The two-time defending Centennial Conference champions once again reigned atop the conference’s preseason poll as Gettysburg College earned top billing for the third consecutive campaign.
Gettysburg claimed the maximum nine first-place votes and 81 points to out-distance Franklin & Marshall College, which finished with 72 points and one first-place vote. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams. The Bullets grabbed the top spot for the 10th time since 2007.
Haverford College, Dickinson College, and Washington College rounded out the top five in the poll and the projected playoff field.
Gettysburg won its league-record 12th Centennial championship last spring by defeating Franklin & Marshall 16-6 in the tournament title game. The NCAA Division III champions in 2017 and 2018, the Bullets came up shy of a three-peat with a loss to No. 8 Wesleyan University in the national quarterfinals. The team finished 19-2 overall and 8-1 in conference play in 2019.
The Bullets open the regular season at Messiah College on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m. Gettysburg’s first Centennial contest will take place at Ursinus College on Saturday, March 21, at 3 p.m.
| 2020 Centennial Conference Preseason Poll | ||
| No. | Team | Points (1st) |
| 1 | Gettysburg | 81 (9) |
| 2 | Franklin & Marshall | 73 (1) |
| 3 | Haverford | 61 |
| 4 | Dickinson | 56 |
| 5 | Washington | 54 |
| 6 | Swarthmore | 39 |
| 7 | Muhlenberg | 33 |
| 8 | McDaniel | 24 |
| 9 | Ursinus | 21 |
| 10 | Bryn Mawr | 9 |
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.