Jan. 30, 2012
USILA Poll | Nike/Inside Lacrosse Poll
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's lacrosse team garnered the No. 17-ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) preseason coaches' poll, the organization announced Monday.
Penn State, which accumulated 58 points, will play five of its eight non-conference games against preseason top-20 opponents, including home matchups against No. 5 Denver (March 10), No. 10 Villanova (March 31) and No. 12 Bucknell (March 27). The Nittany Lions will also open their season against sixth-ranked North Carolina Feb. 11 in Kennesaw, Ga., and will visit No. 9 Notre Dame Feb. 26.
In addition, the Nittany Lions were one-of-five ranked teams from the Colonial Athletic Association, joining No. 11 Massachusetts (121), No. 14 Hofstra (93), No. 19 Delaware (48) and No. 20 Drexel (27).
In 2011, first-year head coach Jeff Tambroni led Penn State to a 7-7 record and its first-ever berth in the CAA tournament. The Nittany Lions were ranked as high as No. 19 during the season.
The first in-season USILA poll will be released on Monday, Feb. 20, with subsequent polls running each Monday through May 6. Penn State will also open the 2012 season ranked No. 18 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.