LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Oct. 28) – The California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team was selected third in the preseason Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West poll released by the league office on Thursday afternoon.

The Vulcans are slotted third in the poll after finishing the 2019-20 campaign with a 21-9 overall record behind a 14-8 mark in league play. Cal U advanced to the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament before the championship event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gannon was the preseason favorite in the PSAC West with four first-place votes after capturing its first PSAC Championship since 2010. IUP was tabbed second in the poll with four first-place votes after advancing to the league finals four times in the last five seasons. Cal U was slotted third and Mercyhurst received the remaining first-place vote to rank fourth in the preseason poll. Seton Hill and Edinboro were positioned fifth and sixth, respectively, while Pitt-Johnstown, Slippery Rock and Clarion rounded out the Western Division.

In the PSAC East, Shippensburg was the preseason favorite with five first-place votes after winning the division in the 2019-20 season. Shepherd was slotted second in the poll with four-first place votes following a 21-win season in its first year as a league member. Kutztown was chosen third in the poll with East Stroudsburg and Lock Haven rounding out the top five in the Eastern Division. Bloomsburg and West Chester ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Millersville and Mansfield.

The Vulcans open the season in two-plus weeks by facing West Liberty and Charleston (W.Va.) on Nov. 13-14 in a tip-off tournament hosted by Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania.