February 25, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland mens lacrosse team is ranked No. 6 in the preseason Top 15 poll released by The Baltimore Sun on Thursday. The Terps are listed behind No. 1 Johns Hopkins, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 Loyola and No. 5 Princeton.

Three Terps, seniors Scott Hochstadt (Columbia, Md./Boys Latin), Brian Haggerty (Lido Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) and junior Jeff Shirk (Boonton, N.J./Mountain Lakes) were named to The Suns preseason All-America team.

Hochstadt earned the honor at attack coming off an outstanding season in which he led the Terps in points with 66 and finished second in the nation teammate Matt Hahn in goals with 48.

Haggerty is among the nations top face-off men. In 1998, we led all of Division I in face-offs won (194) and was second in groundballs (128).

Shirk was named to the All-America team as a short-stick defender. The son of former New York Giants tight end, Shirk is know for his bone-jarring hits and "thrives on collisions" according to The Sun.

The Sun also recognized several Terps as part of its "3s to Watch" feature. Hochstadt was listed as the No.3 in the "Top Shooters" category. Junior goalie Kevin Healy (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) was listed as the No. 2 goalkeeper. Marylands face-off men Haggerty and senior Chris Nohe (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) were listed No.1 and No.2, respectively as the top face-off specialists. Shirk was named The Suns No.1 "Nastiest Hitter." Overall, Marylands team was listed as the second-best defensive unit.

The Terps play their second game of the season this Saturday as Providence College makes its first visit to College Park for a 1 p.m. face-off at Byrd Stadium.