Lacrosse Magazine Names Division I Lacrosse Preseason Rankings for Men and Women

May 25, 2012; Stony Brook NY, USA; Syracuse Orange midfielder/attack Gabby Jaquith (20) loses the ball as Florida Gators goalie Mikey Meagher (5) defends the net during the first half of the 2012 NCAA Division 1 Womens Lacrosse Semifinals at LaValle Stadium. Syracuse won 14-13 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

BALTIMORE, Jan. 31, 2013 — The Loyola men and Florida women claimed the No. 1 positions in Lacrosse Magazine’s 2013 NCAA Division I preseason rankings, released today. The release of the Top 20 rankings concludes a four-week countdown of daily profiles of the nation’s best teams on LaxMagazine.com/LMranks.

The defending national champion Greyhounds are coming off an 18-1 season that included the ECAC Lacrosse League regular-season and tournament championships. Ranked No. 19 by Lacrosse Magazine entering 2012, Loyola suffered only a 10-9 defeat to rival Johns Hopkins and earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Greyhounds beat Canisius, Denver (for a third time), Notre Dame and Maryland to win the program’s first NCAA championship. Attackman Mike Sawyer (52 goals, 10 assists) leads a host of returnees for Loyola, which battled the U.S. men’s national team in a 17-13 exhibition defeat Sunday at Champion Challenge, a US Lacrosse event. Maryland, which advanced to the NCAA final in 2011 and 2012, enters this season ranked No. 2.

Lacrosse Magazine’s NCAA Division I men’s preseason rankings as follows:

NCAA Division I Men
1. Loyola
2. Maryland
3. Duke
4. Notre Dame
5. Johns Hopkins
6. Denver
7. Cornell
8. North Carolina
9. Virginia
10. Lehigh
11. Colgate
12. Syracuse
13. UMass
14. Penn State
15. Princeton
16. Yale
17. Villanova
18. Fairfield
19. Hofstra
20. Bryant

The Gators, entering just their fourth season as a varsity program, achieved significant milestones in 2012, posting a 19-3 overall record and defeating eventual national champion Northwestern twice en route to the American Lacrosse Conference regular-season and tournament titles. Florida, behind 2012 Tewaaraton Award finalist and 2013 U.S. World Cup team finalist Brittany Dashiell (44g, 25a), earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the semifinals before losing to Syracuse in double overtime. The defending national champion Wildcats enter 2013 ranked No. 3, behind the second-ranked Orange.

Lacrosse Magazine’s NCAA Division I women’s preseason rankings as follows:

NCAA Division I Women
1. Florida
2. Syracuse
3. Northwestern
4. Maryland
5. North Carolina
6. Loyola
7. Duke
8. Virginia
9. Penn State
10. Notre Dame
11. Dartmouth
12. Penn
13. Ohio State
14. Georgetown
15. Cornell
16. Towson
17. UMass
18. Stony Brook
19. Boston College
20. Princeton

Lacrosse Magazine is the flagship publication of US Lacrosse, the sport’s national governing body. Lacrosse Magazine is counting down the top teams and players in all levels of collegiate lacrosse as the 2013 season draws near. For more, visit LaxMagazine.com/LMranks. Follow @LacrosseMag on Twitter and Tweet using the hashtag #LMranks. NCAA Division I preseason players of the year profiles will be posted Friday.

About US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the national governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse and the home of the nation’s fastest-growing sport. US Lacrosse has more than 400,000 members in 64 regional chapters across the country. Through responsive and effective leadership, US Lacrosse provides programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the sport. Bookmark, like and follow US Lacrosse at uslacrosse.org, fb.com/uslacrosse and @uslacrosse, respectively.

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