BALTIMORE – The Cornell men's lacrosse team has been selected seventh overall in the 2013 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll, while five Big Red players – Rob Pannell, Jason Noble, Matt Donovan, Doug Tesoriero and Mike Bronzino – earned preseason All-American honors from the same publication. Additionally, Cornell was picked 15th overall in the 2013 Coaches' Preseason Poll.
 
The Big Red returns eight starters and 21 letter winners to a squad that finished 9-4 overall a year ago. Not included in that group is Pannell, who has returned to Cornell after suffering a season-ending injury in the Big Red's second game of the season against Army.
 
A first-team preseason All-American, Pannell opened the season with six goals and four assists in a 17-12 win over Binghamton, including scoring the game-tying and go-ahead goals late in the third quarter as Cornell rallied for the win. His 10-point game was the first by a Cornell player since 1995 and he became the 34th player in NCAA history to record 100 career goals and 100 career assists. During the game, he scored consecutive goals in the span of six seconds to set a school record. Then in a dominant 18-7 triumph over Army, Pannell had one goal and five assists.
 
The previous year, Pannell was named the USILA's Lt. Raymond Enners Award winner as the Division I national player of the year and repeated as the Jack Turnbull Award winner as the Division I national attackman of the year. He is just the 11th repeat winner in the 65-year history of the Turnbull Award and is the first-ever Cornellian to win the award twice in his career. A 2011 Tewaaraton Trophy finalist and a nominee for a 2011 ESPY in the category of Best Male Collegiate Athlete, Pannell earned his second consecutive first-team All-America honor and his second straight Ivy League Player of the Year award.
 
Noble was also named a first-team preseason All-American for a second straight year. Donovan was named to the third team, while Tesoriero and Bronzino received honorable mention.
 
Noble was named second-team All-American and first-team All-Ivy following a junior season in 2012 in which he anchored the 15th ranked defensive unit in the nation. He started 13 games, missing one contest due to injury, and finished the year ranked eighth in the nation with 2.0 caused turnovers per game and ranking third on the team with 35 ground balls. A tenacious defender with outstanding stick skills, Noble also played on the wing during face-offs, and provided the Big Red with depth in the face-off circle as well, winning 13-of-32 restarts.
 
Donovan was named the fifth Ivy League Rookie of the Year in Cornell history and picked up second-team All-Ivy honors after taking over the reins of the Big Red offense and leading the team in points (32) and assists (14) despite consistently drawing the opposing team's top defender in 2012. His 1.08 assists per game average ranked eighth in the Ivy League and he finished the year ranked third on the team in goals (18). Donovan registered at least one point in all but two games during his freshman season and posted a multi-point game in 8-of-14 contests.
 
Tesoriero was the Big Red's main face-off man during his sophomore season in 2012, ranking 13th in the nation with a .593 winning percentage. He captured 137-of-231 restarts and also ranked second in the Ivy League and 27th in the country with 4.62 ground balls per game. He won at least 10 face offs in 10-of-14 contests and picked up at least one ground ball in all but one game.
 
Bronzino started all 13 games for the 15th-ranked defensive unit in the nation despite battling a nagging injury all season long. He finished the year ranked second on the team with 14 caused turnovers and was fifth overall with 28 ground balls. Bronzino picked up at least one ground ball in all but two contests and caused at least one turnover in 9-of-13 games.
 
The Big Red opens its season on Sunday, Feb. 24 when it will face Hobart in the 133rd meeting between the two teams in the most played rivalry in collegiate lacrosse.
 
Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll
1 – Loyola
2 – Maryland
3 – Notre Dame
4 – Duke
5 – North Carolina
6 – Johns Hopkins
7 – Cornell
8 – Lehigh
9 – Virginia
10 – Denver
11 – Colgate
12 – UMass
13 – Princeton
14 – Syracuse
15 – Penn State
16 – Fairfield
17 – Hofstra
18 – Bucknell
19 – Drexel
20 – Yale
 
Coaches' Preseason Poll
1 – Loyola
2 – Maryland
3 – Duke
4 – Notre Dame
5 – North Carolina
6 – Virginia
7 – Johns Hopkins
8 – Denver
9 – UMass
10 – Princeton
11 – Syracuse
12 – Colgate
13 – Lehigh
14 – Yale
15 – Cornell
16 – Penn State
17 – Villanova
18 – Fairfield
19 – Ohio State
20 – Bucknell