Media Selects Duke As Top Team in ACC

Duke, which has been picked first six straight years, received 69 of the 74 first-place votes. Coming in second with the other five first-place votes was Maryland, Duke's Final Four opponent a year ago.

Picked to finish third was Virginia, which is coming off a 20-9 season.

North Carolina, faced with the loss of Joseph Forte and Brendan Haywood, placed fourth, marking the first time in the poll's history that UNC did not occupy one of the top three spots.

The poll, which began in 1970, has listed the Tar Heels as the top team a league-leading 15 times.

ACC rookie coach Skip Prosser's Wake Forest squad was picked to finish fifth, trailed by Georgia Tech, the ACC's sixth NCAA team last season.

Rounding out the poll were

N.C. State (7th), Florida State (8th) and Clemson (9th).

In the poll's 32-year history, the media's No. 1 or No. 2 ACC Operation Basketball preseason picks have gone on to win the ACC's regular season championship 27 times (including ties).

Women's Golf in 11th Place

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- After the second round of the Lady Paladin Invitational at Furman University, Auburn leads with a total score of 23-over-par 599.

North Carolina finished the day in 11th place.

Leading the way for the Tar Heels were Shelley McKevitt and Beth Lever, who tied for 17th place with scores of 9-over-par 153.

Meghan Adams tied for 49th after shooting a 14-over-par 158.

Rounding out UNC's top five were Abby Spector and Ashley Prange, tied for 81st and 89th place, respectively.

The 54-hole Lady Paladin Invitational is being played at the par 72,

5,984-yard Furman University Golf Course. The tournament continues though Sunday.

UNC Swimmers Dominate Meet

North Carolina swimmers controlled the pool at the 25th-annual Tar Heel Invitational held Saturday morning at Koury Natatorium.

Katie Hathaway won the 400-yard individual medley. Christy Watkins was victorious in the 50 freestyle, and Molly Sullivan won the 1,650 freestyle.

On the men's side, Chris Helin won the 400 IM, while Yuri Suguiyama took the 1,650 freestyle.

UNC Moves Up 1 Spot in Poll

North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 22 in the AP Poll following its off week.

Miami held onto its No. 1 spot despite Nebraska's win against Oklahoma on Saturday.

The best the Cornhuskers could do after their 20-10 victory was replace the Sooners at No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25.

The Sooners (7-1) dropped to No. 3. Miami (6-0) remained No. 1 for the third straight week after last Thursday night's 45-3 win against West Virginia.

Five teams lost for the first time on Saturday, including three from last week's top five -- Oklahoma, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Maryland and Washington State also lost, as the

Top 25 underwent a major reshuffling.

In the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, the top five teams are Miami, Nebraska, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas.

The Bowl Championship Series standings will be released Monday.