BOSTON, Mass. – Just two points shy of first place, the UMass Lowell softball team was tabbed second in the 2019 America East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.
 
This is the second consecutive year that the River Hawks have earned the second-place pick and comes after the team has finished second in the league's regular-season standings in the most recent two seasons.  
 
"It's nice that what the team accomplished last year is being represented in this year's preseason poll," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "But like every team in the conference, we are looking more at where we will be at the end of the season."
 
UMass Lowell finished 2018 with a 21-28 overall record, including a 12-5 mark in America East games. The squad received three first-place votes and 32 total points in this year's poll.
 
UAlbany, who won the conference's regular-season and championship titles in 2018, garnered four first-place votes and 34 points to take the top spot in the poll by a slight margin.
 
Spots three through six were separated by a total of just six points, as Stony Brook accumulated 24 points for a third-place pick, Maine garnered 21 points for fourth and Binghamton took fifth with 18 points. Hartford (10 points) and UMBC (8 points) rounded out the voting.
 
Coach Henderson returns 14 veterans from the 2018 squad, and has added four newcomers to bolster the roster. UMass Lowell starts off the new campaign with four tournaments beginning at the River City Leadoff in Jacksonville, Fla. from February 8-10. The River Hawks will square off against Providence and Jacksonville on opening day.