SEC media vote UK women second, Dunlap top player

By Jennifer Smith — jsmith3@herald-leader.com

Posted: 12:00am on Oct 20, 2010; Modified: 3:59am on Dec 1, 2011

UK Women's Soccer 2009-2010 UK vs UL UK wins 1-0 DAVID COYLE

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  • SEC pre-season media poll

    (First-place votes in parentheses)

    SEC champion: Tennessee (15), Kentucky (1), Auburn (1)

    Player of the Year: Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky (13), Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee (2), Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee (2)

    Order of finish: 1. Tennessee 202; 2. Kentucky 183; 3. Vanderbilt 157; 4. Georgia 150; 5. LSU 147; 6. Auburn 120; 7. South Carolina 84; 8. Arkansas 81; 9. Alabama 65; 10. Mississippi 47; 11. Mississippi State 45; 11. Florida 45

    First team: LaSondra Barrett, LSU; Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky; Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee; Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee; Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt

    Second team: Tierney Jenkins, Alabama; Alli Smalley, Auburn; Porsha Phillips, Georgia; A'dia Mathies, Kentucky; Kelley Cain, Tennessee

To use some election jargon, Kentucky got quite a bounce out of last year's post-season run.

The UK women's basketball team, picked to finish 11th last season in the Southeastern Conference, was picked second this season behind defending champion Tennessee, in a media poll released by the league on Tuesday.

Wildcats senior Victoria Dunlap was an overwhelming favorite for SEC Player of the Year, as well.

Dunlap, a 6-foot-1 forward who was named SEC Player of the Year at the end of last season, was picked first on 13 of 17 ballots.

She led UK in nearly every statistical category last season, including points (18.1), rebounds (8.4), steals (3.1) and blocked shots (1.9).

Behind Dunlap, the Cats advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and finished second in the SEC and runner-up to the Lady Vols in the SEC Tournament.

The remaining votes for player of the year this pre-season went to Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund and Shekinna Stricklen. Others joining Dunlap on the first team include Louisiana State's LaSondra Barrett and Vanderbilt's Jence Rhoads. Tennessee returns everyone from its team that went 32-3 last season. The Lady Vols earned 15 of the 17 first-place votes.

UK's A'dia Mathies, the SEC Freshman of the Year last season, was named to the pre-season second team in the poll.

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