Olivet College men’s and women’s basketball teams picked seventh and eighth in MIAA preseason coaches’ polls

The Olivet College men's and women's basketball teams have been picked to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 2007-08 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Preseason Coaches' Polls. Each coach was not allowed to vote for his/her own team. Hope College was selected as the preseason favorite in both polls.

Under first-year Head Coach Gene Gifford, the men's preseason roster features seven returning letterwinners. Seniors Brandon Way (Detroit/Southwestern) and Jeff Cooper (Dowagiac) are back after ranking 1-2 on the team last year in scoring at 12.5 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Other returning letterwinners from last year's team are seniors Evan Jones (Charlotte), Paul Smith (Jackson/Napolean) and John Zenner (Kingsley) and sophomores Blake Brannick (Jackson/Lumen Christi) and Joel Kerns (North Judson, Ind.).

The Comets will open their season Friday, Nov. 16, when they travel to play Franklin (Ind.) College. The next night, Nov. 17, Olivet will play its home-opener against Andrews University. Tip-off from the Upton Center is 7:30 p.m.

On the women's side, the Comets will be led by seniors Amy Brackenwagen (Grand Ledge) and Jaime Kowalczyk (Wyandotte/Roosevelt). In her first three years, Brackenwagen has led Olivet and ranked among the league leaders in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. She only needs 28 assists to become Olivet's all-time leader. In 62 career games at Olivet, Kowalczyk has scored 380 points and grabbed 276 rebounds. Sophomores Gabrielle Federau (Okemos) and Nykole Pfaff (Goodrich/Powers Catholic) are also returning letterwinners.

Under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Heather Bateman, the Comets begin their season Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17, when they travel to Greencastle, Ind., to participate in the DePauw University Tip-off Tournament. Olivet plays the host Tigers Friday night at 7 p.m.