Roanoke on Top of Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg in Preseason Poll
SALEM, Va. --- After reaching the national
semifinals a season ago, Roanoke College was chosen to repeat as
conference champions and make a return trip to the NCAA tournament
according to the 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men's
Lacrosse Preseason Poll.
The Maroons earned 46 total votes including five first place
selections to place them atop the survey. Hampden-Sydney
College comes in second with one first place nod, and Lynchburg
College completes the top three selections with 36 total
votes. Also receiving a first place selection was Washington
& Lee University, who sits in fourth place.
Although Roanoke graduated the 2006 ODAC Player of the Year, Chris
Keating, the Maroons return plenty of firepower in All-ODAC
performer Jon Mason. The attacker scored 57goals to go with
nine assists last season. Head coach Bill Pilat will also
benefit from the return of his second leading scorer in All-ODAC
second team attacker Zach Thomas. He accounted for 56 total
points on 41 goals and 15 helpers.
Hampden-Sydney also returns two first team All-ODAC players in
long-stick midfielder Colin Dunn and midfielder Thomas
Jennings. Dunn,a strong part of the Tigers defense, snatched
up 41 ground balls and caused seven turnovers. Jennings
scored 19 goals, including three hat-tricks, to go with 10 assists
on the year.
Lynchburg looks forward to a strong offensive season in returning
two of its top three scorers, Johnny Black and Ryan Cranston.
Black tallied 39 goals and posted a .481 shot percentage while
Cranston put up 30 goals for the Hornets.
Listed below is the entire 2007 ODAC coaches poll. For a more
in-depth view into each of the teams, please visit the ODAC on the
web at www.odaconline.com
2007 ODAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
School |
Votes |
1. Roanoke |
46 (5) |
2. Hampden Sydney |
37 (1) |
3. Lynchburg |
36 |
4. Washington & Lee |
35 (1) |
5. Virginia Wesleyan |
19 |
6. Randolph-Macon |
12 |
7. Guilford |
11 |