DC Picked to Finish Sixth

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference coaches have voted and Defiance College has been picked to finish in the sixth spot in the conference standings. [HCAC Release]

The Yellow Jackets received 45 points to get picked in the sixth place spot.  They saw a similar finish last year as DC finished tied for sixth a season ago.  Transylvania was picked to finish first followed by Hanover and Franklin.

DC graduated five seniors from last year's squad but doesn't expect any downtime as they bring back a lot of playing experience from a season ago.

"Though we are young and have a lot of new players, we do return four starters from last year who had a tremendous impact on the success we had," Head Coach Jessica (Cox) Morris said.  "This year's team is extremely dedicated, committed, and are some of the hardest workers I've had in my ten years of coaching."

Two of the starters coming back are both former HCAC All-Conference selections and have been put on the HCAC Preseason Players to Watch list this year.  Those two players are Megan Zachrich (Napoleon, Ohio / Napoleon) and Kelsey Tietje (Deshler, Ohio / Patrick Henry).

Zachrich is the lone senior on this year's DC squad and brings back 48 starts in her career.  She averaged 6.9 points a game and averaged over two assists per contest.  She led the team in steals last season with 2.1 steals per game.

Tietje was named to First Team All-HCAC last season and looks to pick up where she left off.  She averaged a double-double last season with 16.1 points and 10.2 boards per contest, both of which led the Yellow Jackets.  She also was a strong presence in the lane on defense, averaging 1.5 blocks.

When asked about if her and her players were ready for the fast approaching season Coach Cox responded, "I couldn't be more ready.  I am excited for what they're going to be able to achieve together as a team this year."

The Yellow Jackets open the season at home against Alma.  Tip-off time is set for 6 pm on Saturday, November 15.