Aug. 18, 2005

Mizzou midfielder Elyse Nikonchuk was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team, as selected by the conference coaches and announced by the Big 12 office on Thursday. Also released on Thursday was the coaches' preseason poll, which ranked the Tigers sixth.

Nikonchuk, a junior from New Lenox, Ill., was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection last season and earned a spot on the All-Central Region Team.

Texas A&M was picked to win the Big 12 by the 11 conference coaches, followed by Nebraska, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Missouri. The complete poll is below.

The Tigers will hold their annual Black and Gold Game at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Walton Stadium. The game was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but was postponed due to poor weather conditions. Missouri will open up the regular season on Aug. 26 against Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. The first home action for Mizzou will be on Sept. 2, as Indiana visits Walton Stadium at 7 p.m.

2005 BIG 12 SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
(first place votes in parentheses; coaches not allowed to vote for own team or players)
1. Texas A&M (5) 93
2. Nebraska (5) 92
3. Texas (1) 81
4. Kansas 74
5. Colorado 65
6. Missouri 52
7. Oklahoma State 51
8. Oklahoma 36
9. Iowa State 26
10. Baylor 18
11. Texas Tech 17

2005 ALL-PRESEASON BIG 12 SOCCER TEAM
GK: Joanna Haig,Iowa State
GK: Kati Jo Spisak, Texas A&M
D: Laura Munnelly, Colorado
D: Sasha Andrews, Nebraska
D: Tanya Dennis, Nebraska
MF: Fran Munnelly, Colorado
MF: Elyse Nikonchuk, Missouri
MF: Brittany Timko, Nebraska
MF: Carrie Berend, Texas A&M
F: Kelsey Carpenter, Texas
F: Caitlin Kennedy, Texas
F: Ashlee Pistorius, Texas A&M