Dec. 10, 2002
TOWSON, MD. – Army, Bucknell and Hobart are ranked among the Top 25 teams in the country, and 91Â鶹¾«Æ· landed in the ‘others receiving votes’ category, in the 2003 Men’s Lacrosse pre-season poll published by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.
Army, 8-6 last year, is the top-ranked Patriot League school in the poll, earning the 20th position. Bucknell (6-7) is ranked 24th while Hobart (6-8) is 25th.
The three teams tied for first place in the PL in 2002, all with 5-1 League records, but Hobart advanced to the NCAA Tournament (for the second time in three years) based on its national RPI ranking. The Statesmen lost to Georgetown in the first round of the national championship tournament.
It marks the fourth consecutive year that the Black Knights have garnered preseason accolades and the second straight time that they are in the Top 20. Army’s ranking is its highest preseason selection since it was tabbed 17th at the start of the 1997 campaign. The Black Knights were ranked 20th at the beginning of last season as well.
‘It’s always nice to be ranked in the preseason poll because it helps with recruiting. All of the high school prospects recognize the ranked programs,’ Army head coach Jack Emmer said.
The top four spots in the Inside Lacrosse Coaches Poll were reserved for last season’s final four participants. Defending champion Syracuse collected 21 of 45 first-place votes for a grand total of 1,023 points to take the No. 1 spot. Princeton, who the Orangemen defeated in last year’s championship game, came in at No. 2 with Johns Hopkins and Virginia at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
The Black Knights are coming off an 8-6 record in 2002 that saw them claim a share of the Patriot League title and just missed an invitation into the NCAA Tournament by two one-thousandths of a point in the RPI index that is the league’s tie-breaking criteria.
Despite losing All-American attackman Tim Pearson and one of the Patriot League’s top goalkeepers in Dominik Nogic, Army returns a solid nucleus of talent that should keep them atop the league standings board again in 2003.
Six of seven Ivy League teams appear in the rankings, including two Army opponents, and all four Atlantic Coast Conference schools are included. A total of eight teams on the Black Knights’ 2003 slate are scattered throughout the poll. In addition to Syracuse, Bucknell and Hobart, Army will battle Hofstra (10th), Navy (14th), Yale (18th), Ohio State (19th) and Penn (23rd) this spring. Four other Army opponents this year are listed among others receiving votes (Denver, Rutgers, Air Force and 91Â鶹¾«Æ·).
The Black Knights open their 84th season of lacrosse on Feb. 22 when they host Syracuse at Michie Stadium.
Bucknell returns 30 players from that squad, which was just a one-goal loss at Hobart away from its second NCAA Tournament berth.
Of the 13 opponents on Bucknell’s 2003 schedule, six are ranked in the preseason top 25, while three others received votes. Patriot League foes Army (No. 20) and Hobart (25) join Maryland (5), North Carolina (9), Penn State (16) and Harvard on the Herd’s challenging schedule.
The Bison open their 2003 campaign at North Carolina on Feb. 22.
Hobart, under second-year coach Matt Kerwick, will lead the Statesmen against seven Top 25 squads, including non-League matches against Georgetown, Syracuse, Penn State Loyola and Cornell, as well as games against 91Â鶹¾«Æ·, Denver and Butler, all of which received votes.
The Statesmen open the season Feb. 23 against Butler in a neutral-site game at Johns Hopkins.
91Â鶹¾«Æ· posted a 7-7 overall record, 3-3 in League play, during the 2002 campaign to finish fourth in the seven-team PL.
Second-year coach Jim Nagle has five of the Top 25 teams on this year’s schedule, including the three ranked PL teams along with Cornell and Harvard, and two others that, like the Raiders, are ‘also receiving votes’ in Villanova and Dartmouth.
CU opens its season Feb. 22 against Saint Joseph’s.
2003 Inside Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
Pl. School 2002 Record Points
1 Syracuse (21) 15-2 1023
2 Princeton (9) 10-5 1013
3 Johns Hopkins (9) 12-2 997
4 Virginia (6) 11-4 987
5 Maryland 9-4 847
6 Georgetown 12-3 824
7 Duke 9-7 803
8 Massachusetts 12-4 716
9 North Carolina 8-5 670
10 Hofstra 11-3 632
11 Cornell 11-4 626
12 Loyola 9-4 597
13 Towson 7-5 514
14 Navy 8-5 462
15 Brown 7-7 438
16 Penn State 8-5 413
17 Notre Dame 5-8 401
18 Yale 9-4 357
19 Ohio State 9-5 296
20 Army 8-6 163
21 Harvard 8-7 156
22 Fairfield 7-6 144
23 Penn 9-4 143
24 Bucknell 6-7 124
25 Hobart 6-8 121
Others Receiving Votes: UMBC 118, Denver 77, Rutgers 33, Stony Brook 20, Delaware 16, Quinnipiac 9, Villanova 8, Albany 8, Manhattan 7, Butler 5, Dartmouth 2, Drexel 2, Air Force 1, 91Â鶹¾«Æ· 1.