INDIANAPOLIS – The Maryville women's bowling team was voted the preseason favorite to win the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship, according to the league's annual coaches' poll released Thursday.

The preseason poll is determined by the league's head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.

The Saints received seven first-place votes and totaled 49 points to earn the top spot. Ranked No. 10 in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-Divisions Poll and No. 1 in the NTCA Division II/III Preseason Poll, Maryville enters its fourth season under reigning NTCA and GLVC Coach of the Year Lauren Russo.

Leading the returners for the Saints are Elizabeth Teuber, the reigning NTCA Division II and GLVC Player and Rookie of the Year. She joined by both Morgan Brunner and Alexis Ingersoll as the lone returners to the MU lineup. 

The Saints open the 2025-26 campaign Oct. 24-26 at the Destination Orlando tournament hosted by Sam Houston State in Orlando, Fla.