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26 December 2009
In Lacrosse Magazine's recently announced preseason rankings, both the men's and the women's teams earned respect as the Virginia Cavaliers were ranked No. 3 and No. 8 respectively. This comes as no surprise, as both teams return two all-americans each.
On the men's side, while there was some debate over who should be the number one team, Duke or two-time defending national champions Syracuse (Duke, unfortunately, won out), there was little question who was knocking on the door ready to enter the fray. The Wahoos, who finished last season with a 15-3 record (2-1 ACC), were the easy pick for third, above ACC foe North Carolina.
To replace All-Americans Danny Glading and Garrett Billings, Virginia will be looking to Steele Stanwick for some firing power, as well as All-Americans Shamel Bratton at midfield and Ken Clausen on defense. Seven of Virginia's twelve regular season opponents are also ranked in the preseason top 20.
On the women's side, Northwestern topped the list and Virginia, at No. 8, was the fourth highest ranked ACC team, behind Maryland (2), North Carolina (3) and Duke (5). The Lady Cavaliers finished 11-8 (3-4 ACC) last season, ranked No. 10.
The 'Hoos will be leaning on returning All-American midfielders Kaitlin Duff and Brittany Kalkstein to lead the Cavaliers, along with Whitaker Hagerman on the attack, as she was able to tally 25 goals last season. Eight of Virginia's fifteen regular season opponents are also ranked in the preseason top 20.
Both squads start the season on February 20. The men start on the road at Drexel, while the women take on Loyola at Klockner Stadium.
