Delaware Laxers Picked No. 5 in CAA Pre-Season Poll; Blue Hens Open Season Saturday at High Point
February 1, 2013
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File Photo Courtesy of Chris Permar
RICHMOND, Va. -- The University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team, which kicks off the national collegiate schedule with a road game at High Point Saturday, has been picked No. 5 in the Colonial Athletic Association Pre-Season Coaches Poll announced by the league office Friday.
The Blue Hens, led by 38th-year head coach Bob Shillinglaw (at right), welcome back 29 letterwinners and 13 players with starting experience from a team that went 6-9 overall a year ago. Delaware lost four of those games by three goals or less. The Blue Hens will feature one of the nation’s youngest teams this spring with 33 of the 46 team members having either freshman or sophomore eligibility.
Defending league champion Massachusetts was picked as the CAA pre-season favorite as the Minutemen received five first-place votes and finished atop the poll with 35 points. Penn State earned two first-place nods and was second with 31 points, while Drexel and Hofstra tied at third with 22 points apiece.
Delaware (16) and Towson (15) placed at fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by Saint Joseph’s. The league’s coaches also selected UMass senior attacker Will Manny as the CAA’s Preseason Player of the Year.
The CAA boasts three of its seven squads in the Preseason United States States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Top-20, as Massachusetts (12), Penn State (15) and Hofstra (20) were ranked earlier this week. Drexel and Delaware received votes in the USILA preseason poll.
The Blue Hens will continue their tradition of playing the first NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game of the season as they travel to North Carolina to take on a High Point team that is playing its first season of intercollegiate action. Delaware will look continue its string of 10 straight season-opening victories. The game will begin at 1 p.m. with live video www.bluehens.com/fan-zone/watch/.
All three games of the CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be held at the highest-seed in 2013 with semifinals set for May 3 and the title contest to be held on May 5. These dates are flexible based on the host’s facility availability and updates will be announced on CAASports.com.
AGATE:
2013 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Predicted Order of Finish: 1. Massachusetts, 35 (5); 2. Penn State, 31 (2); 3. Drexel, 22 & Hofstra, 22; 5. Delaware, 16; 6. Towson, 15; 7. Saint Joseph’s. 6
Pre-Season All-CAA Team: Attack - Robert Church (Drexel), Jack Forster (Penn State), Will Manny (Massachusetts); M - Nick Dolik (Penn State); Colin Fleming (Massachusetts), Adrian Sorichetti (Hofstra); LSM - Kessler Brown (Penn State); Faceoff: John Antoniades (Hofstra); Defense - John Fennessy (Towson), Ryan Hollenbaugh (Massachusetts), Mark Mullen (Hofstra), Jake Smith (Massachusetts); GK - Austin Kaut (Penn State).
Player of the Year: Will Manny (Massachusetts)
