[ACC WOMEN] North Carolina, bidding for its sixth ACC women's championship in seven years and 22nd overall, is the preseason favorite to claim the 2011 championship, beating out Florida State, which finished a close second in the coaches' poll.

The ACC led all teams with eight teams in the tournament.

Boston College, which represented the ACC in the 2010 Women’s College Cup, placed third.

Five other teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament followed in the voting. Virginia was picked fourth, followed by Maryland, Duke, defending ACC champion Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. NC State placed ninth, followed by Miami and Clemson.

Among the top players back are 2010 Defensive Player of the Year Crystal Dunn of North Carolina, 2010 Freshman of the Year Katie Stengel of Wake Forest.

In addition, 2009 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Tiffany McCarty of Florida State is set to return after taking a redshirt year in 2010 due to injury.

2011 ACC Women's Poll
Team Points 2010 Record (2010 ACC Record)
1 North Carolina 117 19-3-2 (8-2-0)
2 Florida State 111 16-6-1 (7-2-1)
3 Boston College 90 17-7-1 (5-5-0)
4 Virginia 86 15-5-2 (7-2-1)
5 Maryland 79 18-2-3 (7-2-1)
6 Duke 69 11-8-4 (4-5-1)
7 Wake Forest 64 13-8-3 (5-4-1)
8 Virginia Tech 41 10-10-1 (4-5-1)
9 NC State 26 7-12-0 (1-9-0)
10 Miami 24 10-8-1 (4-6-0)
11 Clemson 19 6-13-0 (0-10-0)