Aug. 12, 2008

Irvine, Calif. - Three-time defending Big West Conference Tournament champion Cal State Fullerton has been forecast to finish fourth in the 2008 standings in the annual pre-season poll of the Big West coaches.

UC Santa Barbara is the favorite to capture the regular-season title. The Gauchos picked up four first-place votes and 74 points to narrowly edge two-time defending league co-champion Long Beach State, which collected three first-place nods and 73 points.

Cal Poly was ranked third but picked up the two remaining first-place votes on its way to 62 points, just two ahead of the Titans with 60. The Mustangs and Titans met in the championship match last year with Fullerton advancing via penalty kicks.

UC Irvine had 40 points to come in fifth, followed by Pacific (30) and Cal State Northridge (26) in sixth and seventh, respectively. Rounding out the poll was UC Riverside with 25 points and UC Davis with 15.

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