Oct. 4, 2000LAS VEGAS -UNLV women's basketball star Linda Fr?hlich was chosen as the preseason Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference by both the league's coaches and media, the conference announced at its annual Basketball Media Day on Wednesday.
The 6-3 forward from Oldendorf, Germany, earns the conference preseason honor for the second straight year. Last season, after leading the league in scoring, rebounding and steals, she was also named the MWC Player of the Year.
"These honors are nice, but they don't mean a lot to me," Fr?hlich said. "What is important is how I actually play during the season and what we can accomplish as a team."
The Rebels were picked by both the media and league coaches to finish fourth overall in the conference. In the coaches' poll, Utah was picked to defend its title and received 56 points on seven of the eight first-place votes. The coaches anticipate a tight race with the next four teams separated by a total of 12 points. Colorado State (47) captured the remaining first-place nod and was chosen second, followed by New Mexico (43), UNLV (39) and BYU (35).
Utah was also chosen to win the league in the media poll with 10 first-place votes and 136 points. Colorado State and BYU followed the Utes, and UNLV was again chosen to finish fourth and received one first-place vote.
In addition to her MWC preseason Player of the Year award, Fr?hlich was also selected as a preseason All-American by at least two organizations. She was a third-team honoree by the Women's Basketball News Service and an honorable mention choice by Street & Smith's.
The Lady Rebels begin the 2000-01 season soon, with practice set to begin on Saturday, Oct. 14 and the first game scheduled for Nov. 20 against Texas-San Antonio at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Preseason Coaches Poll Preseason Media PollUtah (7) 56 Utah (10) 136CSU (1) 47 CSU (5) 125New Mexico 43 BYU (2) 110UNLV 39 UNLV (1) 105BYU 35 New Mexico 86Wyoming 25 Wyoming 53San Diego St. 21 San Diego St. 50Air Force 14 Air Force 19
