Feb. 21, 2007

Grand Valley State selected to finish fourth in the GLIAC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll. GVSU tallied 78 points, while defending GLIAC champions, Wayne State, was selected to win the 2007 conference championship with 97 points and eight first-place votes.

Ashland University and Gannon University tied for second in the poll after each team recorded 80 points. The Eagles claimed two first-place nods while the Golden Knights earned the lone remaining first place vote.

Ferris State tallied 67 points for fifth place. Northwood University placed sixth with 55 points, while Saginaw Valley State University finished just four points higher than Hillsdale College (47-43), placing seventh and eighth, respectively. Mercyhurst College and the University of Findlay tied for ninth place with 23 points. Lake Superior State University rounds out the poll with 11 points.

The league's 11 head softball coaches ranked each of the GLIAC teams, but were not allowed to rank their own squad. The first-place team on each ballot received ten points, while the second-place team received nine points, etc.

The 2007 GLIAC softball tournament will be held at the Emerson Park Softball Complex in Midland, Mich. The eight-team double elimination event will take place on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5. GLIAC softball teams open the 2007 conference season on Wednesday, Mar. 28th.

Grand Valley State won six straight games to capture the 2006 GLIAC Tournament title en route to its seventh Great Lakes Region Tournament appearance in eight years. The Lakers finished the season with a 35-21 overall and 12-8 GLIAC record.

All-GLIAC First Team honoree, junior shortstop Kristin Moleski, led the Lakers last season with a .341 batting average, posting nine double, three triples, and five home runs. Sophomore pitcher Lori Andjelich had a 16-12 record with 1.59 ERA. She tallied 196 strikeouts in 185 innings of action. Junior pitcher Stephanie Cole tallied a 17-4 record with a 1.80 ERA and 73 strikeouts.

GVSU returns 11 letterwinners and six starters from last year's squad. This year's squad is compiled of just one senior, four juniors, five sophomores, and eight freshmen. The young team is led by veteran head coach Doug Woods, who is beginning his 17th season as the head softball coach at Grand Valley State. He has the longest tenure of any Laker softball coach and during his time he has compiled an overall record of 609-267-3 (.695).