GREENSBORO, N.C. – Reigning ACC champion Notre Dame has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2015 ACC Men’s Lacrosse preseason poll.
The announcement comes in conjunction with Inside Lacrosse’s release of its annual Face-Off Yearbook.
Head coach Kevin Corrigan’s Fighting Irish received 23 points in balloting among the ACC’s five head coaches.
Syracuse followed with 22 points and was selected second.
North Carolina (13), back-to-back NCAA Champion Duke (10) and Virginia (7) were selected fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Preseason All-ACC Team features 11 returning United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-Americans from all five member schools, with five selections from North Carolina, three honorees from Duke and two from Syracuse.
Notre Dame and Virginia each had one student-athlete selected to the team.
Twelve of the 13 student-athletes on the Preseason All-ACC Team were also named to Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Division I All-America Team.
The First Team included Duke senior midfielder Deemer Class and junior midfielder Myles Jones, Notre Dame senior attackman Matt Kavanagh, Syracuse senior attackman Kevin Rice and red-shirt junior defenseman Brandon Mullins and Virginia junior defenseman Tanner Scales.
North Carolina sophomore defenseman Austin Pifani, senior attackman Joey Sankey and senior midfielder Chad Tutton were named to the second team.
Duke senior shortstick midfielder Will Haus was tabbed to the third team, while North Carolina senior longstick midfielder Ryan Kilpatrick and junior goalkeeper Kieran Burke earned honorable mention honors.
All five ACC teams are ranked in the top 10 in Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Top 20 poll.
Notre Dame led the way at No. 2 followed by Duke (No. 3), Syracuse (No. 4), North Carolina (No. 6) and Virginia (No. 10).
The 2015 men’s lacrosse season gets underway in early February and will eventually culminate in the the ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship that will be played April 24-26 at PPL Park in Philadelphia, Pa.
The top four teams will play in the semifinals that are set for Fri., Apr. 24, in hopes of advancing to the championship on Sun., Apr. 26.
The fifth-place ACC team that does not qualify for the championship will play Penn at PPL Park on Sat., Apr. 25.
ACC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll and All-ACC Team
Coaches Poll
1. Notre Dame (3 first place votes, 23 points)
2. Syracuse (2 first place votes, 22 points)
3. North Carolina (13 points)
4. Duke (10 points)
5. Virginia (7 points)
Preseason All-ACC Team
Attack
Matt Kavanagh, Jr., A, Notre Dame
Kevin Rice, Sr., A, Syracuse
Joey Sankey, Sr., A, North Carolina
Midfield
Deemer Class, Jr., M, Duke
Myles Jones, Jr., M, Duke
Chad Tutton, Sr., M, North Carolina
Defense
Brandon Mullins, R-Jr., D, Syracuse
Austin Pifani, So., D, North Carolina
Tanner Scales, Jr., D, Virginia
Faceoff Specialist
Stephen Kelly, So., M, North Carolina
Goalkeeper
Kieran Burke, Jr., GK, North Carolina
Longstick Midfielder
Ryan Kilpatrick, Sr., LSM, North Carolina
Shortstick Midfielder
Will Haus, Sr., SSM, Duke