Lacrosse insiders agree: John Danowski's squad will start the season as the team to beat in college lacrosse.
A month after Inside Lacrosse ranked Duke No. 1 in its preseason rankings, Lacrosse Magazine followed suit, putting the Blue Devils at the top of the poll. In addition to choosing Duke, which lost in last year's Final Four to Syracuse, as the top team, Lacrosse Magazine also selected Duke senior Ned Crotty as the preseason player of the year.
On the women's side, Lacrosse Magazine slotted the Blue Devils No. 5, behind Northwestern, Maryland, North Carolina and Penn. Head coach Kerstin Kimel's squad was never ranked outside of the top five last season, but it fell to Penn in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
Both teams open their seasons on January 31st in exhibition games in Florida.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.