title, was picked second with 39 points, while James Madison was selected third with 34 points and received the other two first place votes. UNC Wilmington was picked fourth with 33 points, followed by Towson with 25 points, Delaware with 23 points, George Mason with 12 points, and Drexel with 10 points.

Delaware returns nine starters and welcomes seven newcomers for the 2007 season. The Blue Hens went 33-24 last year, finished in fourth place in the CAA with a 10-10 record, and advanced to the conference tournament.

Delaware will be led by senior pitcher Carolynn Sloat, who earned second team All-Mid Atlantic Region honors last season after going 19-16 with a 1.85 earned run average and leading the CAA in innings pitched. Junior second baseman Allison Borchers (right) will pace the Blue Hen offense after earning first team all-conference and all-region honors in 2006. Borchers led Delaware with a .382 batting average, 73 hits, 36 runs scored, seven triples and 105 total bases.

The Blue Hens open their 2007 season on February 28 when Delaware hosts Saint Joseph’s in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.

AGATE:

2007 CAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Hofstra (6) 48
2. Georgia State 39
3. James Madison (2) 34
4. UNC Wilmington 33
5. Towson 25
6. Delaware 23
7. George Mason 12
8. Drexel 10