SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga's
India Jencks was named to the 2019 West Coast Conference women's soccer preseason team the league announced Monday.
The Zags were selected fifth in the conference's preseason poll as voted by the league's head coaches. It's the best ranking for GU in the WCC preseason poll since 2006, when the Bulldogs were tabbed third, which was the highest position in the poll in program history.
Jencks was named second team All-West Coast Conference following last season. She was named honorable mention All-WCC as a sophomore. For the second straight year, Jencks led the team in goals with six in 2018, which ranked eighth in the conference. She also had a team-high 15 points last season, adding three assists. Jencks' 15 career goals rank seventh in program history, and her 35 career points is ninth.
Chris Watkins returns for his third season as the head coach for the Zags. GU returns 11 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last season's 10-win squad.
Following the 2018 season, Watkins became the fastest head coach to reach 20 wins in a career in program history. This season he welcomes back several experienced players including
Sophia Viviano (5th in GU history with 11 career assists and 10th with 33 career points),
Samantha Heilman (matched program record with seven assists last season),
Isabel Jones (five shutouts last season ranks seventh in program history) and some key pieces from the defense.
Last season, the GU defense allowed only 18 goals, which ranked second in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga was third in the league with seven shutouts in 2018.
No. 13 Santa Clara and (RV) Brigham Young each earned five first-place votes in the 2019 West Coast Conference women's soccer preseason poll to enter as co-favorites to claim the conference title.
Pepperdine comes in third in this year's preseason poll with 65 points, followed by Portland that was picked fourth 47 points.
Only four points separate teams in the fifth, sixth and seventh spot, beginning with Gonzaga claiming fifth with 44 points. San Francisco takes sixth with 43 points and San Diego comes in seventh with 40 points. LMU garnered 30 points for eighth while Saint Mary's (18 points) and Pacific (9 points) round out the preseason poll.
The preseason poll and All-WCC team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's 10 head coaches.
Gonzaga opens its regular season schedule Thursday at Texas at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
| 2019 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL |
|
|
| Team (First Place Votes) |
Points |
|
|
| T1. BYU (5) |
77 |
|
|
| T1. Santa Clara (5) |
77 |
|
|
| 3. Pepperdine |
65 |
|
|
| 4. Portland |
47 |
|
|
| 5. Gonzaga |
44 |
|
|
| 6. San Francisco |
43 |
|
|
| 7. San Diego |
40 |
|
|
| 8. Loyola Marymount |
30 |
|
|
| 9. Saint Mary's |
18 |
|
|
| 10. Pacific |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2019 ALL-WCC PRESEASON WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM |
|
|
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
Pos. |
|
| Joelle Anderson |
Pepperdine |
Jr. |
M/F |
|
| Mikayla Colohan |
Brigham Young |
Jr. |
M |
|
| Elise Flake |
Brigham Young |
Sr. |
F |
|
| Kelcie Hedge |
Santa Clara |
R-Jr. |
F |
|
| India Jencks |
Gonzaga |
R-Sr. |
M |
|
| Alex Loera |
Santa Clara |
Jr. |
M |
|
| Miciah Madison |
San Francisco |
Sr. |
F |
|
| Milan Moses |
San Diego |
R-Sr. |
M |
|
| Isabel Nelson |
Pepperdine |
So. |
D |
|
| Taryn Ries |
Portland |
Jr. |
F/M |
|
| Kelsey Turnbow |
Santa Clara |
Jr. |
F |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
