ERIE, Pa. – The men’s and women’s basketball teams were picked to finish second in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) coaches’ preseason poll, released on Wednesday. The Lions had both Preseason Co-Players of the Year in senior guard Amy Oldach and senior forward Chris Saltzman.
The women, who finished fifth in the conference last season, return seven letterwinners and two starters. Oldach shares the preseason honors with La Roche senior guard Chantelle Jennings. Oldach enters her final year after being named the 2010 AMCC Defensive Player of the Year. She also earned a spot on the all-conference second team. Oldach ranked eighth nationally with 4.0 steals per game. Oldach currently ranks sixth in career steals (196) and eighth in assists (241), while needing 241 points to hit the 1,000-point plateau.
Medaille was the top choice on the women’s side and Behrend shares the No. 2 spot with La Roche.
For the men, Behrend sits behind Pitt-Bradford in the preseason rankings. A year ago, the Lions fell to the Panthers in the AMCC Finals, before capturing the 2010 ECAC South Region Title and finishing with a 22-8 record. Saltzman and Medaille’s senior forward Ron Malicki are early predictions for Player of the Year. Saltzman, a co-captain, was a first-team all-conference player last season, averaging 14.8 points per game. He also was named the program’s MVP and of the ECAC Tournament.
The men will open the season on Tuesday night at Fredonia at 8 p.m., while the women start off the year with their annual Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 20.