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NSIC PRESEASON POLL PITS UMD SECOND IN 2012-13; NEWMAN TABBED PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Junior forward Katrina Newman was named the NSIC North Division's preseason Player of the Year Thursday.

Since Annette Wiles took over as the head coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth, the Bulldogs have inserted themselves at the forefront of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Coaches around the league see UMD as one of the teams to beat again in 2012-13, slotting the Bulldogs second in their annual preseason poll, released Thursday. 

Wiles, in her fifth season at the helm for UMD, has guided the Bulldogs to two national tournament appearances. For the first time since arriving in Duluth, Wiles boasts a roster entirely recruited by her own staff. At the top of that group is junior forward Katrina Newman, who was named the North Division's Preseason Player of the Year. 

After pulling down NSIC Freshman of the Year honors two years ago, Newman was named NSIC All-Conference First Team as a sophomore. Newman led UMD in scoring and was sixth in the league with a scoring average of 14.4 points per game, the highest of any Bulldog. She ripped down more offensive rebounds than anyone in the league, pulling down an average of 3.29 offensive boards per contest. Newman tied for third in the NSIC in the rebounding ranks, grabbing 8.2 per game through the 2011-12 campaign. 

Now featuring 16 teams with the additions of Minot State University and the University of Sioux Falls, the NSIC will introduce a division system this winter. UMD received the second highest total (190 points) among teams NSIC teams and brought in the highest total in the North Division. Augustana College topped the poll with 225 points and all 15 possible first-place votes -- coaches may not vote for their own team.

The Bulldogs open the season Nov. 10.

NSIC Preseason Release

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