St. John's University Athletics
BIG EAST Announces 2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll
1/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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QUEENS, N.Y. - The BIG EAST Conference announced its 2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll and All-BIG EAST selections on Wednesday afternoon.
St. John's was picked to finish sixth in the conference, following a 2016 campaign in which the Johnnies finished tied for fifth in the final standings.
Three-time defending regular season champion Denver was picked as a unanimous first-place selection in the poll, which is voted upon by the conference's head coaches. The Pioneers also garnered preseason selections of both the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in senior attack Connor Cannizzaro and senior defender Christian Burgdorf.
Villanova was selected second in the poll with 21 points and received one first-place vote, while Marquette, the 2016 BIG EAST tournament champions, was picked third with 16 pts. Rounding out the league's preseason standings were Georgetown in fourth (14 points), Providence (nine points) and St. John's (five points).
The Johnnies return seven starters from a year ago including 2016 second-team All-BIG EAST selection Jason DeBenedictis. The attackman from Holbrook, N.Y., accounted for 13 goals and three assists in league play and finished fifth in the conference with 2.36 goals per game.
St. John's opens up its 2017 campaign at home on Saturday, Feb. 11, when former BIG EAST foe Rutgers comes to town.
Keep up with Red Storm lacrosse all season long at RedStormSports.com and on Twitter by following @StJohnsLax and using the hashtag "#SJULAX."
