Dec. 11, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. -

Seeking its fifth consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship crown, the UMass women's lacrosse team will enter the 2013 campaign ranked No. 14 according to Inside Lacrosse's Preseason Poll as part of its annual Face-Off Yearbook. The Minutewomen closed out the 2012 season with a 19-2 overall record, a 7-0 mark in Atlantic 10 play, and its third trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

One of the top offensive teams last season finishing first in the nation in points per game, UMass was ranked No. 10 in the final poll of 2012. The Minutewomen won their fourth straight Atlantic 10 Championship Title before winning an NCAA Play-In game against Canisius. UMass fell on the road in a tightly fought battle at Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

UMass is the only Atlantic 10 squad ranked in the preseason top-20 poll. Georgetown is just ahead of the Minutewomen at No. 13, while Harvard is just below at No. 15.

Earlier, Inside Lacrosse also announced its preseason All-America squad with Katie Ferris being named to the second team. The native of Carthage, N.Y., finished 2012 as the nation's fourth leading scorer and set UMass and Atlantic 10 single-season scoring records with 98 points.

The 19 wins in 2012 were the second most in program history. The 7-0 finish in Atlantic 10 play marked the second straight year the Minutewomen went undefeated against league foes. UMass will open the 2013 season with a 20-game win streak alive against conference opponents.

Two of UMass' schedule opponents will also enter the season ranked. The Minutewomen will open the year against No. 3 Northwestern at the University of Southern California (Feb. 8). Albany (March 8) earns a No. 20 preseason ranking in what has become a hotly contested series over the last two years. UMass won last season's meeting with the Great Danes 12-11 in overtime, but Albany won the 2011 meeting 10-8 in Amherst.

ILWomen's 2013 Preseason Rankings

1. Syracuse Orange

2. Florida Gators

3. Northwestern Wildcats

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

5. Maryland Terrapins 

6. Duke Blue Devils

7. Loyola Greyhounds

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

9. Penn State Nittany Lions

10. Penn Quakers

11. Dartmouth Big Green

12. Virginia Cavaliers

13. Georgetown Hoyas

14. UMass Minutemen

15. Harvard Crimson

16. Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

17. Towson Tigers

18. Stony Brook Seawolves

19. Boston College Eagles

20. Albany Great Danes