ANNVILLE, Pa. - There are mixed expectations coming into the 2011-12 season for the Lebanon Valley women's basketball team. They are the defending Commonwealth Conference champions and are coming off an NCAA Elite Eight appearance; they enter the season ranked #9 nationally by D3hoops.com and #12 by ESPN/USA Today.

But they are without their top scorers from a year ago, and they'll have to prove themselves. That, head coach Todd Goclowski says, they are willing to do.
 
“We play a tough schedule this year,” Goclowski said. “We're picked second in the conference, but other teams are returning a lot of players, so in some games we're going to play the underdog role as we adjust.”
 
The Dutchmen open the season at home against Marywood, Tuesday at 6 p.m. They host Gallaudet, Pitt-Bradford and Penn State Harrisburg this weekend for the Rinso Marquette Tournament.

With the departures of all-American point guard Andrea Hoover and forward Suzie Noyes, the Dutchmen are looking to see who can emerge in the same sort of roles the two filled. “It's a lot of speed and playmaking ability to replace,” Goclowski said. “Those two women are two of the best to have ever played for Lebanon Valley.”
 
The Dutchmen are not without returning talent. The team returns 11 letterwinners from last season, including five who played significant roles and put up big numbers. Renee Fritz is the top scorer returning, averaging 8.2 points per game as a sophomore. Right behind her is forward Liz Borgia, who scored 8.0 ppg and guard Tierney Hiltz, who scored 7.4.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, the Dutchmen return guards Caitlin Murphy and Caitlin Bach, who each averaged 4.5 rebounds per game. Murphy led the team with 57 steals.
 
Goclowski has added four new faces to the team, beginning with new assistant coach Whitney Snoops, who was a standout at McDaniel. There are also three new freshmen in the hopper: Taylor Gerchak, Kiely Chaklos and Carli Swartz.
 
One obstacle the team faces at the start of the season is injury. Bach is coming off of a broken hand suffered in the offseason but is prepared to start the season healthy. Gerchak, Swartz and Eryn Schultz are all working to bounce back from various ailments but should be able to bounce back soon.
 
“The biggest challenge is going to be our health. We have to be able to field true games of five-on-five, which we haven't always been able to do in the past,” Goclowski said. “We have a lot of injuries to work through, but the team is excited to get started despite our challenges.”
 
Schultz will be interesting to watch as she recovers from an ACL tear. She holds the school record for three pointers made with 201 and averaged 13.5 ppg as a starter in 2009-10.
 
Two other women you won't see on the court this season are last year's Commonwealth rookie of the year Lauren Ruhl and Lindsey Nies. Ruhl averaged 9.9 ppg last season but is recovering from her own ACL tear. Nies had her college career cut short by multiple concussions.
 
Forging on, Schultz, Murphy, and Fritz were all named team captains for the season. Fritz may be the sort of “iron man” the team needs right now, as she is the only returner to have started every game last season.
 
If injury is working against the Dutchmen, experience is working for them. Eight of the 14 student-athletes on the roster are upperclassmen. The roster breaks down to three freshmen, three sophomores, six juniors and two seniors.
 
“This is going to be a team that's fun to watch. I guarantee you that much,” Goclowski said.