STATE COLLEGE, Pa., January 20, 2003 - In a vote by the ECAC lacrosse coaches, Penn State was picked to finish third in the ECAC Preseason Coaches Poll with 18 points, which was recently announced.

Last year, the Nittany Lions finished the season with an 8-5 (1-4 ECAC) record and head coach Glenn Thiel feels confident about the team improving.

"We're good enough and we proved that with a great win over Virginia last year. We can beat anybody and now we have to do it on a regular basis and win the ECAC," states Thiel. Entering his 26th year at Penn State, Thiel brings an all-time record of 260-166 and is two wins away from tying Carl Runk of Towson on the Division I All-Time Coaches Career Wins list. He returns seven starters from last season and 30 letterwinners. For the second straight year, Georgetown was tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Massachusetts. Navy, UMBC and Rutgers were picked to finish behind the Lions to finish out the list.

Penn State opens its season on Saturday, February 23 hosting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 1:00 p.m. The Lions will start conference play when they travel to Georgetown on Saturday, March 8.