Road to the championship an uphill one for men's lacrosse

For the past three seasons, there has been just one tough question in men's college lacrosse: would the National Championship fall into the hands of Syracuse or Princeton?

This year, however, the questions abound and answers are impossible to decipher.

Last weekend, in the first full week of lacrosse, No. 4 Virginia topped the preseason No. 1 Orangemen and the No. 3 Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins downed No. 2 Princeton.

Hopkins and UVA now share the nation's top ranking, followed by No. 3 Maryland, Syracuse and the Tigers.

The ACC?

Though Maryland was not expected to be ranked this high by preseason indications, its presence in the top five follows a pattern of improvement in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

While Virginia has been a lacrosse powerhouse for years, with Duke at No. 10 and UNC coming in at No. 12, the ACC now has four teams among the nation's top dozen. Last year, the Tigers pulled off a thrilling 8-7 triple overtime victory over Duke in a must-win game for a team that was struggling against the nation's elite.

This year, Princeton plays its only ACC opponent in tomorrow's 1:05 p.m. matchup with Virginia.

The Cavaliers' talent pool is deep and diverse. The Wahoos boast one of the nation's most lethal scorers in sophomore attack John Christmas. Last season he exploited some poor transition defense by the Tigers in leading Virginia to a 13-11 win. In his first game this year, Christmas scored four goals including the game-winner with 22 seconds left to help the Cavaliers knock off the favored Orangemen. His play earned him National Player of the Week honors.

Johns Hopkins, as Princeton saw last week, has almost its entire team back from 2002. The Blue Jays utilized quickness, composure and great play by senior goalie Rob Scherr in containing the Tigers' offense. Last season, Princeton lost the season opener to Hopkins but exacted its revenge in the NCAA semifinals with an 11-9 win. This season, the Blue Jays are sure to be better prepared and more battle-tested than the young squad of one year ago.

Despite its early loss to Virginia, Syracuse returns as the favorite to win the title. Princeton will battle the Orangemen in week four of the season.

In other non-conference play, the Tigers will face No. 15 Rutgers, a much-improved squad that should give Princeton a true test this year. Later in the season, the Tigers take on No. 8 Loyola who, along with Navy, is the only team to boast of three wins in the country.

Ivy League play

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The Ivy League is also a more competitive conference this year. Last season, Yale ended the Tigers' 38-game conference winning streak with a stunning upset. This season, the Orange and Black will not take any conference foes lightly, as the Ancient Eight has four teams in the top 20 after a week of play. These teams — Cornell, Yale and Brown — should provide stiff competition.

According to NCAA rules for lacrosse, if a conference has six teams that compete on the varsity level, then the league champion receives an automatic bid to the Tournament. The Ivy League fulfills that criteria, and for eight straight seasons, the Tigers have not had to rely on an at-large bid.

This year, everything is up in the air. With the level of play slowly rising across the country, an at-large bid is by no means a forgone conclusion for Princeton. Last season, the Tigers eked out the conference title despite the loss to Yale. Without it, Princeton would likely have been sitting at home last memorial day, as the team also lost three non-conference games. This year, the squad will have to play consistently strong lacrosse to assure either bid.

Helping Princeton's chances in its shot at the NCAA Tourney is a change in the format. Instead of 12 teams, May Madness will include 16.

With so much talent and parity this year, it may take most of the season before the playoff picture comes into focus and a true front-runner makes itself known.