August 26, 1999 Santa Clara Opens Season #1 A new National Champion could be crowned if the preseason polls are any indication. After reaching the 1998 College Cup (Final Four) and returning 10 of 11 starters, Santa Clara opens the season as the favorite for the second year in a row. The Broncos will be led by Preseason National Player of the Year, Mandy Clemens. Perennial power North Carolina opens the season #2 while defending NCAA Champ Florida must climb its way up from #7 after losing 5 starters from 1998. Some notes on this season's poll: Big 10 leads the way with 5 ranked teams and a 6th receiving votes The ACC has just three teams ranked (the lowest ever) The Big East has a conference record 5 teams at least receiving votes Penn State (#4) and UCLA (#5) earn their highest rankings ever (regular season or preseason) Richmond (#21), Ohio State (#24) and Syracuse (#25) are making first ever National Poll appearances Dartmouth (#11) and Michigan (#14), both consistently ranked during the season, earn their first ever Preseason Rankings 11 Schools appear in the Preseason Poll for the 4th straight year (since the Soccer Buzz debut in 1996): Santa Clara, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Florida, William & Mary, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas A&M, Clemson, Rutgers, Minnesota Santa Clara, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Connecticut are the only schools to open each season (since 1996) in the Top 10 North Carolina has never started a season ranked lower than #2 and Notre Dame has never started a season ranked lower than #3 The West and Central Regions both have 5 teams in the Top 25 while the West leads the regions with 7 schools receiving votes Since the Soccer Buzz poll began in 1996, every College Cup participant (Final Four) has started ranked in the Buzz Preseason poll and every Championship Finalist began the year ranked in the Top 10 The Preseason #1 and #2 teams have made it to the College Cup every season since 1996