EDISON, N.J. – The University at Albany women's golf team has been picked to finish second in this season's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced today.
 
The Great Danes pulled in 79 points and one first place vote while Quinnipiac paced the field with 89 points and the remaining eight first place votes. UAlbany was followed by Sacred Heart (71), Fairfield (60), Merrimack (53), and Mount St. Mary's (45). The field was rounded out by Siena (35), Manhattan (34), Iona (18), and Niagara (11).
 
2026 MAAC Women's Golf Preseason Poll
1. Quinnipiac, 89 (8)
2. UAlbany, 79 (1)
3. Sacred Heart, 71
4. Fairfield, 60
5. Merrimack, 53
6. Mount St. Mary's, 45
7. Siena, 35
8. Manhattan, 34
9. Iona, 18
10. Niagara, 11
 
The Great Danes finished second in last year's MAAC Championship at Disney's Magnolia Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Madison Kuratani led the team with a sixth-place finish at +7 overall, followed by Lucia Esteban in eight at +9. Mia Cepeda (11^th, +11), Jessica Brown (16^th, +13), and Callie Taylor (20^th, +16) rounded out UAlbany's lineup.
 
The team is coming off of another exciting fall in which they competed in five events, headlined by the second annual UAlbany Great Danes Invitational. Notably, however, the Great Danes picked up another win in the Crosstown Challenge against MAAC rival Siena, and a first-place finish in the Le Moyne College Invitational to wrap up the season.
 
UAlbany will return to action in late February in the Space Coast Classic at Duran Golf Club before heading back to Florida a short time later for the Howard Lady Bison Invitational at Hawkstone Country Club. The Great Danes will then head outside the United States to Bermuda for the Bermuda Triangle Collegiate, held at the Port Royal Golf Course. The team wraps up the season with a short trip to New Jersey to battle in the Rutgers Invitational before ending the year at Disney's Magnolia Golf Course for the MAAC Championship from April 21-23.
 
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