Grove City tops PAC men’s lacrosse preseason poll 2/12/2020 1:30:00 PM GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Grove City College was selected as this year’s favorite in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released Wednesday along with the league’s Players to Watch list. The preseason coaches’ poll was voted on by the PAC’s eight head coaches. Grove City, led by third-year head coach Alec Jernstedt, received six of eight first-place votes and 48 total points. Last May, top-seeded Grove City rolled to a 14-3 victory over No. 2 Westminster College in the title game of the inaugural PAC Championship Tournament to earn the league's first-ever automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Grove City also secured the top spot on last year's preseason coaches' poll. Saint Vincent College and 19th-year head coach Peter Tulk finished second in this year’s preseason poll, netting one first-place vote and 40 points. Westminster College, led by second-year head coach Travis Brown, was third in the poll, collecting one first-place vote and 38 points. Chatham University was fourth (33) and was followed by Washington & Jefferson College in fifth (26), Thiel College in sixth (19) and Bethany College in seventh (12). Franciscan University, an affiliate member in lacrosse in 2019, was picked eighth (8). Franciscan was announced as the PAC's 10th full member on April 16, 2019. The men will play a full round robin conference schedule in 2020. The league’s four-team championship tournament is scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday, April 29 and May 2. The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. This spring, the PAC will be among the 27 conferences granted Pool A automatic qualification (AQ) to the annual Division III Championship. The 36-team field for this year's Division III Championship will be announced on Sunday, May 3. First round games are slated for Wednesday, May 6 with second and third round games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10. 2020 PAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) School (first-place votes) Points 2019 records 1. Grove City (6) 48 12-6 (7-0 PAC) 2. Saint Vincent (1) 40 8-8 (6-1 PAC) 3. Westminster (1) 38 10-8 (5-2 PAC) 4. Chatham 33 9-7 (4-3 PAC) 5. W&J 26 8-8 (3-4 PAC) 6. Thiel 19 7-8 (2-5 PAC) 7. Bethany 12 4-10 (1-6 PAC) 8. Franciscan 8 0-15 (0-7 PAC) 2020 PAC Men's Lacrosse Players to Watch Bethany Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Dillon Davenport Fr. M/FO Farfax, Va. | Fairfax Nicholas Melita Jr. M Fredericksburg, Va. | Massaponax Andrew Smith So. G Erie, Pa. | McDowell Clayton Yingling So. M Union Bridge, Md. | Linganore Chatham Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Jake Brown So. A Georgetown, Del. | Cape Henlopen Ben Neal So. LSM Minneapolis, Minn. | South Kyle Rullan So A Wexford, Pa. | North Allegheny Jerad Wilson Jr. D Avondale, Pa. | Avon Grove Franciscan Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Seth Arangua So. A Aurora, Colo. | Bishop Machebeuf Joe Miraglia So. LSM Orange County, Calif. | JSerra Catholic Dominic Rohan Fr. M Manassas, Va. | Seton T. Thomas Sr. A Centennial, Colo. | Regis Jesuit Grove City Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Henry Brannan Sr. A Tampa, Fla. | Plant David Calhoun Sr. M Earlysville, Pa. | Albemarle Grant Evans So. M Pittsburgh, Pa. | Upper St. Clair Patrick Mark Jr. D Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. | Wellington Saint Vincent Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Anthony Abbondanza Sr. D Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Allegheny Ethan Cavin Sr. M Clifton, Va. | James W. Robinson, Jr. Brandon Martin Sr. G Butler, Pa. | Butler Zach Novelli Sr. M Gibsonia, Pa. | Pine-Richland Thiel Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Sheldon Bourdeau Jr. LSM Clarkston, Mich. | Clarkston Selom Kalin-Samlan So. M Gaithersburg, Md. | Watkins Mill Andrew Miller Sr. D Macedon, N.Y. | Penfield Cole O'Connor Sr. G Midlothian, Md. | James River W&J Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Pat Brunner Jr. A Ellicott City, Md. | Mount Saint Joseph Noah Cohen Sr. G Hewlett, N.Y. | George W. Hewlett Patrick Heidecker Sr. M Gettysburg, Pa. | Gettysburg Ben Ward Sr. A Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan Westminster Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Connor Doyle Fr. G Glen Aubrey, N.Y. | Whitney Point Shane Fisher Jr. M Palm Harbor, Fla. | East Lake Michael Hamiche Sr. D Victor, N.Y. | Victor Dante Serra Sr. M Center Valley, Pa. | Southern Lehigh —top—