January 12, 2005

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team earned a No. 6 spot in Lacrosse Magazine's annual preseason poll, which was released in the January/February issue of the magazine. The Blue Jays come off a 12-5 season in 2004 when they qualified for their first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance.

Hopkins returns 19 letterwinners including eight starters, and brings in a group of nine freshmen who was ranked by Inside Lacrosse as the second-best recruiting class behind Duke this year.

The sixth-place national ranking by Lacrosse Magazine marks the highest Johns Hopkins has been placed since moving to Division I in 1999. The Blue Jays finished 10th in the final IWLCA Poll last season.

Defending champion Virginia and runner-up Princeton took the No. 1 and 2 slots in the preseason poll followed by American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) rival Northwestern. Hopkins will play nine of the top 20 teams in its regular season.

Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll

1. Virginia

2. Princeton

3. Northwestern

4. Duke

5. Maryland

6. Johns Hopkins

7. North Carolina

8. James Madison

9. Georgetown

10. Loyola

11. Dartmouth

12. Notre Dame

13. Syracuse

14. Vanderbilt

15. Towson

16. George Mason

17. William and Mary

18. Yale

19. Penn State

20. Boston University