Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate Men's Lacrosse Ranked Nationally in USILA Coaches Preseason Top-20 Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) released their 2019 coaches preseason poll with two SAC men's teams making the top-20. Lenoir-Rhyne, after their phenomenal run into the postseason was ranked No. 4 and Wingate came in strong at No. 17.

This marks the highest preseason ranking in program history for the Bears. The team went 17-3 overall and a perfect 8-0 in SAC play, increasing their conference regular season winning streak to 24 games. In 2018, Lenoir-Rhyne won its first NCAA Tournament game and hosted the NCAA Division II Semifinals before bowing out. The record season earned Head Coach Greg Paradine the USILA Division II National Coach of the Year. The Bears open up the season against two nationally-ranked opponents: No. 14 Limestone and No. T-10 Belmont Abbey.

In other preseason polls, Lenoir-Rhyne rank No. 3 in the 2019 Nike/US Lacrosse DII Poll and No. 4 in the 2019 Face-Off Yearbook Poll. Eric Dickinson earned Face-Off Yearbook First-Team Preseason All-America honors.

The two-time defending SAC tournament champions Bulldogs went 11-5 in 2018 and 7-1 in SAC action. Conor Gronbach picked up third-team All-American honors during his junior year. Wingate opens their 2019 season on February 9, traveling to North Greenville, with the first home game being played on February 23 versus Rollins

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