The Siena Heights men's lacrosse team was ranked No. 8 on the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Wednesday
The Saints received 27 points on the poll and were rated behind two WHAC members, No. 2 Indiana Tech and No. 4 Aquinas.
SHU had previously ranked behind Indiana Tech and Aquinas on the WHAC poll as the Warriors were a unanimous No. 1.
Siena Heights finished 10-6 last season with a 7-2 mark in WHAC play. The Saints advanced to the WHAC Tournament finals before falling to Indiana Tech, 11-1.
SHU returns three All-WHAC honorees, including two-time First Team player Jake Gallaher.
Last year, Gallaher led the Saints in goals (51) and points (72) while ranking second on the roster in assists (21), groundballs (77) and caused turnovers (22).
Faceoff specalist Fernando Robison also returns. He won 262 of 358 faceoffs last season, finishing with a 73.2-percent win total. Robinson had 198 groundballs, four goals and three assists.
Eric Csizmadia was a Second Team player last season. He was second on the team with 456 goals and 59 points.
Siena Heights will open up its season with a 3 p.m. game at Reinhardt on Saturday, March 4.
RANK | LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
1 | 1 | Reinhardt (Ga.) [5] | 14-1 | 50 |
2 | 2 | Indiana Tech | 18-1 | 47 |
3 | 3 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 13-5 | 44 |
4 | 4 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 11-5 | 40 |
5 | 6 | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 14-3 | 38 |
6 | 7 | Keiser (Fla.) | 8-6 | 35 |
7 | 5 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 13-4 | 29 |
8 | 9 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 10-6 | 28 |
9 | 7 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 10-7 | 27 |
10 | 9 | Webber International (Fla.) | 11-6 | 26 |
Receiving Votes: Ottawa (Kan.) 18, Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 17, William Penn (Iowa) 14, Columbia (Mo.) 14, Madonna (Mich.) 5