University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Lacrosse Ranked No. 5 by Face-Off Yearbook
December 23, 2007 | Men's Lacrosse
Dec. 23, 2007
BALTIMORE, MD. - 2007 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist North Carolina is the No. 5 preseason pick for the 2008 campaign in the Face-Off Yearbook preseason Top 25 rankings released by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. Coach John Haus' Tar Heels are one of four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference ranked in the Top Six in the nation in 2008. Junior Shane Walterhoefer is Face-Off Yearbook's preseason first-team All-America face-off specialist and one of three preseason All-ACC choices from the Tar Heel squad.
Walterhoefer is joined on the All-America teams by second-team choices Tim Kaiser, a senior defenseman, and Nick Tintle, a senior midfielder; by third-team seletion Bart Wagner, a junior attackman; and by honorable mention selections Gavin Petracca, a sophomore attackman, and Ben Hunt, a junior midfielder.
Johns Hopkins, the defending NCAA champion, is picked No. 1 in the preseason poll after the Blue Jays upset Duke in last year's NCAA championship match for the second time in the last three years by one goal.
Duke is predicted to win the ACC championship followed by Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland in that order.
Walterhoefer, Tintle and Kaiser were all named preseason All-ACC by Face-Off Yearbook.
Last year Carolina finished 10-6 after making the NCAA quarterfinals. The Tar Heels were the No. 8 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament after going only 4-10 the previous season.
The preseason Top 25 is as follows:
1. Johns Hopkins, 13-4
2. Duke, 17-3
3. Virginia, 12-4
4. Georgetown, 12-3
5. North Carolina 10-6
6. Maryland, 10-6
7. Cornell, 15-1
8. Princeton, 10-4
9. Navy, 11-4
10. Notre Dame, 11-4
11. Syracuse, 5-8
12. Albany, 15-3
13. Towson, 9-7
14. Delaware, 13-6
15. UMBC, 11-6
16. Loyola, 7-6
17. Bucknell, 11-4
18. Drexel, 11-5
19. Hofstra, 6-8
20. Massachusetts, 7-7
21. Colgate, 11-5
22. Ohio State, 9-5
23. Army, 6-9
24. Dartmouth, 5-10
25. Denver, 6-8
