UF softball picked to win SEC East

The No. 5 Florida softball team was picked to win the SEC Eastern Division in the annual coaches preseason poll released Tuesday.

No. 2 Alabama was chosen to win the league title.

The Crimson Tide garnered six out of 11 possible title votes. The Gators were voted to win the East with 13 points and earned three votes for the overall SEC title. No. 7 Georgia was voted to finished second in the East with 18 points and received one vote for the title. The Tide, Gators and Bulldogs all advanced to the 2009 Women’s College Worlds Series, setting a record for the SEC as all three were three of the last four teams standing.

Rounding out the Eastern Division was No. 16 Tennessee, followed by Kentucky and South Carolina. In the Western Division, No. 13 LSU was voted to finish second behind Alabama with 17 points, followed by Auburn with 33. LSU also tallied a vote for the title. Mississippi State eared a fourth-place finish, followed by Ole Miss and then Arkansas.

Points for the poll were awarded on a one through six basis in the West and one through five basis in the East. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Florida won back-to-back regular-season SEC titles in 2008 and 2009 and its first in 1998.

The Gators open the season Friday at 4 p.m. against No. 13 Georgia Tech in Clearwater at the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament. They return 10 letterwinners from last year’s national runner-up squad, including four All-Americans.