STATE COLLEGE, Pa., January 23, 2002- The Penn State men's lacrosse team is ranked No. 16 in Lacrosse Magazine's preseason poll. The Lions will have 25 letterwinners and three starters returning for the 2002 season.

Eight of 13 teams the Lions play this season are ranked in the pre-season Top 25. No. 6 Virginia, No. 7 Georgetown, No. 11 Massachusetts, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Navy, No. 15 Cornell, No. 18 UMBC, and No.19 Bucknell. Princeton earned the number one spot on the list.

Senior Will Driscoll (Fairport, N.Y.) and junior Luke Ogelsbly (Byrn Mawr, Pa.) are returning on attack and junior Matt Zappia (Canandaigua, N.Y.) will be back on defense. The Lions also have 11 freshmen that will work into the new lineup.

Glenn Thiel's Nittany Lions were also ranked 16th in Face-off Yearbook's preseason poll, with opponents ranked in that poll.

Penn State opens the season on Feb. 2 when they will scrimmage the Alumni Team at Holuba Hall at 3:00 p.m. On Feb. 9 the Lions will scrimmage Gettysburg at 1:00 p.m. The regular season begins for the Lions when they travel to South Bend, Indiana to compete against Notre Dame on February 24.

2002 Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll
1. Princeton (14) 507
2. Syracuse (9) 500
3. Towson (1) 447
4. Johns Hopkins (1) 442
5. Maryland 373
6. Virginia 364
7. Georgetown 361
8. Duke 331
9. Loyola 285
10. Hofstra 271
11. Massachusetts 235
12. North Carolina 230
13. Notre Dame 227
14. Navy 202
15. Cornell 125
16. Penn State 114
17. Brown 97
18. UMBC 75
19. Bucknell 63
20. Army 56