ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell women's lacrosse team is ranked No. 19 in the preseason Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll released today. The Big Red is among four Ivy League teams to start the season in the top 20.

Coming off a 9-7 season in 2009 (3-4 Ivy), the Big Red and head coach Jenny Graap return eight starters and 14 total letter winners this season. A roster that features six seniors, including All-American Tissy O'Connor on defense, will tackle a schedule that includes games against six members of the preseason top 20 and three teams in the top six. Cornell will play No. 3 Penn, No. 6 Syracuse, No. 14 Loyola and No. 15 Dartmouth at home at Newman Arena and will travel to play at No. 9 Princeton. The big Red close out the regular season with a matchup against preseason No. 4 North Carolina at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va.

IWLCA Division I Preseason Poll (Feb. 9, 2010)
                        Record    Votes (1st pl)   
1. Northwestern         1-0     400 (20)   
2. Maryland             0-0     376
3. Pennsylvania         0-0     354
4. North Carolina       0-0     345
5. Duke                 0-0     313
6. Syracuse             0-0     286
7. Georgetown           0-0     280
8. Notre Dame           0-0     247
9. Princeton            0-0     240
10. Virginia            0-0     239
11. Vanderbilt          0-0     184
12. Boston University   0-0     178
13. Stanford            0-0     153
14. Loyola              0-0     134
15. Dartmouth           0-0     112
16. Ohio State          0-0     79
17. Towson              0-0     68
18. Penn State          0-0     62
19. Cornell             0-0     38
20. William and Mary    0-0     31