NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Earning the highest preseason national ranking since 2017, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team will start the 2022-23 campaign ranked No. 6 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25. In the rankings released on Monday, the Captains picked up 470 points and added to a streak of six consecutive Top-20 starts for head coach Bill Broderick and the CNU squad. 

The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors, and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Defending national champion Hope College garnered 14 first-place votes and was pegged the No. 1 team in the nation while Transylvania (3), New York University (6), UW-Whitewater (2), and Trinity (Texas) rounded out the top five ahead of the Captains. 

Last season, Christopher Newport climbed to as high as No. 1 in the nation for the first time in program history and ran off 26 straight victories before finally suffering a defeat in the NCAA Round of 16. CNU finished the year 26-1 after becoming one of only three teams to reach the sectional round in each of the last six tournaments. The Captains finished the year ranked No. 8 in the final D3hoops.com national rankings and slid up two spots to start the 2022-23 campaign. 

This season, Christopher Newport will return All-American guard Sondra Fan and Division III's statistical champion for field-goal percentage in Anaya Simmons to lead a talented roster. Transfer Lauren Fortescue will play her fifth year at Christopher Newport in 2022-23 while veteran Katy Rader also anchors a solid senior class. Point guard Gabbi San Diego is back for her third year, second season, after leading the Captains with over 100 assists last season. The returning group also includes Camille Malagar and Alexia Lindsey, both coming off injuries that held them out of last season's action, alongside Alivia Giles, Hannah Orloff, and Hannah Kaloi, who each contributed mightily to the Captains success last year. 

The Captains had a program-record 43-game winning streak snapped in their final game last season and will be eager to start anew when the 2022-23 campaign opens next week. Christopher Newport will host Averett University in the season opener on Tuesday, November 8 at 6:00 p.m. 

Taking a look ahead at the CNU schedule, four of the Captains opponents are currently receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25. CNU will take on UC Santa Cruz, Cortland, East Texas Baptist, and New Jersey City as part of the 2022-23 season. 

D3hoops.com women's Top 25, 2022-23 preseason

Entering the 2022-23 season:

• Top 25 archive

#	School (No. 1 votes)	W-L	Pts.
1	Hope (14)	32-1	586
2	Transylvania (3)	27-1	567
3	New York University (6)	25-2	548
4	UW-Whitewater (2)	28-5	531
5	Trinity (Texas)	28-3	507
6	Christopher Newport	26-1	470
7	Smith	25-3	462
8	Trine	28-4	456
9	Amherst	25-4	393
10	Scranton	27-3	336
11	Tufts	22-5	321
12	Baldwin Wallace	23-5	285
13	UW-Eau Claire	22-8	237
14	Millikin	23-7	222
15	Mary Hardin-Baylor	24-5	204
16	Springfield	24-5	174
17	St. John Fisher	26-3	157
18	Hardin-Simmons	21-5	155
19	Marietta	22-6	153
20	Ithaca	25-4	140
21	Messiah	23-4	127
22	UW-Oshkosh	22-7	119
23	Whitman	27-2	113
24	Puget Sound	20-5	110
25	Babson	20-8	105

Others receiving votes: DeSales 96; Simpson 90; Wartburg 81; UC Santa Cruz 61; DePauw 55; Trinity (Conn.) 46; Catholic 41; Cortland 26; Bates 25; East Texas Baptist 21; Gettysburg 18; Johns Hopkins 18; Illinois Wesleyan 15; John Carroll 13; New Jersey City 13; Rhode Island College 13; Wisconsin Lutheran 8; Bowdoin 3; Redlands 3; Roger Williams 1.

The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.