Feb. 6, 2013

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SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Defending West Coast Conference Champion Pepperdine was picked to finish second in the 2013 WCC Preseason Poll as announced today by the league office. The Waves earned a pair of first place votes and 53 points overall in the poll of the WCC's nine head coaches. Longtime rival San Diego was picked to win the WCC and captured six first place votes and 62 points overall.

Last season, Pepperdine was tabbed fifth in the preseason prognostications and rolled to its 18th WCC Championship. The Waves competed in the 2012 NCAA Stanford Regional.

Sophomore infielder Austin Davidson (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard HS) earned preseason All-WCC honors and was the lone Wave on the list. Davidson had an impressive debut season for Pepperdine, hitting .277 with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs and 28 RBI. Davidson elevated his game during league play, batting .316 with two home runs and 14 RBI.

Pepperdine opens defense of it WCC title when it welcomes Western Michigan to Malibu for a four-game series beginning Friday, February 15. First pitch on opening day against the Broncos is set for 2:00 p.m.

The Toreros earned six of eight possible first-place votes and 62 overall points in the poll. Last year's West Coast Conference champion, Pepperdine University, earned 53 points and picked up two first place votes in the annual survey.

Gonzaga University garnered a first place vote and tallied 49 points to finish third in the poll. Loyola Marymount University captured 47 points to finish fourth. The University of San Francisco was selected fifth with 39 points, while BYU was tabbed sixth with 24 points. The University of Portland (19 points), Santa Clara University (16 points), and Saint Mary's College (15 points) rounded out the poll.

In all, seven of the nine WCC schools are represented on the preseason All-West Coast Conference team, led by Loyola Marymount with four selections, and Gonzaga with three. This year's Preseason All-WCC Team were All-West Coast Conference selections last year, led by 2012 Pitcher of the Year Marco Gonzales (Gonzaga) and Freshman of the Year Travis Radke (Portland).

The 2013 season begins on Friday, February 15, with all nine West Coast Conference teams in action. For a complete interactive schedule, please visit WCCsports.com, and follow @WCCsports on Twitter for in-game updates throughout the season.

The complete preseason poll and all-conference team follows.

2013 WEST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

2013 PRESEASON ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE TEAM