THOMASVILLE, N.C. -- Belmont Abbey has been picked as the preseason favorite in the 2008 Conference Carolina's preseason coaches poll. The Abbey returns with two Division II All Americans in sophomores Connor Tomlinson and Joe Campbell along with veteran experience in senior Matt Chidester. The Abbey is ranked 21st in the latest GCAA/Bridgestone Division II Coaches poll after putting together a solid fall season that featured a third- and fifth-place finish in two Division I tournaments and posting a team one round record of 12 under par at Elon's Sea Trail Invitational. Matt Chidester was the leader in the fall, posting a team-best 73.22 stroke average in nine rounds, including a low round of 68. Barton was picked second in the poll. The Bulldogs of 11th-year head coach John Hackney return six players from a team that won the Conference Championship and was ranked No. 1 in the region last season, including reigning conference champ Jonathan Burke, '07 Freshman of the Year Stephen Harrison and All-Conference performer/senior co-captain Neal Jones. Freshman Daniel Castleberry has also added some clout to the starting lineup for Barton, which won its last tournament of the fall. "Our league has some fine teams this season," Hackney said. "We have a core group of excellent players here, and I like our depth. How we fare in the postseason will depend primarily on how the guys in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots play. They are working hard, so I believe we can do some great things." Coker, third in the preseason poll, will begin the '08 spring season under the leadership of first-year head coach Tommy Baker. Baker joins the Cobras for his first ever head coaching job, after spending a year at UNC-Pembroke. Coker returns All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Chris Marsh and senior Stephen Thomson. Coker placed sixth in the conference last season but had a much improved fall season, placing sixth at the Kiawah Island Invitational, 13th at the Coker Invitational at Orange County National and second at the Coker Intercollegiate. Rounding out the golf preseason poll 4-10 are: Pfeiffer, Anderson, Mount Olive, Queens, Limestone, St. Andrews, and Lees-McRae respectively. Conference Carolinas Pre-Season Men's Golf Coaches' Poll (First place votes in parenthesis) 1. Belmont Abbey College (7) 79 2. Barton College (2) 67 3. Coker College (1) 60 4.Pfeiffer University 56 5. Anderson University 50 6. Mount Olive College 47 7. Queens University of Charlotte 40 8. Limestone College 23 9. St. Andrews Presbyterian College 17 10. Lees-McRae College 11