FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dec. 11, 2003

LACROSSE MAGAZINE RELEASES 2004 PRESEASON COLLEGE RANKINGS

BALTIMORE – The defending national champions top the charts in five of the seven categories of Lacrosse Magazine's annual preseason rankings, released today.

In men's lacrosse, New York Institute of Technology (Division II), Salisbury (Division III) and Herkimer (National Junior College Athletic Association) won championships last year and are slotted at No. 1. Johns Hopkins is ranked first in Division I, and defending champion Virginia is second.

On the women's side, Princeton (Division I) and Stonehill (Division II) are the defending champions at the top of their respective polls. Middlebury edged defending champion Amherst for the top spot in Division III.

Expanded college previews, including preseason player of the year selections and profiles, will run in the March issue of Lacrosse Magazine. It is the publication's largest annually. It includes a summer camp directory and will go to nearly 150,000 members of US Lacrosse. The rankings were compiled by Lacrosse Magazine staff in consultation with collegiate coaches.

Lacrosse Magazine is an official publication of US Lacrosse. US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the national governing body of men's and women's lacrosse. To learn more, visit its web site at www.uslacrosse.org.

Rankings follow:

NCAA Division I Men

1. Johns Hopkins
2. Virginia
3. Maryland
4. Syracuse
5. Princeton
6. Rutgers
7. North Carolina
8. Georgetown
9. Cornell
10. Massachusetts
11. Notre Dame
12. Duke
13. Towson
14. Navy
15. Hofstra
16. UMBC
17. PennState
18. Dartmouth
19. Loyola
20. OhioState

On the Bubble: Harvard, Army, Denver, Villanova, Yale

NCAA Division I Women

1. Princeton
2. Virginia
3. Maryland
4. Duke
5. Georgetown
6. Dartmouth
7. James Madison
8. Loyola
9. OhioState
10. Syracuse
11. BostonUniversity
12. Cornell
13. North Carolina
14. PennState
15. Old Dominion
16. Notre Dame
17. Yale
18. Johns Hopkins
19. Stanford
20. Vanderbilt

On the Bubble: Rutgers, Connecticut, Massachusetts

NCAA Division II Men

1. New York Institute of Technology
2. LeMoyne
3. Limestone
4. Adelphi
5. Pace
6. Bryant
7. Dowling
8. Mercyhurst
9. C.W. Post
10. Bentley

On the Bubble: St. Andrew's

NCAA Division II Women

1. Stonehill
2. Bloomsburg
3. West Chester
4. Longwood
5. C.W. Post
6. Limestone
7. Adelphi
8. Millersville
9. Gannon
10. Lock Haven

On the Bubble: UC Davis, Philadelphia

NCAA Division III Men

1. Salisbury
2. Cortland
3. Middlebury
4. WashingtonCollege
5. Lynchburg
6. Washington and Lee
7. Nazareth
8. Hamilton
9. Gettysburg
10. Whittier
11. Franklin and Marshall
12. Hampden-Sydney
13. Ohio Wesleyan
14. Geneseo
15. Springfield
16. Ithaca
17. McDaniel
18. Tufts
19. St. Lawrence
20. Denison

On the Bubble: Rensselaer, Roanoke, Hartwick, St. Mary's, Skidmore 

NCAA Division III Women

1. Middlebury
2. Amherst
3. College of New Jersey
4. William Smith
5. Gettysburg
6. Williams
7. Salisbury
8. Mary Washington
9. St. Mary's (Md.)
10. Washington and Lee
11. Cortland
12. Ithaca
13. Franklin and Marshall
14. ColoradoCollege
15. Colby
16. Bowdoin
17. Ursinus
18. Union
19. Hamilton
20. Skidmore

On the Bubble: Rowan, Drew, Trinity