Vassar College tops the 2023 UVC Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Thursday, Jan. 5. The poll was voted on by all seven UVC head coaches.
Vassar earned 35 points in the preseason poll and received five of the seven first-place votes. The Brewers went 18-6 in 2022 and were ranked as high as No. 2 nationally. Vassar advanced to the UVC Semifinals a season after claiming the 2021 UVC Championship.
New Paltz, the 2017 and 2019 NCAA Division III National Champions is picked to finish second in the 2023 UVC Preseason poll with 29 points and one first place vote after advancing to the UVC Championship match for the second straight year last spring.
St. John Fisher, the defending UVC Champions and 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament participant, garnered the other first place vote and is projected to finish third in the UVC Preseason poll with 25 points, while NYU is picked to finish fourth with 23 points. NYU advanced to the 2022 UVC Semifinals.
MIT is picked to finish fifth, having earned 16 points. Nazareth, who was nationally-ranked and won 18 matches last spring, received 11 points and is projected to place sixth in the preseason poll voting, while Elmira, who won 17 contests in 2022, is picked to finish seventh in the 2023 UVC Preseason Poll.
Regular season play begins on Jan. 14-15 and league play begins on Feb. 18. The six-team 2023 UVC Championship will take place from April 14-16 at the site of the regular season champion.
2023 UVC Preseason Poll Results – Points (First Place Votes)
- Vassar – 35 points (5 first place votes)
- New Paltz – 29 points (1)
- St. John Fisher – 25 points (1)
- NYU – 23 points
- MIT – 16 points
- Nazareth – 11 points
- Elmira – 8 points
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