Lady  Mocs Basketball Ranked 23rd in Athlon's Preseason Poll

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The first preseason women’s basketball poll of the 
season is a first for the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. UTC is ranked No. 23 in 
the nation, according to a preseason poll published by Athlon Sports 
College Basketball 2004-05, which marks the first time in school history 
the Lady Mocs have been ranked in a preseason poll.

“No doubt that’s a great compliment to our program,” said Chattanooga coach 
Wes Moore, the 2003-04 SoCon Coach of the Year who directed UTC to a 29-3 
record last season, including a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over 
Rutgers. “Obviously, we’re very excited about the poll. It’s a tribute to 
all our kids who helped build our program over the last several years. All 
of them can take pride in the recognition.”

No Southern Conference team has ever been ranked in a preseason Top 25 poll 
and the last time UTC made the national rankings was late in the 1984 
season. The Lady Mocs, then coached by Sharon Fanning, were ranked No. 19 
after defeating Clemson and had a 22-3 mark.

Chattanooga made it as high as No. 26 last season in the ESPN/USA Today Top 
25 Coaches Poll with a 28-2 mark heading into the NCAA Tournament. The 
Athlon’s poll states, “Katasha Brown is a star in the making. Offensive 
balance comes from senior center Tiffany Patton (6.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg), plus 
juniors Tiffani Roberson (11.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Nicole Mattison (7.7 ppg, 
5.7 rpg).”

“It’s definitely impressive for recruits to see what kind of respect our 
program is getting not only regionally but nationally as well,” Moore said. 
“I definitely feel like it’s a feather in our cap.

“Preseason polls are based on the past and we’ve got to start over and see 
what we can accomplish this year. Still, it’s a great step for our program 
and what we’re trying to build here.”

Seven teams in the preseason poll have been Chattanooga opponents in the 
last five years, including Tennessee (4th), Georgia (5th), Vanderbilt 
(13th), Texas Tech (14th), Kansas State (17th), Rutgers (19th) and Penn 
State (21st). Texas is picked No. 1 in the poll, followed by defending 
national champion Connecticut and LSU.

The Lady Mocs return four starters from last season’s record-setting team, 
which had the nation’s longest winning streak at 27 games. Headlining the 
returnees are Brown, the 2004 SoCon Player of the Year and SoCon Tournament 
MVP, All-SoCon pick Roberson, Mattison and Patton.

Sept. 20, 2004
www.GoMocs.com

Don Harris
Chattanooga Women's SID
(423) 425-4618
www.GoMocs.com