University of Tennessee Athletics
SLAM MAGAZINE TABS LADY VOL BASKETBALL SECOND IN PRESEASON POLL
September 16, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Sept. 16, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
The University of Tennessee women's basketball team, fresh off a 2001-02 season which included a 29-5 record and a trip to its 13th NCAA Final Four, has been selected as the second-ranked team in the nation in a preseason poll released today by SLAM Magazine.
Tennessee, which returns nine letterwinners from last season, including U.S. Basketball Writers' All-American and All-Southeastern Conference performer Kara Lawson (15.1 ppg/4.9 rpg), 2001 All-SEC selection Gwen Jackson (10.5 ppg/6.2 rpg), and SEC All-Freshman team members Shyra Ely (9.3 ppg/5.4 rpg) and Loree Moore (5.7 ppg/3.9 apg), trails only 2002 Final Four participant Duke within the rankings. Big 12 Conference members Kansas State and Texas take spots three and four with defending national champion Connecticut rounding out the top five.
Fellow SEC member and rival Georgia is tabbed in the sixth spot, followed by Purdue, Louisiana State, Texas Tech and Stanford as the SEC and Big 12 each placed three schools in the top 10.
Overall, Tennessee is scheduled to face six members of the SLAM preseason Top 10 during the 2002-03 season, with matchups scheduled against Duke (Nov. 24 at the Jimmy V Classic in Raleigh, N.C.), Stanford (Dec. 18 in Knoxville), Texas (Dec. 21 in Austin, Texas), Connecticut (Jan. 4 in Hartford, Conn.), Georgia (Feb. 20 in Knoxville) and LSU (Feb. 23 in Baton Rouge, La.).
2002-03 SLAM MAGAZINE PRESEASON POLL TOP TEN
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Duke# |
| 2. | TENNESSEE |
| 3. | Kansas State |
| 4. | Texas# |
| 5. | Connecticut# |
| 6. | Georgia# |
| 7. | Purdue |
| 8. | LSU# |
| 9. | Texas Tech |
| 10. | Stanford# |
# -- scheduled 2002-03 Lady Vol opponent
