NEW YORK - Senior forward Nicole Michael was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team at the conference's annual media day for the upcoming 2009-10 season on Thursday, Oct. 22. The roster of expected top performers was released at the ESPN Zone in Times Square, and featured Michael as the lone representative from the Orange. The honors were voted upon by the coaches of the 16 teams comprising the league.

Michael is the second Orange player in as many years to receive the All-BIG EAST preseason distinction. Last season, Chandrea Jones was selected to the team by the league's coaches, becoming the first SU player to receive the honor since Julie McBride in 2003-04. Michael was selected as an All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention in 2008-09, the third consecutive year in which she earned the selection. In her freshman campaign, she was named to the conference's All-Rookie Team.

The honor is the second preseason nomination that Michael has received thus far in the 2009-10 season. She has already made Syracuse basketball history by becoming the first woman to be named as one of 31 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award. Her 1,286 career points are 319 shy of the career record at the school. Michael is no stranger to making Orange history as she broke the school's single-season scoring record as a freshman, posting 501 points in her debut campaign.

Michael was among a list of 12 players selected to the preseason squad. The other players selected to the team include Ashley Barlow (Notre Dame), Tina Charles (Connecticut), Keisha Hampton (DePaul), Tiffany Hayes (Connecticut), Maya Moore (Connecticut), Deirdre Naughton (DePaul), Liz Repella (West Virginia), Angel Robinson (Marquette), Kahla Roudebush (Cincinnati), Lindsay Schrader (Notre Dame), and De'Shena Stevens (St. John's)

The Orange also earned 126 points and a seventh-place ranking in the conference's preseason poll. The coaches selected Connecticut as the top seed, earning 15 first place votes and 225 total points. The remainder of the top five feature Notre Dame, DePaul, Louisville, and Pittsburgh.

The Orange enter the season following a 2008-09 campaign which saw the team finish 17-15, as well as 5-11 in conference play. Syracuse reached the postseason for the second consecutive season, winning its first preseason game to Canisius, 90-65. SU played into the second round of the NIT before losing on the road to Bowling Green, 72-69.

Syracuse looks to return to the NCAA Tournament in the 2009-10 season, as well as advance beyond opening round play in the BIG EAST Tournament. In 2008-09, the Orange was felled by St. John's in the opening round of BIG EAST championship competition by the small margin of 63-61.

**Courtesy SU Athletics**