ANDERSON, S.C. -- The Anderson women's basketball team was picked third by the coaches in the Conference Carolinas' preseason poll, released Thursday by the conference office. Barton, which has played in three of the last six NCAA D-II tournaments, was chosen as this year's preseason league favorite, while Mount Olive placed second in this year's preseason poll as it returns three starters from last year's squad. Following the Trojans was Belmont Abbey and rounding out the poll were Queens, Erskine, Coker, Limestone, Pfeiffer, Lees-McRae, Converse, and St. Andrews respectively. "With all the good teams in this conference it's a great honor to be picked in the top three," Anderson head coach Jim Brunelli said. "I think it's recognition of what we've accomplished in the past and tradition that has been established." Barton returns three starters and has a freshman class of nine. Three other players return from a 2008-09 squad that finished 22-6 overall and won the Conference Carolinas regular-season championship at 18-4. Esty Flores, the 5-foot-3 point guard and reigning Conference Player of the Year, will again run the show for Barton. The All-Southeast Region first-team pick averaged 20.5 points and 5.1 assists last season. Senior 6-1 center Sharnita Alston, 5-8 junior Destiny Hamlin and 6-2 junior Kelsey Sill are experienced players as well. Last season Mount Olive eclipsed the 20-win mark for the second straight year and made its second consecutive appearance in the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship game. The Trojans rode a school-record 14-game winning streak to a 23-7 mark and finished second in the conference standings with a 17-5 record. Senior forward Jasmine Whitby earned All-Southeast Region honors and was named to the All-Conference Carolinas first team. Anderson garnered three first-place votes and tied Belmont Abbey for the third-place spot in the poll. The Trojans are coming off their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament following their fourth Conference Carolinas tournament championship. AU returns five players, including two starters, from last year's squad, which posted an 18-13 overall and 14-8 league record after winning nine of their last 11 games. The backcourt is anchored by guards Shanice Wilson and junior Alexa Neal. Wilson started all 31 games, while Neal started 28 contests and earned all-tournament accolades and honorable mention all-conference honors after averaging 14.5 points and a team-high 4.4 assists (ranking fourth in the conference). The Trojans also welcome eight newcomers to the 2009-10 squad. Women's Basketball Preseason Poll (# of First place votes in parenthesis) 1. Barton (6) 114 2. Mount Olive (2) 100 T-3. Anderson (3) 97 T-3. Belmont Abbey (1) 97 5. Queens 81 6. Erskine 74 7. Coker 56 8. Limestone 54 9. Pfeiffer 48 10. Lees-McRae 35 11. Converse 24 12. St. Andrews 12