University of Delaware Men's Lacrosse Picked No. 17 in USILA Pre-Season Top 20 Poll; Receives Votes in LaxPower.com Poll
February 1, 2011
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File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
BALTIMORE, Md. -- The University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team, which returns eight starters from last year’s squad that captured the Colonial Athletic Association title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, will open the season ranked No. 17 in the nation.
The Blue Hens, who will play the first game of the 2011 collegiate men’s lacrosse season this Saturday, Feb. 5, at home vs. Detroit Mercy at 1 p.m., earned 48 points and the No. 17 spot in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Coaches Association rankings announced Monday. The USILA poll is widely recognized as the official collegiate men’s lacrosse rankings.
In addition to the USILA poll, Delaware also received votes in the LaxPower.com pre-season Top 20 poll announced this week. The Blue Hens were the top team among those also receiving votes, just three shy of the No. 20 spot.
Delaware, under 36th-year head coach Bob Shillinglaw, hopes to make another impact on the national scene this spring after posting a 10-7 record a year ago, sweeping through Drexel and Towson to win the CAA Tournament title, and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last six seasons. Delaware was edged by No. 4 North Carolina by a 14-13 score in the opening round.
Despite the loss of a pair of All-Americans in attackman Curtis Dickson - a Tewaaraton National Player of the Year top five finalist who was the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and scored 62 goals - and midfielder Martin Cahill - a 34-goal scorer, the Blue Hens return plenty of firepower. Grant Kaleikau, Kevin Kaminski, John Austin, and Anthony Ruiz will be looked upon to furnish the offense while Delaware boasts one of the nation’s top defensive units with the return of starters Noah Fossner in goal and Pat Dowling, Matt Stefurak, and Tim Langmaid in front.
Virginia claimed the top spot in the USILA poll, earning eight first place votes and 216 points overall to edge Syracuse with three first place votes and 211 points. North Carolina was third followed by Maryland, defending national champion Duke, Stony Brook, Notre Dame, Cornell, Hofstra, and Princeton in the top 10. Johns Hopkins was at No. 11 followed by Army, Denver, Loyola, Georgetown, Massachusetts, Delaware, Drexel, Yale, and Brown. Among those also receiving votes were Villanova, Towson, Bucknell, Navy, Ohio State, Lehigh, Harvard, Bryant, Penn, and Albany.
The Hens will take on eight of the teams listed in the poll, including a home game Feb. 22 vs. No. 11 Johns Hopkins, a Mar. 5 road game at Albany, a Mar. 12 road game at No. 6 Stony Brook, a Mar. 19 home game vs. No. 9 Hofstra, a Mar. 26 home game vs. Towson, an Apr. 2 road game at No. 18 Drexel, an Apr. 9 road game at Villanova, and an Apr. 29 road game at No. 16 Massachusetts. Delaware will once gain play all of its home games at Delaware Stadium.
Syracuse took the spot in the LaxPower.com poll with 10 first place votes and 368 points followed by Virginia (seven first place votes), North Carolina (one), Maryland, Stony Brook, Duke, Princeton, Cornell, Notre Dame, Hofstra, Johns Hopkins, Army, Denver, Loyola, Georgetown, Massachusetts, Yale, Brown, Drexel, and Villanova. Delaware was first among a total of 14 teams that also received votes in the poll.
