ACC coaches chose the Virginia softball team to finish third in the league this season. Receiving 14 points in the poll, the Cavaliers placed behind preseason favorite Florida State and defending conference tournament champion North Carolina. Maryland and Georgia Tech ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the five-team league.
Virginia also received eight votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, placing the team 33rd nationally.
Coming off of a 52-17 overall record and a 4-4 conference mark, Virginia begins play this season on Feb. 15, at the UNC Triangle Classic against Ohio.
NIT expands to 40 teams
Beginning this March, the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, the governing body that runs the preseason and postseason National Invitational Tournaments, will expand from 32 to 40 teams.
This expansion will be a one-year experiment offering eight more Division-I teams the chance to extend their season. Over the past year, conference commissioners, athletic directors and coaches have asked the NIT to admit additional teams into the tournament, NIT Executive Director John Powers said. The amount of first-round games remains uncertain, but Powers said that no team will receive a bye.
First-round match-ups, selected Sun., March 10, will be played at on-campus sites March 12-15. The remaining games take place in Madison Square Garden in New York City, and the championship game will be played March 28.
The last change to the NIT occurred in 1980 when the tournament expanded to 32 teams.
- Compiled by Chris Glasser
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