UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 20, 2006 - Penn State women's lacrosse players Renee Cipro (Ellicott City, Md.), Lori Havrilla (Devon, Pa.), and Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.) were selected to the All-American Lacrosse Conference Preseason Team by a vote of the league's coaches, the ALC office announced recently. In the American Lacrosse Conference preseason coaches' poll, the Nittany Lions were chosen to finish in second place, behind only 2005 NCAA Champion Northwestern.
Renee Cipro was named a preseason first team All-American by Inside Lacrosse magazine earlier this year after an outstanding sophomore season. The leader of the Penn State defense, the junior earned first team All-American Lacrosse Conference accolades and was honored as a second team All-American by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and U.S. Lacrosse in 2005.
Senior Lori Havrilla is the Nittany Lions' top returning scorer and shooter after tallying 34 goals on 96 shots a year ago. A second team ALC selection in 2005, Havrilla has recorded 83 goals and 28 assists in 47 career games.
Jessi Lieb made an immediate impact on Penn State and the ALC as a freshman in 2005, starting all 17 games and totaling 26 points (20 goals, 6 assists) en route to earning second team All-ALC honors.
Coming off a 12-5 season and an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship, Penn State garnered 27 votes in the preseason ALC coaches poll, nine behind defending conference champion Northwestern and one ahead of Johns Hopkins. In 2005, the Nittany Lions posted a 5-1 conference record, with their only setback coming at the hands of the Wildcats. In the national polls, Penn State enters 2006 as the No. 10 team in the nation, according to the latest Inside Lacrosse poll, while the Nittany Lions are slotted at No. 11 in the IWLCA/US Lacrosse poll.
Penn State will open regular season play on Sat., Feb. 25 when it meets American Lacrosse opponent Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. A year ago, the Lions started the season with a 15-7 victory over the Commodores.
