On the heels of winning its second National Championship in the last three years, the Martin Methodist College Women's Soccer team enters the 2008 campaign ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Pre-Season Poll. The RedHawks received a total of 639 points in the poll and 15 of a possible 23 first place votes.

Martin will field an experienced team this season, led by Marcia Silva, last year's Brine-NAIA Player of the Year.

Martin has won the last four TranSouth Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles. The RedHawks also won two out of the last three NAIA Region IX championships.

Martin Head Coach Gerry Cleary was honored but, at the same time, tried to keep the pre-season ranking in perspective.

"It's an honor to be ranked No. 1, but this is based on winning the 2007 National Championship," commented Cleary. "I like the fact that we didn't receive all the top votes. From the rankings you can see there are three other teams that received first place votes."

Cleary went on to add that in the two seasons the RedHawks captured the National Championship, they were not ranked No. 1 in the pre-season poll. Martin entered the 2005 season ranked No. 8 and went into 2007 ranked No. 5.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents, and unaffiliated groups. The first regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on September 9.