May 11, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team finished sixth in the final United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll of the season announced Tuesday. The poll is sponsored by GEICO and STX. That is UNC's highest ranking in the final poll since the 1996 season when UNC finished second and the first time UNC has been in the Top 10 since they finished 10th in 1998.

North Carolina (9-4) on Monday received its first bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship since 1998. The Tar Heels will face Great Western Lacrosse Lacrosse champion Ohio State (12-3) in the first round of the tournament this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. The Buckeyes received the automatic bid as the GWLL champion and are in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Ohio State is ranked eighth in the final poll with a record of 12-3.

Tickets to Saturday's game are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

The two teams met in the regular season on May 8, just last Saturday, with the Tar Heels rallying from a 5-3 second-quarter deficit to defeat the Buckeyes 12-6. The winner of Saturday's game will move on to the NCAA quarterfinals to play the winner of a first round game between No. 1 ranked Johns Hopkins and Providence College, champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. That game is being played at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Md. on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Following is the complete final USILA poll for the 2004 season.

Rank, Team, Record, Poll Points, Rank Last Week
*Johns Hopkins received all 10 first-place votes
1. Johns Hopkins, 11-1, 200, 1st
2. Navy, 12-2, 188, 2nd
3. Maryland, 12-2, 180, 3rd
4. Syracuse, 11-2, 172, 4th
5. Georgetown, 10-3, 157, 5th
6. North Carolina, 9-4, 143, 7th
7. Princeton, 9-3, 141, 8th
8. Ohio State, 12-3, 124, 6th
9. Towson, 11-4, 122, 11th
10. Cornell, 8-4, 111, 9th
11. Rutgers, 8-5, 98, 10th
12. Hobart, 9-6, 81, 17th
13. Notre Dame, 7-5, 75, 12th
14. Army, 10-4, 73, 18th
15. Pennsylvania, 7-6, 66, 13th
16. Villanova, 12-3, 55, 14th
17. Brown, 9-5, 42, 16th
18. Dartmouth, 8-5, 25, 20th
19. Virginia, 5-8, 16, 15th
20. Massachusetts, 7-7, 12, not ranked
Others Receiving Votes: Delaware 5, Denver 5, Penn State 5, Albany 2, Duke 1, Hofstra 1