Skipjacks ranked 18th in first national poll
Chesapeake College's women's basketball team won't be able to sneak up on anyone this season.
The Skipjacks, who followed a losing 2010-11 season with state and region tournament championships last season, are ranked 18th in the first National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national poll. Chesapeake opens the season Thursday with a 5 p.m. game at Allegany College of Maryland, which lost to the Skipjacks in last season's state tournament title game.
"It's probably never happened in Chesapeake women's basketball history to be ranked coming straight out of the gate," said Chesapeake head coach Damon Nichols. "It's a good thing for the college and for our program."
Meanwhile, Montgomery College – which beat Chesapeake on the way to winning the state regular-season title last season – shocked Monroe (N.Y.) College, 65-59, on Sunday. The Mustangs are the two-time defending NJCAA Division II national champions and are ranked No. 1 in the Division II preseason poll.
"That's huge for Montgomery – I'm proud of them," said Nichols. "I know Hagerstown is going to be very good, Montgomery is going to be pretty solid, Dundalk's picked up a couple of good kids, and Cecil is well-coached and always has good chemistry."
Montgomery College, the only Maryland women's basketball team besides Chesapeake to be ranked this season, is sixth in the NJCAA Division III poll. The Raptors visit Chesapeake on January 16th in a game that could have significant state title implications.
The only other Maryland JuCo basketball team to be ranked is Cecil College's men's basketball squad, which is ninth in the NJCAA Division II men's basketball poll.