ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team has been selected to finish fifth in the Ivy League for the 2019-20 season, the conference announced Wednesday morning in its annual preseason media poll.

After qualifying for the Ivy League Tournament last season for the first time since its creation in 2017, the Big Red have tasted what it's like to be a part of Ivy Madness and are determined to reach that level once again this year. Last year, Cornell was the ultimate underdog in the conference, finishing in a tie for fourth with Yale and Dartmouth and securing the final Ivy League Tournament spot after being picked to finish eighth in the 2018-19 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll.

The Big Red showed consistent improvement as the season progressed, winning three of its last four Ivy League contests of the 2018-19 season to secure an Ivy League Tournament bid. With all five starters from last season returning, the Big Red will look to pick up right where it left off, as it attempts to rise up the Ivy League standings and make the Ivy League Tournament for the second straight year.

The journey to the top is never easy, and Princeton and Penn prove to be challenging opponents once again this season. The Tigers and the Quakers tied for first in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll voting, each collecting 125 voter points after sharing the regular season Ivy League crown in 2018-19. Princeton held a slight advantage in the voting after winning the 2019 Ivy League Tournament and clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament, receiving a total of 10 first place votes as compared to Penn's seven.

Harvard (95) and Yale (90) were selected to finish third and fourth, respectively, for the 2019-20 season. While Harvard won both match-ups against Cornell last season, the Big Red swept Yale, helping Cornell beat out the Bulldogs for the final spot in the 2019 Ivy League Tournament. Cornell rounded out the top-five in the Ivy League Preseason Media poll with 60 voter points. The battle for the Ivy League title this year will be a tough one, but the Big Red is ready to hold its own.

Led by 18th-year head coach Dayna Smith, The Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball, Cornell returns a total of nine letter winners from last season, including first-team All-Ivy League selection Laura Bagwell-Katalinich. The 2019-20 roster also features six seniors in Bagwell-Katalinich, Samantha Widmann, Danielle Jorgenson, Dylan Higgins, Stephanie Umeh, and Reena Olsen.

Bagwell-Katalinich and Widmann will captain the 2019-20 squad that looks to improve upon a 12-14 overall and 6-8 Ivy League record from last season.

The Cornell women's basketball team will open the 2019-20 season at Albany on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.

Ivy League Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll
1. Princeton (10) – 125
1. Penn (7) – 125
3. Harvard – 95
4. Yale – 90
5. Cornell – 60
6. Columbia – 47
6. Dartmouth – 47
8. Brown – 23