The Gophers volleyball team was picked to finish third in the Big Ten in a preseason coaches' poll behind defending NCAA champion Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Three of coach Hugh McCutcheon's players were named to the preseason all-conference team. Opposite hitter Stephanie Samedy and setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson were unanimous picks while outside hitter Alexis Hart was the third pick.
Samedy, of Clermont, Fla., had a team-high 478 kills last season as a freshman.
Seliger-Swenson, of Minnetonka, averaged 12.21 assists per set as a junior — which ranked second nationally.
Hart, of Kansas City, had 446 kills as a sophomore.
The Gophers will hold an open scrimmage at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Maturi Pavilion. They begin the regular season with the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Target Center, facing Florida State on Aug. 24 and North Carolina on Aug. 25.
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• The Gophers women's basketball team routed an Italian select team 103-34 in Venice to finish its Italian tour 3-0. Junior forward Taiye Bello led the Gophers with 19 points while Destiny Pitts had 14.
• Minnesotans Ben Greve, a former Gopher, and Ben Sigel of Deephaven were tied for 78th at U.S. Amateur Championship in Pebble Beach, Calif., with two-round scores of 4-over 147; Parker Reddig of Minneapolis was at 151, Will Holmgren of Plymouth was at 154, and Thomas Lehman of Scottsdale, Ariz., the son of pro Tom Lehman, was at 163.
• Kansas guard Sam Cunliffe announced he will transfer to Evansville. Cunliffe had said he was considering the Gophers.
• Gophers sophomore Shane Wiskus and two alumni of the program, Jalon Stephens and Ellis Mannon, will compete in the USA Gymnastics Championships, a four-day event starting Thursday in Boston. Wiskus, of Spring Park, was second at the NCAA meet in the all-around.
• Former Bemidji State hockey player Shea Walters will be the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys' hockey coach this season after the Cloquet School Board approved his hiring.