Salem, Va. -- The Roanoke College Softball team has been picked eighth in the 2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. 

RC, which earned 41 points in the poll, returns First-Team All-ODAC outfielder Rebecca Hensley and third team utility player Shanan Hester for continued growth after strong first seasons in Salem. 

Three schools picked up first place consideration in the annual poll, but a familiar name sits at the top with four-time reigning ODAC champion Virginia Wesleyan University leading the coach's survey. The Marlins collected nine top nods on the way to 99 points. Emory & Henry College and the University of Lynchburg each picked up one first place vote with just one point separating the pair. The Wasps earned 85 markers, while the Hornets cap the top-three with 84 tallies. Randolph-Macon College, last season's ODAC runner-up and national championship qualifier, sits fourth with 77 points.

The ODAC maintained its notion as arguably the best NCAA Division III softball conference in the country with a league record four teams qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The postseason started, however, with a great conference tournament in Salem. Virginia Wesleyan hoisted its fourth straight ODAC trophy, but did so the hard way after losing a second round game to Randolph-Macon, 3-2. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, took the shortest route to the title scenario in the league's double-elimination format with wins over Bridgewater College (2-1), VWU, and Lynchburg (3-1).

The 2020 season begins with non-conference play on Saturday, February 8. The first set of ODAC contests are slated for Wednesday, March 11. The conference tournament returns to Salem and the Moyer Complex the weekend of April 24-26. 

Roanoke will open up its 2020 season on Feb. 22 when it hosts Christopher Newport at 1:00 p.m.