CAMBRIDGE, MA -- After finishing third in the New England Collegiate Conference a season ago, Marty Morrissey's Lynx were picked to finish in third place again.

The team placed third in the NECC coaches' preseason poll, the league announced Thursday.

Lesley went 4-4 in league play and 5-5 overall in 2010, a high-water mark for the fourth-year program. The team returns senior second singles player and former All-NECC selection Michelle Side, as well as juniors Katie Side, Nicole Smith and last year's NECC fifth singles champion Brenna Donovan.

The Lynx open 2011 on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at Mount Ida College.