Jan. 3, 2005

BALTIMORE, MD -- The Johns Hopkins University men's lacrosse team picked up 35 first-place votes and 1,370 points to earn the number-one national ranking in the 2005 Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll, which was recently. The Blue Jays accounted for roughly two-thirds of the 56 first-place votes and edged defending national champion Syracuse for the top spot in the poll. The Orange grabbed 19 first-place votes and 1,309 points to outdistance Princeton (1,207 points) and Navy (1,195) for the number two spot. Navy picked up two first-place votes.

As is custom at Johns Hopkins, the Blue Jays will play arguably the toughest schedule in the nation during the 2005 season, a fact that was only further legitimized with the release of the poll. Ten of Hopkins' opponents during the 2005 season are ranked in the top 25 in the poll and the other two (Albany and UMBC) are the first two teams listed as receiving votes. JHU will play six of the top eight teams in the poll and eight of the top 13. In what might be the most difficult road schedule in the nation, the Blue Jays will play second-ranked Syracuse, third-ranked Princeton, fifth-ranked Maryland, seventh-ranked North Carolina and 11th-ranked Towson away from Homewood Field, while fourth-ranked Navy and eighth-ranked Virginia highlight the home slate.

Johns Hopkins posted a 13-2 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals before falling to Syracuse. The Blue Jays return eight starters from last season's team, which ended the regular season ranked number one and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.

2005 Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll

( ) - First place votes • 2005 JHU opponents in bold

Rank School Points

1. Johns Hopkins (35)-1,370

2. Syracuse (19)-1,309

3. Princeton-1,207

4. Navy (2)-1,195

5. Maryland-1,177

6. Georgetown-1,066

7. North Carolina-1,011

8. Virginia-1,007

9. Cornell-818

10. Notre Dame-746

11. Towson-714

12. Rutgers-634

13. Duke-622

14. Ohio State-604

15. Massachusetts-530

16. Army-425

17. Loyola-418

18. Penn-387

19. Brown-348

20. Hobart-267

21. Penn State-238

22. Villanova-229

23. Dartmouth-216

24. Denver-209

25. Hofstra-173

Others receiving votes: Albany-137, UMBC-133, Delaware-129, Harvard-100, Bucknell-77, Yale-63, Binghamton-24, Fairfield-22, Air Force-12, Stony Brook-7, Butler-5, Colgate-5, Vermont-5, Holy Cross-2, Marist-1, Quinnipiac-1.

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