Feb. 2, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team debuts at sixth in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse preseason media poll and the Irish are seventh in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) preseason coaches’ rankings.
Syracuse is first in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse top-20 poll, while Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Duke round out the top five, respectively. There are seven teams on Notre Dame’s 2011 schedule that appear in the rankings. Three of those opponents are BIG EAST foes. Joining Notre Dame and Syracuse in the rankings from the BIG EAST are Georgetown (15) and Villanova (20). The other Irish opponents in the poll are North Carolina (3), Duke (5), Denver (12) and Drexel (16).
Virginia tops the USILA top-20 coaches’ poll. Syracuse, North Carolina, Maryland, Duke and Stony Brook are ranked ahead of the Irish, respectively. Six 2011 Notre Dame opponents are listed in the rankings. Denver (13), Georgetown (15) and Drexel (18) join Syracuse, North Carolina and Duke on the Fighting Irish slate.
Last season, Notre Dame advanced to the title game of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. The Irish finished with a 10-7 record after falling to Duke 6-5 in overtime in the tournament final. Notre Dame opens its 2011 slate on Feb. 20 in a championship game rematch versus Duke as part of the inaugural Sunshine Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. That game will be aired live at 3:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN.
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