DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 1997            TAG: 9711250770

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

                                            LENGTH:   48 lines

ODU JUMPS TO NO. 2 IN WOMEN'S COLLEGE POLL

The Old Dominion women's basketball team opened the season Sunday with a victory over Illinois. On Monday the Lady Monarchs were rewarded with the No. 2 spot in the Associated Press poll.

Defending national champion Tennessee remained in the top spot following a 3-0 week, including a 75-61 win over then-No. 2 Louisiana Tech. The Lady Vols swept all 39 first-place votes from a national media panel and led Old Dominion 975-921 in points.

Louisiana Tech had received five first-place votes in each of the first two polls, with the rest going to Tennessee. Tech dropped to fourth Monday. NIT champion Connecticut climbed three places to third.

Florida made the biggest move of the week. Starting the season with three games in four days, Florida won all three and reached its highest ranking ever, climbing to No. 5. Florida's climb from No. 9 was part of a major overhaul in the Top 25 after nine ranked teams lost during the past week, although six were beaten by opponents that also were ranked.

Three newcomers made the Top 25 - Wisconsin, Arkansas and Purdue - and Nebraska jumped seven places to 14th after a surprising runner-up finish in the preseason NIT. Stanford and Iowa both took major hits, with Stanford losing twice for its first 0-2 start since 1984-85, the season before Tara VanDerveer became coach.

Texas Tech advanced two places to sixth and was followed by Vanderbilt, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia.

Stanford, a Final Four team the past three years, dropped seven spots to 11th after losing at Wisconsin and Purdue.

Kansas, George Washington and Texas dropped out. George Washington lost to North Carolina State and Texas lost to Boston College. Kansas did not play last week.

In the men's poll, Arizona, Kansas, Duke and North Carolina remained the top four teams, while Maryland moved into the rankings for the first time this season.

Arizona, the defending national champion, held on to the No. 1 spot with 30 first-place votes and 1,690 points, 17 more than Kansas, which received 29 first-place votes.

Duke was No. 1 on six ballots in the national media voting, and had 1,595 points, 11 more than North Carolina, which got five first-place votes.

The first change in the poll came with Clemson's drop from fifth to 13th following a loss to Gonzaga on Sunday in the championship game of the Top of The World Classic.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu